bibliottHow to Cite a Thesis or dissertation in MLA 9th edition
Format, in-text rule, and a copy-paste example for theses or dissertations in MLA. Citing a master's thesis, PhD dissertation, or other graduate work.
MLA format for theses or dissertations
Author Last, First. Title of Thesis. Year. Awarding Institution, Type. Database.
Smith, Jane D. Algorithmic Citation Generation in Academic Writing. 2023. Stanford U, PhD dissertation. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
Pro tip
MLA abbreviates university to U (e.g. Stanford U) in the awarding institution.
Information you need
Before generating your MLA citation, gather these details from the thesis or dissertation:
Author
Year
Title
Type (Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation)
Awarding institution
Database or repository URL
Common mistakes to avoid
✗Citing as a book — theses have a distinct format in every major style
✗Forgetting to specify Master's vs Doctoral
✗Listing the database (ProQuest) as the publisher when the awarding institution is the publisher
Cite a thesis or dissertation in another style
Other MLA guides
Frequently asked questions
For a thesis or dissertation in MLA, you'll need: Author, Year, Title, Type (Master's thesis or Doctoral dissertation), Awarding institution, Database or repository URL. bibliott auto-detects most of these from a URL or DOI.
Citing as a book — theses have a distinct format in every major style
Yes — the example follows the official MLA 9th edition format. Replace the author, title, year and other fields with your source's data, or use the bibliott generator to do it automatically.