APA 7th Edition — Theses & Dissertations

APA 7 Citation Generator for Theses and Dissertations

Cite master's theses and doctoral dissertations in APA 7 format. Handles published (ProQuest, institutional repository) and unpublished versions with the correct bracket labels.

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How to cite a thesis in APA 7 — 3 steps

Locate the thesis

Find the thesis on ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, the university's institutional repository, or the author's personal archive page.

Collect the metadata

Author, year, title, degree type (master's vs doctoral), institution, and source (ProQuest, repository, or unpublished). Paste the URL into CiteMe to auto-fill most fields.

Generate the citation

CiteMe formats the thesis with the correct bracket label, italicized title, and URL. Copy it for your References page.

APA 7 Format for Theses and Dissertations

Published doctoral dissertation (repository):

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Repository. URL

Published dissertation (ProQuest):

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the dissertation (Publication No. xxxxxxxx) [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Master's thesis (published):

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the master's thesis [Master's thesis, University Name]. Repository. URL

Unpublished dissertation or thesis:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the work [Unpublished doctoral dissertation / Unpublished master's thesis]. University Name.

APA 7 Thesis Citation Examples

Published dissertation (institutional repository)

Lastname, F. I. (2023). Title of the doctoral dissertation: Subtitle for context [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. University Repository. https://repository.university.edu/example-id

Paste the repository URL to auto-fill metadata

Published dissertation (ProQuest)

Lastname, F. I. (2022). Title of the dissertation (Publication No. 12345678) [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Include the ProQuest Publication Number when available

Master's thesis (published)

Lastname, F. I. (2024). Title of the master's thesis [Master's thesis, University Name]. University Repository. https://repository.university.edu/example-id

Same format as dissertation, with "Master's thesis" label

Unpublished dissertation

Lastname, F. I. (2021). Title of the unpublished dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University Name.

No URL, no repository — the institution name is the final field

Examples formatted in APA style

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a thesis or dissertation in APA 7?

APA 7 template: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the thesis or dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation / Unpublished master's thesis / Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Source (Repository or ProQuest). URL. Use "[Doctoral dissertation, University]" for published/archived versions and "[Unpublished master's thesis]" when not publicly available.

What is the difference between published and unpublished dissertations?

In APA 7, "published" means deposited in a repository or database where others can access it — ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, an institutional repository, or a personal archive with a stable URL. "Unpublished" means only the university archives hold it, with no public access. The citation format differs slightly: published dissertations include the source and URL; unpublished ones include only the bracket label and institution.

How do you cite a ProQuest dissertation in APA 7?

For ProQuest: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the dissertation (Publication No. xxxxxx) [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Include the ProQuest Publication Number when available. CiteMe generates this automatically when you paste a ProQuest URL.

How do you cite a master's thesis in APA?

APA 7 uses "master's thesis" (lowercase) in the bracket label. Template: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the thesis [Master's thesis, University Name]. Repository or Database. URL. For unpublished theses, use "[Unpublished master's thesis]" and include only the institution, no URL.

Should I italicize the thesis title in APA 7?

Yes. APA 7 italicizes the title of a thesis or dissertation in the reference list (treated as a standalone work, like a book). The bracket description "[Doctoral dissertation, University]" is NOT italicized — only the actual title is.

How do I cite a thesis from an institutional repository?

Paste the institutional repository URL (e.g., https://repository.upenn.edu/exampleurl) into CiteMe. Most university repositories embed structured metadata that the tool can extract. Provide the author, title, degree, institution, and year — CiteMe formats them per APA 7 with the repository name as the Source.

What goes in the in-text citation for a dissertation?

Same as any APA 7 citation: (Author, Year) or Author (Year) in narrative form. Example: Research shows a positive effect (Last, 2023) or Last (2023) found a positive effect. No special rule for dissertations — only the reference-list entry uses the bracket description.