The pattern at a glance
- Published dissertation or thesisAuthor, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Name of University]. Repository or Database Name. https://doi.org/xxxx or URL"Published" in APA terms means available from a database, an institutional repository or an archive, not that a press printed it.
- Unpublished dissertation or thesisAuthor, A. A. (Year). Title of thesis [Unpublished master's thesis]. Name of University.
- In-text(Author, Year) or Author (Year)
Published or unpublished: how APA decides
APA 7 calls a dissertation published when anyone can get it from a database such as ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, from a university repository, or from a public archive. Most theses written since the 2000s are published in this sense because universities deposit them online. The reference then names the database or repository and gives a DOI or URL.
An unpublished thesis is one you consulted in print, usually a bound copy in a university library, with no online version. The bracket says "Unpublished doctoral dissertation" or "Unpublished master's thesis", and the university name closes the entry because there is no database to name.
The degree label follows what the document is. Doctoral work (PhD, EdD, DPhil) is a "Doctoral dissertation"; a master's degree gives a "Master's thesis". Use those generic labels even when the university says "Thesis for the degree of Master of Science".
Naming the repository and choosing the link
The repository is the website that hosts the file, written the way the site names itself: The Research Repository @ WVU, Scholars Archive, Dominican Scholar. If the thesis came from ProQuest, write ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global and add the publication number in parentheses after the title if you want readers to find it there.
Prefer a DOI when the repository assigns one, because DOIs keep working after a site redesign. Otherwise copy the stable handle or record URL of the thesis page rather than the direct PDF link, which often breaks.
Field by field: the thesis form
The generator's thesis form has these fields. The right-hand column shows where each detail appears on a typical repository record or title page.
| Field | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Author | The student's name, surname first in the form fields. | Title page; repository "Author" field. |
| Year | Year the degree was awarded or the thesis was deposited. | Title page or "Date of graduation" on the record. |
| Title | Full title in sentence case, including the subtitle. | Title page. Repository fields sometimes cut titles at apostrophes or quotes. |
| Thesis type | Doctoral dissertation, Master's thesis, or the unpublished version of either. | Degree name on the record (PhD, EdD, MS, MA). |
| University | Degree-granting institution, in full. | Title page. |
| Archive or database | The repository or database name, exactly as it calls itself. | Site header or the browser tab of the record page. |
| DOI or URL | Paste the DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link, or the record page URL, into the URL field. | Record page, usually labelled DOI, handle or permanent link. |
APA dissertation and thesis examples
Three theses from open university repositories, checked against their record pages and formatted by the generator's engine.
Doctoral dissertation with a DOI (EdD)
APA 7th: Reference entry
Jung, H. Y. (2006). Transactional distance and student motivation: Student perception of teacher immediacy, solidarity toward peer students and student motivation in distance education [Doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University]. The Research Repository @ WVU. https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.4237
In-text citation: (Jung, 2006)
The degree on the record is EdD, which is a doctoral degree, so the bracket says Doctoral dissertation. The DOI record had no year; 2006 comes from the repository's graduation date.
Checked against DOI record (checked on 25 October 2026). Repository page: EdD, West Virginia University, Spring 2006. The DOI record itself has no year and no degree.
PhD dissertation from a university archive
APA 7th: Reference entry
Akhmedjanova, D. (2020). The effects of a self-regulated writing intervention on English learners’ academic writing skills [Doctoral dissertation, University at Albany, State University of New York]. Scholars Archive. https://doi.org/10.54014/ctf1-vh9s
In-text citation: (Akhmedjanova, 2020)
The repository's metadata cuts the title at the apostrophe in "learners'", so a lookup would return half a title. The full title was copied from the record page itself.
Checked against DOI record (checked on 25 October 2026). Repository page: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), 2020. The repository's citation_title tag cuts the title at the apostrophe in "learners'".
Master's thesis
APA 7th: Reference entry
Fleming, K. R. (2015). Helping English language learners develop writing proficiency using the thesis evidence model in the high school social studies classroom [Master’s thesis, Dominican University of California]. Dominican Scholar. https://doi.org/10.33015/dominican.edu/2015.edu.07
In-text citation: (Fleming, 2015)
A Master of Science thesis is labelled Master's thesis. Crossref spells the surname Flemming while the repository and the title page say Fleming; the title page wins.
Checked against DOI record (checked on 25 October 2026). Repository page: Master of Science, 2015, author Keith R. Fleming. The Crossref record spells the surname "Flemming", so the repository title page wins.
Formatted by the same citation engine that runs the generator above (citeproc-js with the official CSL style file). Italics follow the style.
In-text citations for theses
A thesis is cited in the text like a book by the same author: surname and year.
- Parenthetical: (Akhmedjanova, 2020)
- Narrative: Jung (2006) measured perceived teacher immediacy in online courses.
- Quotation: (Fleming, 2015, p. 23); page numbers come from the thesis PDF.
- Same author, thesis and later article: Each gets its own reference; the years tell them apart: (Akhmedjanova, 2020) and the later journal article with its own year.
If a thesis was later published as a journal article or a book, cite the version you actually read.
Common errors in APA thesis references
- Putting the university in the publisher slot only. In APA 7 the university goes inside the square brackets for published theses; the repository name follows the bracket.
- Calling every thesis unpublished. If you downloaded it from a repository or database, it is published for APA purposes.
- Copying the title in capitals. Repository records sometimes store titles in upper case. Convert to sentence case before saving.
- Linking the PDF file instead of the record. Direct file links change when repositories migrate. The DOI or record page is more stable.
APA dissertation citation FAQ
How do I cite a dissertation in APA 7?
Write the author, the year, the italic title, then [Doctoral dissertation, University Name], the repository or database name and the DOI or URL. For example: Jung, H. Y. (2006). Title [Doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University]. The Research Repository @ WVU. followed by the DOI.
How is a master's thesis different in APA?
Only the label changes: write Master's thesis instead of Doctoral dissertation. Everything else stays the same.
How do I cite a dissertation from ProQuest?
Name ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global as the database and add the publication number in parentheses after the title if you have it. A URL is not needed for ProQuest records.
Do I cite an undergraduate thesis the same way?
Yes. Describe it accurately in the bracket, for example [Bachelor's thesis, University Name], and follow the same published or unpublished rule.
Style guides used on this page
Rules on this page were checked against these pages on 25 October 2026.