Dissertations and theses are valuable academic sources — they contain original research that's often more detailed than what ends up in journal articles. Graduate students conduct deep dives into narrow topics, and their work frequently covers ground that no published paper has.
APA 7th edition distinguishes between published and unpublished dissertations, and between doctoral dissertations and master's theses. The format also depends on where you accessed the work — a commercial database like ProQuest, a university repository, or directly from the author. Let's walk through each variation.
Published Dissertation (Database)
A dissertation is considered "published" when it's available through a commercial database like ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. This is the most common scenario — most U.S. universities submit their graduates' dissertations to ProQuest.
Reference list:
Holloway, J. D. (2023). The role of executive function in reading comprehension among bilingual adolescents (Publication No. 30245678) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Holloway, 2023)
Narrative:Holloway (2023) found that executive function explained…
Key details:
- The author is the person who wrote the dissertation.
- The date is the year the dissertation was completed (or the year it was published in the database).
- The title is italicized and in sentence case.
- The publication number (ProQuest number or similar identifier) goes in parentheses after the title.
- [Doctoral dissertation, University Name] appears in square brackets — identifying both the document type and the degree-granting institution.
- The database name goes in the source position: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
- No URL is needed when citing from ProQuest or similar databases, since the publication number serves as a locator. However, if your instructor prefers a URL, you can include it.
Unpublished Dissertation
A dissertation is "unpublished" when it's not available in a commercial database. This typically means it exists only as a physical copy in the university's library or has limited distribution.
Reference list:
Chen, W. (2024). Sustainable urban design interventions and their effects on community well-being [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Portland State University.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Chen, 2024)
Narrative:Chen (2024) proposed a framework for…
Key details:
- The bracket label changes to [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].
- The university name follows the brackets (no "In" before it — just the institution).
- There's no database name and usually no URL, since the work hasn't been distributed through an accessible platform.
- No publication number is included.
How do you know if it's unpublished?If you can't find the dissertation in ProQuest, your university's institutional repository, or any other publicly accessible database, treat it as unpublished. If you accessed a physical copy from a library or received it directly from the author, it's unpublished.
Published Master's Thesis
Master's theses follow the same format as doctoral dissertations — just change the bracket label.
From a Database
Reference list:
Larsen, K. E. (2022). Social media literacy programs in rural high schools: A mixed-methods evaluation (Publication No. 29876543) [Master's thesis, University of Montana]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Larsen, 2022)
Narrative:Larsen (2022) evaluated the effectiveness of…
From an Institutional Repository
Reference list:
Morales, A. R. (2023). Parental involvement and mathematics achievement in Title I elementary schools [Master's thesis, California State University, Fullerton]. CSUF ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/example/12345
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Morales, 2023)
Narrative:Morales (2023) examined the correlation between…
Unpublished Master's Thesis
Reference list:
Kim, S. J. (2024). Workplace stress and job satisfaction among early-career nurses [Unpublished master's thesis]. University of Michigan.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Kim, 2024)
Narrative:Kim (2024) surveyed early-career nurses to…
The format mirrors the unpublished doctoral dissertation — just with [Unpublished master's thesis] as the bracket label.
Dissertation From an Institutional Repository
Many universities now publish their students' dissertations and theses through institutional repositories — open-access digital archives maintained by the university library. These are considered published, even though they're not in a commercial database.
Reference list:
Prasad, V. (2024). Machine learning applications in early detection of neurodegenerative diseases [Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University]. Stanford Digital Repository. https://purl.stanford.edu/example12345
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Prasad, 2024)
Narrative:Prasad (2024) developed a predictive model that…
Key details:
- The bracket label is [Doctoral dissertation, University Name] (same as the database version).
- The repository name goes in the source position instead of a commercial database name.
- Include the URL that links to the dissertation in the repository.
Common Institutional Repositories
| University System | Repository Name |
|---|---|
| Individual universities | Often named "[University] Digital Repository" or "[University] ScholarWorks" |
| ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations) | Various — check your university library |
| DASH (Harvard) | Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard |
| Deep Blue (Michigan) | University of Michigan Deep Blue |
| eScholarship (UC system) | eScholarship.org |
Doctoral Dissertation vs. Master's Thesis — Format Comparison
| Element | Doctoral Dissertation | Master's Thesis |
|---|---|---|
| Bracket label (published) | [Doctoral dissertation, University Name] | [Master's thesis, University Name] |
| Bracket label (unpublished) | [Unpublished doctoral dissertation] | [Unpublished master's thesis] |
| Everything else | Same format | Same format |
The only difference between citing a dissertation and a thesis is the label in the square brackets. Every other element — author, date, title, source — follows the same rules.
In-Text Citation Examples
Dissertations and theses follow standard APA in-text citation rules — nothing special required:
| Source | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Single author | (Holloway, 2023) | Holloway (2023) found that… |
| Specific page | (Holloway, 2023, p. 87) | Holloway (2023, p. 87) noted that… |
| Two authors | (Tanaka & Rivera, 2024) | Tanaka and Rivera (2024) argued that… |
If you're quoting directly from a dissertation, include the page number — just like you would for any other source with page numbers:
Holloway (2023) concluded that "executive function serves as a mediating variable between language proficiency and reading comprehension" (p. 112).
Common Mistakes
These are the dissertation and thesis citation errors we see most frequently:
Using "Unpublished" for dissertations available in ProQuest. If the dissertation is in ProQuest or another database, it's published. "Unpublished" means it's not available through any public or commercial database.
Omitting the university name. The degree-granting institution is always included in the square brackets — for both published and unpublished works. It tells readers where the research was conducted.
Confusing "doctoral dissertation" and "master's thesis." Use the exact label that matches the degree: [Doctoral dissertation] for Ph.D., Ed.D., Psy.D., etc. [Master's thesis] for M.A., M.S., M.Ed., etc. Don't use "Ph.D. dissertation" or "M.A. thesis."
Including a URL for ProQuest dissertations unnecessarily. When citing from ProQuest, the publication number is sufficient for readers to locate the work. A URL is optional (but some instructors prefer it — check).
Formatting the university name inconsistently. Use the official name of the institution as it appears on the dissertation: "University of Texas at Austin," not "UT Austin" or "Texas."
Treating a dissertation chapter as a book chapter. A dissertation is a single work by a single author (or sometimes co-authors). Don't format individual chapters as if they were chapters in an edited book.
What's Next
Now that you know how to cite dissertations and theses, explore these related topics:
- APA Reference List — how to format and organize all your reference entries
- How to Cite a Book in APA Format — a similar format for published book-length works
- How to Cite a Journal Article in APA Format — for when dissertation research gets published as an article
Writing your own thesis or dissertation? See our Thesis Writing Guide for help with structure, proposals, and defense preparation.
Archivero detects whether your dissertation source is from ProQuest, an institutional repository, or unpublished — and formats the citation accordingly, so you get the right bracket label and source information every time.
