To cite a dissertation or thesis, give the author, year, title, the type of document (doctoral dissertation or master's thesis), the awarding institution and, if you accessed it online, the database or repository and a URL. Each style arranges these elements differently.
This page shows correct formats for APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver and IEEE, covering theses from ProQuest, from university repositories and unpublished copies. All names and titles in the examples are invented for illustration.
The Details Every Dissertation Citation Needs
| Element | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Author | Title page |
| Year | Year of completion or award, on the title page or record |
| Title | Title page, including any subtitle |
| Type | Doctoral dissertation, PhD thesis, master's thesis |
| Institution | The awarding university |
| Database or repository | For example ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global or a university repository |
| URL or DOI | From the database or repository record |
APA 7th Edition
In APA 7, the title is in italics and sentence case, followed by a bracketed description that names the type and institution. Add the database or repository and URL if published online.
From a database: Morgan, E. J. (2021). Moral distress among intensive care nurses during staffing shortages [Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
From a repository: Okafor, C. (2023). Peer mentoring and retention of newly qualified nurses [Master's thesis, University of Glasgow]. Enlighten Theses. https://theses.example.ac.uk/1234
Unpublished: Lindqvist, S. (2020). Patient education in early heart failure [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Bristol.
In text: (Morgan, 2021) or Morgan (2021) found that...
For a ProQuest thesis, APA does not require a URL because the database is widely known, though you may include one. When the thesis is unpublished, the institution moves out of the brackets and appears after them.
MLA 9th Edition
In MLA 9, the title is in italics, followed by the year, the institution and the type of document. Add the database and URL for online copies. MLA abbreviates "University" to "U" in this position.
From a database: Morgan, Ellen J. Moral Distress among Intensive Care Nurses during Staffing Shortages. 2021. U of Leeds, PhD dissertation. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, www.proquest.com/docview/0000000.
Unpublished: Lindqvist, Sara. Patient Education in Early Heart Failure. 2020. U of Bristol, PhD dissertation.
In text: (Morgan 112)
Chicago Style
Chicago puts the dissertation title in quotation marks, in headline case, followed by "PhD diss." or "Master's thesis", the institution and the year. These examples follow the notes and bibliography system.
Note: 1. Ellen J. Morgan, "Moral Distress among Intensive Care Nurses during Staffing Shortages" (PhD diss., University of Leeds, 2021), 64, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Short note: 2. Morgan, "Moral Distress," 70.
Bibliography: Morgan, Ellen J. "Moral Distress among Intensive Care Nurses during Staffing Shortages." PhD diss., University of Leeds, 2021. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Author-date reference: Morgan, Ellen J. 2021. "Moral Distress among Intensive Care Nurses during Staffing Shortages." PhD diss., University of Leeds.
Author-date in text: (Morgan 2021, 64)
Harvard
Harvard has many local versions. The format below follows the widely used Cite Them Right style; check your university's guide for small differences in punctuation.
Online: Okafor, C. (2023) Peer mentoring and retention of newly qualified nurses. MSc thesis. University of Glasgow. Available at: https://theses.example.ac.uk/1234 (Accessed: 3 October 2026).
Print or unpublished: Lindqvist, S. (2020) Patient education in early heart failure. PhD thesis. University of Bristol.
In text: (Okafor, 2023)
Vancouver
Vancouver, as set out in the NLM's Citing Medicine, uses numbered citations, no italics and a bracketed document type after the title.
Reference: 1. Morgan EJ. Moral distress among intensive care nurses during staffing shortages [dissertation]. Leeds (UK): University of Leeds; 2021.
Master's thesis: 2. Okafor C. Peer mentoring and retention of newly qualified nurses [master's thesis]. Glasgow (UK): University of Glasgow; 2023.
In text: Moral distress rose during shortages (1).
Many journals use their own Vancouver variant, for example with superscript numbers, so follow the target journal's instructions.
IEEE
IEEE uses initials before the surname, the title in quotation marks and a type label such as "Ph.D. dissertation" or "M.S. thesis".
Reference: [1] D. A. Mensah, "Low-power sensor networks for remote patient monitoring," Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Univ. of Manchester, Manchester, U.K., 2022.
In text: as shown in [1].
Special Cases
- Master's versus doctoral: label the work as the institution does, for example [Master's thesis] or [Doctoral dissertation] in APA.
- Access date: APA 7 and MLA 9 do not require one for a stable repository record; Harvard (Cite Them Right) does.
- Theses later published as articles or books: cite the version you actually read.
- Your own thesis: cite it like any other source if you draw on it in later work.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Author, A. A. (Year). Title in sentence case [Doctoral dissertation, Institution]. Database or repository. URL. For an unpublished copy, write [Unpublished doctoral dissertation] and give the institution after the brackets.
In APA 7, MLA 9 and Harvard, yes. In Chicago and IEEE, it goes in quotation marks. Vancouver uses neither.
APA 7 does not require one for widely known databases such as ProQuest, though it is allowed. Other styles vary; include it if your guide asks.
Use the term the institution uses. In the US, doctoral work is usually a dissertation and master's work a thesis; in the UK, "PhD thesis" is common.
Give the author, year, title, type and institution, and mark it as unpublished where the style requires it, as APA does.
Author AA. Title [dissertation]. Place: University; Year. Use [master's thesis] for master's work.