Have you ever stared at a dissertation you need to cite, wondering which format applies to a thesis?

You are not alone. Citing a dissertation or thesis is one of those academic formatting tasks that trips up even experienced researchers. Unlike journal articles or books, dissertations live in a grey area—they are published but not quite like commercial books; they are archived but not always peer-reviewed in the traditional sense. Each citation style handles them differently, and getting it wrong can mean losing marks on an otherwise solid paper.

This guide covers how to cite a dissertation or thesis in APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition). You will find templates, real examples, and the key differences between published and unpublished works.

Why Citing Dissertations and Theses Is Different

Dissertations and theses occupy a unique category in academic publishing. They are original research written by graduate students, archived by universities (often in digital repositories like ProQuest), but not published in the traditional sense through commercial presses or journals.

Most style guides treat them as a distinct source type with their own formatting rules. The key distinction is whether the work is published (available through a database like ProQuest) or unpublished (held only by the university archive). APA and Chicago make this distinction explicitly. MLA treats most dissertations as unpublished regardless of database access.

Citing a Dissertation in APA 7th Edition

APA 7th edition distinguishes between unpublished dissertations (held by the university only) and published dissertations (available through ProQuest or other databases). The format differs in the title treatment and database information.

Published Dissertation (from a Database)

Most dissertations accessed through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global are considered published. Include the database name and accession number if available.

Template:

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation or Master’s thesis, University Name]. Database Name. Accession or Order No.

Example:

Okoro, C. (2024). Artificial intelligence and academic writing: A study of formatting compliance among graduate students [Doctoral dissertation, University of Lagos]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. (Accession No. 28456789)

Unpublished Dissertation (University Archive Only)

If you accessed the dissertation directly from the university’s institutional repository and it is not indexed in a commercial database, use the unpublished format.

Template:

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of dissertation (Unpublished doctoral dissertation or Master’s thesis). University Name.

Example:

Martinez, J. (2023). Code-switching in bilingual academic writing (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Texas at Austin.

In-Text Citation (APA)

Use the standard APA author-date format: (Okoro, 2024) or Martinez (2023). The in-text citation does not distinguish between published and unpublished versions.

Citing a Dissertation in MLA 9th Edition

MLA 9th edition treats dissertations as unpublished works, even when accessed through ProQuest. The title is in quotation marks (not italics), and the label “Dissertation” appears at the end.

Template:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Dissertation.” Doctoral dissertation, University Name, Year. Database Name, URL.

Example:

Okoro, Chidi. “Artificial Intelligence and Academic Writing: A Study of Formatting Compliance Among Graduate Students.” Doctoral dissertation, University of Lagos, 2024. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, www.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/28456789.

If you accessed the dissertation from a university repository rather than a commercial database, replace the database name and URL with the repository URL.

Example (Repository):

Martinez, Julia. “Code-Switching in Bilingual Academic Writing.” Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, 2023. Texas ScholarWorks, repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/12345.

In-Text Citation (MLA)

Use the author-page format: (Okoro 45) or (Martinez 112). MLA requires page numbers if they are available in your copy of the dissertation.

Citing a Dissertation in Chicago Style (17th Edition)

Chicago Manual of Style offers two systems: Notes-Bibliography (humanities) and Author-Date (sciences). Both distinguish between published and unpublished dissertations.

Notes-Bibliography System

Bibliography Entry (Published):

Okoro, Chidi. “Artificial Intelligence and Academic Writing: A Study of Formatting Compliance Among Graduate Students.” PhD diss., University of Lagos, 2024. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Footnote (First Citation):

Chidi Okoro, “Artificial Intelligence and Academic Writing: A Study of Formatting Compliance Among Graduate Students” (PhD diss., University of Lagos, 2024), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, 23.

Bibliography Entry (Unpublished):

Martinez, Julia. “Code-Switching in Bilingual Academic Writing.” PhD diss., University of Texas at Austin, 2023.

Author-Date System

Reference List:

Okoro, Chidi. 2024. “Artificial Intelligence and Academic Writing: A Study of Formatting Compliance Among Graduate Students.” PhD diss., University of Lagos. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

In-Text: (Okoro 2024, 23)

Quick Reference Table: Dissertation Citations by Style

Element	APA 7th	MLA 9th	Chicago
Title format	Italicized	Quotation marks	Quotation marks
Source label	[Doctoral dissertation]	Doctoral dissertation	PhD diss.
Published vs. unpublished	Distinct formats	Same format	Distinct formats
Database required?	Yes (published)	Yes + URL	At end of entry
In-text format	(Author, Year)	(Author Page)	Footnote or (Year)

Common Mistakes When Citing Dissertations

Even experienced researchers make these errors. Watch out for them in your own citations.

• Confusing thesis and dissertation labels: Use “Doctoral dissertation” for PhD work and “Master’s thesis” for master’s-level work. They are not interchangeable.
• Omitting the database name: In APA and Chicago, if you accessed the work through ProQuest, include the database name. Omitting it makes the citation incomplete.
• Wrong title format: APA uses italics for the dissertation title; MLA and Chicago use quotation marks. Using the wrong format is one of the most common style violations.
• Missing the university name: Every dissertation citation must include the granting university. This is non-negotiable across all three styles.
• Forgetting the URL in MLA: MLA requires the database or repository URL at the end of the entry. Without it, readers cannot locate the source.

Simplify Dissertation Citations with Formatly

Getting dissertation citations right across multiple styles is finicky work. One misplaced comma, one italicized title that should be in quotation marks, and your citation loses marks. When you are juggling dozens of references for a thesis or research paper, cross-referencing style manuals for every entry becomes a serious time sink. If you are still building your reference list, our guide to formatting APA reference lists covers the general rules, and the in-text citation guide for APA, MLA, and Chicago helps with the rest of your sources.

Formatly handles these distinctions automatically. Upload your document, select your citation style, and get perfectly formatted references—including tricky source types like dissertations, conference papers, and government documents. No more toggling between style guides and hoping you got it right.

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