Apa style citing a thesis

Citing an Unpublished Thesis or Dissertation. Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes. Structure: Author’s Last, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished Degree type thesis or

Second Initial. (year of publication). Title of dissertation or thesis (Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis). Retrieved from Name of database. (Accession or Order No.) Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of creation). Title of dissertation or thesis (Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).

This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. All of the guidelines below come straight from the source: the 7th edition of the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a).

APA calls for the citation to include a unique identifying number for the dissertation, labeling it “Publication No.” That number can be found in Dissertations and Theses database, listed in the item record as “Dissertation/thesis number.”