To cite a thesis or dissertation, you need the author, year, title, type of degree and the awarding institution, plus a database or repository link if you found it online. Each style arranges these details differently.
This page gives reference list and in-text formats for APA 7th edition, IEEE, Vancouver and Harvard, the styles most used in science and engineering. Names and titles in the examples are illustrative.
What Every Thesis Citation Needs
Every style asks for the same core details: author, year, full title, whether it is a doctoral dissertation or a master's thesis, and the university that awarded the degree. Add the database or repository and a URL when the thesis is available online.
In the UK "thesis" often means the doctoral work; in the US "dissertation" usually does. Use the label the style and the document itself use.
When Is a Thesis a Good Source?
Theses contain detailed methods, full datasets and literature reviews that journal papers have no space for. That makes them valuable for technical detail.
They are examined but not peer-reviewed in the same way as journal articles. If the work was later published as a paper, cite the paper for the main findings and the thesis only for details that appear nowhere else.
Information You Need
| Detail | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Author's name | Title page |
| Year the degree was awarded | Title page or repository record |
| Full title and subtitle | Title page |
| Degree type | Title page: PhD, doctoral, MSc, MPhil, master's |
| Institution (and department for IEEE) | Title page |
| Database or repository and URL | Where you accessed it, such as ProQuest or a university repository |
| Publication number (optional) | Database record, if your style asks for it |
APA 7th Edition
APA puts the degree type and institution in square brackets after the italicized title. Name the database or archive if the thesis came from one.
From a database: Mensah, K. A. (2021). Fatigue behavior of additively manufactured titanium lattices [Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
From a university repository: Lin, S. (2023). Low-power sensor networks for river monitoring [Master's thesis, University of Glasgow]. Enlighten Theses. https://example.org/thesis/1234
Unpublished: Ortiz, R. (2020). Graph-based models of urban traffic flow [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Manchester.
In text: (Mensah, 2021) or Mensah (2021)
A publication or order number from the database may be added in brackets after the title, but it is optional. Include a URL when the thesis is freely available online.
IEEE
IEEE lists the degree type and the department and university, with abbreviations such as "Ph.D. dissertation", "M.S. thesis", "Dept." and "Univ.".
[1] K. A. Mensah, “Fatigue behavior of additively manufactured titanium lattices,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Mech. Eng., Univ. Leeds, Leeds, U.K., 2021.
[2] S. Lin, “Low-power sensor networks for river monitoring,” M.S. thesis, Sch. Eng., Univ. Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K., 2023. [Online]. Available: https://example.org/thesis/1234
In text: Lattice fatigue life depended strongly on strut diameter [1].
The title goes in quotation marks, not italics, and IEEE references are numbered in the order they are first cited.
Vancouver
Vancouver, used widely in medicine and biomedical science, puts the thesis type in square brackets after the title. The place and institution come next, followed by the year.
1. Mensah KA. Fatigue behavior of additively manufactured titanium lattices [dissertation]. Leeds: University of Leeds; 2021.
2. Lin S. Low-power sensor networks for river monitoring [master's thesis]. Glasgow: University of Glasgow; 2023.
In text: Strut diameter strongly affected fatigue life (1). Many institutions use superscript numbers instead of brackets.
For an online thesis, add the URL and the date you cited it, as your department's version of Vancouver specifies.
Harvard
Harvard is a family of styles rather than one fixed standard, so check your university's guide. A widely taught version follows this pattern.
Mensah, K.A. (2021) Fatigue behavior of additively manufactured titanium lattices. PhD thesis. University of Leeds.
Lin, S. (2023) Low-power sensor networks for river monitoring. MSc thesis. University of Glasgow. Available at: https://example.org/thesis/1234 (Accessed: 12 March 2026).
In text: (Mensah, 2021) or Mensah (2021)
The Four Styles Side by Side
| Style | Title format | Degree label | In-text form |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Italic, sentence case | [Doctoral dissertation, University] | (Mensah, 2021) |
| IEEE | In quotation marks | Ph.D. dissertation or M.S. thesis | [1] |
| Vancouver | Plain, sentence case | [dissertation] or [master's thesis] | (1) or superscript |
| Harvard | Italic | PhD thesis or MSc thesis | (Mensah, 2021) |
Common Mistakes
- Leaving out the degree type, so the entry looks like a book.
- Giving the database as if it were the publisher or institution.
- Citing the thesis when a peer-reviewed paper of the same work exists.
- Italicizing the title in IEEE, where it belongs in quotation marks.
- Mixing "thesis" and "dissertation" labels inconsistently within one list.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Both are long research documents submitted for a degree. Usage differs by country; in the US a doctoral work is usually a dissertation, while in the UK it is often a thesis. Use the label on the document.
Yes, if you found the thesis in a database or archive such as ProQuest. For an unpublished thesis, give the institution instead.
Include one when the thesis is openly available online. Database links that need a login are usually left out in APA.
Use "M.S. thesis" followed by the department, university, city, country and year, with the title in quotation marks.
Yes. In APA, use [Unpublished doctoral dissertation] or [Unpublished master's thesis] and name the institution.
Prefer the peer-reviewed article for the main findings. Cite the thesis for detail that only appears there.