APA 7th ed. Style Guide

General Guidelines for Dissertations and Theses

References for doctoral dissertations and master's theses are divided by published and unpublished works. Unpublished works are generally retrieved directly from the institution in print form. Most theses are retrieved from databases (e.g., ProQuest Dissertations), university archive, or personal website. 

• Unpublished works include the university name in the source of the reference.
• Published dissertations and theses include the university name in square brackets after the title

Templates for an unpublished dissertation or thesis:

• Author, A. A. (2020). Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.
• Author, A. A. (2020). Title of thesis [Unpublished master's thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.
• Author, A. A. (2020). Title of thesis [Unpublished undergraduate thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.

Templates for a published dissertation or thesis:

• Author, A. A. (2020) Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database Name. URL.
• Author, A. A. (2020) Title of thesis [Master's thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Archive Name. URL.