mla format master's thesis

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How to cite a master's thesis in MLA

To cite a master's thesis in a reference entry in MLA style 9th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) name: Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
• Thesis title: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
• Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
• University: Give the name of the institution.
• Degree: Type of degree.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a master's thesis in MLA style 9th edition:

Author(s) name . Thesis title . Year of publication . University , Degree .

Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:

A psychology master's thesis with one author

Bauger, Lars . Personality, Passion, Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being among Junior Elite Athletes in Norway . 2011 . U of Tromsø , Master's Thesis .

A master's thesis with one author

Aube, Kyle Eric . A Comparison of Water Main Failure Prediction Models in San Luis Obispo, CA . 2019 . Cal Poly , Master's Thesis .

This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9 th edition).

More useful guides

• MLA 8th ed. Style Guide: Dissertations, Theses
• MLA, 8th Edition: Master's Thesis or Project
• How do I cite a dissertation in MLA style?

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in MLA

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in MLA

Citing a thesis or dissertation.

Thesis – A document submitted to earn a degree at a university.

Dissertation – A document submitted to earn an advanced degree, such as a doctorate, at a university.

The formatting for thesis and dissertation citations is largely the same. However, you should be sure to include the type of degree after the publication year as supplemental information. For instance, state if the source you are citing is an undergraduate thesis or a PhD dissertation.

MLA Thesis and Dissertation Citation Structure (print)

Last, First M.  Title of the Thesis/Dissertation. Year Published. Name of University, type of degree.

MLA Thesis and Dissertation Citation Structure (online)

Last, First M.  Title of the Thesis/Dissertation. Year Published. Name of University, type of degree.  Website Name , URL.

Wilson, Peggy Lynn. Pedagogical Practices in the Teaching of English Language in Secondary Public Schools in Parker County . 2011. University of Maryland, PhD dissertation.

In-text Citation Structure

(Author Last Name page #)

In-text Citation Example

(Wilson 14)

MLA Formatting Guide

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Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition)

Theses and dissertations.

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Theses and dissertations are written to fulfill an academic degree requirement, usually at the Masters or PhD level.

For the most part, you can treat them like books with supplemental elements. Here are some additional notes about citing these materials:

• Since dissertations and theses are often re-worked into articles and books, it is important to note when your source was written
• Typically, they only have one author
• The publisher is the degree-granting institution
• Do not include the program, department, school, division, or similar information
• WARNING : Automatic citation generators often treat online theses and dissertations as websites or journal articles, so their results will be missing key information.

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Item: Subtitle, if Any . Date of Publication .  University or College name, Degree conferred Thesis or Dissertation.

For in-text citations, use (Author's Last Name Page Number)

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Mla 8th ed. style guide: dissertations, theses.

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Essential Elements

Citations for dissertations/master's theses should include the following:

1. Name of Author 

2. Title of dissertation/thesis (italicized)

3. Date of Publication

5. Institution granting the degree (optional)

6. Description of the work (optional)

7. Database and URL if accessed through a database or repository

Sample Citation - Dissertations

Dissertations

The institution granting the degree and description of the work are optional. If you accessed the work online, include that information. 

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MLA Citation Style 9th Edition: Theses & Dissertations

• Core Elements
• Audio Materials
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• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Government Documents
• Images, Infographics, Maps, Charts, & Tables
• Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers (Oral Communication)
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Personal Communications (including emails and interviews)
• Religious Works
• Social Media
• Theses & Dissertations
• Websites (including documents/PDFs posted on websites)
• Works in Another Language / Translations
• No Author/Date/Etc.
• Sample Paper
• Annotated Bib.

Master's theses are research papers that are submitted by those pursuing Master's degrees. Dissertations are extensive research documents typically submitted by doctoral candidates including those pursuing a Ph.D. or other doctoral degrees.

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Citation Formats

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MLA 8 and 9

Journal article examples, articles from magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, and the web, book and anthology examples, dissertations and theses, social media and non-textual sources, additional resources, printable style sheet, mla handbook.

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The MLA Handbook,  8th edition, has abandoned the "print" v. "web" designations, and now uses a universal set of guidelines for all sources focusing on "containers" of information. The 9th edition of the handbook continues the same format and provides additional examples.

• A useful practice template for creating source citations is linked in the Additional Resources section below.
• For experienced users of MLA, check out the link to "What's New in the Ninth Edition" for a summary of changes.

Journal article with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier):

Kincaid, Jamaica. "In History."  Callaloo,  vol. 24, no. 2, Spring 2001, pp. 620-26. Project Muse , doi:10.1353/cal.2001.0097.

Parenthetical citation : (Kincaid 622)

Journal article from a database:

Capperdoni, Alessandra. "Why the Avant-Garde? The Function of the Letter in Canadian Avant-Garde Poetics."  Canadian Literature , no. 210/211, Autumn/Winter 2011, pp. 97-114.  Academic Search Complete , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=73785263&site=ehost-live

Parenthetical Citation : (Capperdoni 100)

Journal article in print (more than 2 authors):

Cooper, Stewart E., et al. "Professional Preparation and Continuing Education for Beginning, Entry, Midlevel, and Senior Consulting Psychologists." Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research , vol. 59, no. 1, 2007, pp. 1-16.

Parenthetical Citation : (Cooper et al. 14)

Journal article reprinted in a book series:

Bergmann, Harrier F. "‘A Piercing Virtue': Emily Dickinson in Margaret Drabble's The Waterfall ." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by,  Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 129, Gale, 2000, pp. 124-29. Originally published in  Modern Fiction Studies , vol. 36, no. 2, Summer 1990, pp. 181-93.

Parenthetical Citation : (Bergmann 183)

Journal article from an online repository or other open access site:

Shehan, Constance L., and Amanda B. Moras. “Deconstructing Laundry: Gendered Technologies and the Reluctant Redesign of Household Labor.” Michigan Family Review , vol. 11, no. 1, 2006, pp. 39-54. hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.4919087.0011.104.

Parenthetical Citation : (Shehan and Moras 50)

Print magazine article:

Kates, Robert W. “Population and Consumption: What We Know, What We Need to Know.” Environment , Apr. 2000, pp. 10-19.

Parenthetical Citation : (Kates 12)

Online magazine article:

Deresiewicz, William. “The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur.” The Atlantic , 28 Dec.2014, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/.

Parenthetical Citation : (Deresiewicz)

Print newspaper article:

Ruhe, Pierre. "Pouring it On: Heat Churns in a Vicious Cycle." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , main edition, 8 Aug. 2008, p. A1.

Parenthetical Citation : (Ruhe)

Online newspaper article (no author):

“The Scientists Speak.” New York Times , 20 Nov. 2007, nyti.ms/25n2Pf9.

Parenthetical Citation : ("The Scientists Speak")

Newspaper article from a library database:

Jeromack, Paul. “This Once, A David of the Art World Does Goliath a Favor.” New York Times,  late edition, 13 July 2002, p. B7. LexisNexis Academic , www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=468H-Y5C0-01CN-H2CR&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true.

Parenthetical Citation : (Jeromack)

Article in multi-volume encyclopedia:

Schroth, Gwen. "Scheduling." Encyclopedia of Education , edited by James W. Guthrie, 2nd ed., vol. 6, Macmillan Reference USA, 2003, pp. 2095-99.

Parenthetical Citation : (Schroth 2098)

Blog post or web article:

Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences between Digital and Print."  So Many Books , 25 Apr. 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-print/.

Parenthetical Citation : (Hollmichel)

Books in print:

Wieder, Alan. Teacher and Comrade: Richard Dudley and the Fight for Democracy in South Africa . State U of New York P, 2008.

Parenthetical Citation : (Wieder 10-11)

Eggins, Suzanne, and Diana Slade.  Analyzing Casual Conversation . Cassell, 1997.

Parenthetical Citation : (Eggins and Slade 32)

Quirk, Randolph, et al.  A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language . Longman,1985.

Parenthetical Citation : (Quirik et al. 11)

Ebook from a library database:

Coutinho, Steve. An Introduction to Daoist Philosophies . Columbia UP, 2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=658170&site=ehost-live.

Parenthetical Citation : (Coutinho 21)

Book chapter in an edited volume:

Bordo, Susan. “The Moral Content of Nabokov’s Lolita .” Aesthetic Subjects , edited by Pamela R. Matthews and David McWhirter, U of Minnesota P, 2003, pp. 125-52.

Parenthetical Citation : (Bordo 132)

Stand-alone work (e.g., a play) in an anthology:

Euripides. The Trojan Women .  Ten Plays , translated by Paul Roche, New American Library, 1998, pp. 457-512.

Parenthetical Citation : (Euripides 485)

Dissertation from ProQuest database:

Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting . 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, search.proquest.com/docview/305212264?accountid=13965.

Parenthetical Citation : (Njus 143)

Print master's thesis:

Remedios, Richard E. Defining My Process: My Journey Through the MFA Acting Program at the University of South Carolina . 2007. U of South Carolina, Master's thesis.

Parenthetical Citation : (Remedios 31-32)

X Post (formally "Tweet")

@USC. "GO GAMECOCKS." X , 13 Mar. 2022, 7:52 p.m., x.com/USC/status/1503157124217675780.

Parenthetical Citation : (@USC)

YouTube video:

"This is How Social Media is Destroying Your Life - The Fake Reality." YouTube , uploaded by MotivationGrid, 16 Jul. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Tq2gvGt80.

Parenthetical Citation : ("This is How Social Media is Destroying Your Life" 02:40-03:25)

Online image with URL and access date:

Van Gogh, Vincent. The Potato Eaters . 1885. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum , artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-potato-eaters-vincent-van-gogh/7gFcKarE9QeaXw. Accessed 20 Mar. 2022.

Parenthetical Citation : (Van Gogh)

Streaming film:

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till , directed by Keith Beauchamp, Shout Factory, 2005, Kanopy . sc.kanopy.com/video/untold-story-emmett-louis-till. Accessed 20 Mar. 2022.

Parenthetical Citation : ( The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till )

• MLA Practice Template
• What's New in the Ninth Edition - MLA
• Using MLA Format Comprehensive help from the MLA Style Center, including quick guides to works cited and in-text citations, help formatting your research paper, and "Ask the MLA" questions and answers about unusual situations.
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MLA Citation Style, 9th Edition

• In-Text References
• Works Cited
• One Author or Editor
• Multiple Authors or Editors
• Author and Editor
• Author and Translator
• Organization as Author
• Anonymous Work
• Chapter from an Edited Work
• Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword
• Multivolume Work
• Edition Other than the First
• Dictionary or Encyclopedia
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Book Review
• Basic Webpage
• Video Recording
• Sound Recording
• YouTube Video
• Interview or Personal Communication
• Lecture or Presentation
• Thesis or Dissertation
• Indirect Source
• Government Document
• AI Generated Content

Thesis or Dissertation - Examples

Example 1 – MA Thesis

In-Text:       

( Gaudette 47 )

Works Cited:

Example 2 – PhD Dissertation

( Thomson 145-51 )

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