Theses have no volume or page range. What matters instead is the degree type and the awarding institution, plus where you obtained the copy. The style-by-style examples are generated below.
Elements and where to find them
| Element | Where to look | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Title page, approval page | Use the romanization in the English abstract |
| Year | Title page (month and year of the degree) | May differ from the defense date on the approval page |
| Title | Title page | Korean theses carry an English title in the abstract |
| Degree | Title page | Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis |
| Institution | Title page | The university awarding the degree |
| Database or repository | Where you downloaded it (ProQuest, RISS, university repository) | APA names the database |
| URL | Stable record page | Not a session viewer link |
When the approval page shows the defense date and the title page shows the degree date (for example February 2024), cite the title-page year unless your institution's rules say otherwise.
Where the styles differ
| Item | APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 | IEEE | Vancouver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Italic | Italic | Quotes | Quotes | Plain |
| Degree | [Doctoral dissertation, University] | University plus "PhD dissertation" as an optional element | PhD diss., University, year | Ph.D. dissertation, Dept., Univ., City | [dissertation] |
| Database | Named | Optional | Optional | URL if online | URL if online |
APA treats theses as works of limited circulation, so it names the database, unlike most academic database content. For open repositories, give the repository and URL.
Common mistakes
- Omitting the degree type.
- Confusing the graduate school with the university. Most styles want the degree-granting university.
- Citing the thesis when you read the later journal article, or the reverse. Cite what you read.
- Using a temporary viewer link from RISS or another database.
- Translating a Korean title yourself instead of using the English title printed in the thesis.
Korean theses
RISS aggregates Korean theses with degree, university, department and year. Many universities run repositories such as dCollection, whose record URLs are the most stable links. The National Library of Korea and the National Assembly Library also hold theses. Korean journals differ on word order ("박사학위논문, OO대학교" vs "OO대학교 대학원 박사학위논문"), so check the Korean journal guide.
Writing your own thesis?
For margins, fonts, pagination and front matter, use the thesis formatting checklist and the thesis format guide.
Thesis vs. dissertation
In US usage a doctoral work is a dissertation and a master's work a thesis, and APA labels them "[Doctoral dissertation, …]" and "[Master's thesis, …]". In the UK and Australia a doctoral work is often called a thesis. Use whatever label your style prescribes.
APA also separates theses in a database or repository from unpublished theses held only in print at a library. An unpublished thesis has no database element; the university appears inside the bracketed degree description. Most Korean theses are online through RISS or a university repository, so cite where you obtained them.
Checklist
- The year is the degree year on the title page
- Master's vs doctoral is correct
- The university name is official, not abbreviated
- The database or repository and its stable URL are confirmed
- English title and name match the thesis
Related tools
Choose "Thesis" in the reference generator, build text citations with the in-text citation generator, and convert @phdthesis or @mastersthesis records with the BibTeX and RIS converter.
Side-by-side by style
These examples are generated by this site's formatting engine from fictional sample data (not real publications).
| Style | Reference | In-text |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7th | Lindqvist, S. (2022). Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe [Doctoral dissertation, University of Eastlake]. Eastlake Research Repository. https://repository.eastlake.example/12345 | (Lindqvist, 2022, p. 150) Lindqvist (2022, p. 150) |
| MLA 9th | Lindqvist, Sara. Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe. 2022. U of Eastlake, PhD dissertation. Eastlake Research Repository, repository.eastlake.example/12345. | (Lindqvist 150) Lindqvist … (150) |
| Chicago 18th (author-date) | Lindqvist, Sara. 2022. “Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe.” PhD diss., University of Eastlake. Eastlake Research Repository. https://repository.eastlake.example/12345. | (Lindqvist 2022, 150) Lindqvist (2022, 150) |
| Chicago 18th (notes-bibliography) | Lindqvist, Sara. “Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe.” PhD diss., University of Eastlake, 2022. Eastlake Research Repository. https://repository.eastlake.example/12345. | 1. Sara Lindqvist, “Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe” (PhD diss., University of Eastlake, 2022), 150, https://repository.eastlake.example/12345. 2. Lindqvist, “Coastal erosion and community,” 150. |
| IEEE | [1] S. Lindqvist, “Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Eastlake, Eastlake, UK, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://repository.eastlake.example/12345 | [1, p. 150] Lindqvist [1] |
| Vancouver (NLM/ICMJE) | 1. Lindqvist S. Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe [dissertation]. Eastlake, UK: University of Eastlake; 2022. Available from: https://repository.eastlake.example/12345 | (1, p. 150) 1 |
| Korean journals — social science | Lindqvist, S. (2022). Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe [Doctoral dissertation, University of Eastlake]. Eastlake Research Repository. https://repository.eastlake.example/12345 | (Lindqvist, 2022, p. 150) Lindqvist (2022, p. 150) |
| Korean journals — humanities | Sara Lindqvist, “Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Eastlake, 2022. | 1) Sara Lindqvist, “Coastal erosion and community adaptation in northern Europe,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Eastlake, 2022, p. 150. 2) Lindqvist, op. cit., p. 150. |