How to cite a dissertation in MLA 9

MLA’s guidance for a dissertation comes from its Style Center, which notes that the Ninth Edition of the MLA Handbook is the current reference. Check the Handbook if your instructor needs the latest rules.

Works Cited format

Last, First. Title of the Dissertation. Year. University, PhD dissertation.

Mbeki, Lena R. Water Access and School Attendance in Rural Districts. 2021. Westbrook U, PhD dissertation.

• Author and title. The Style Center’s US example italicizes the title; its UK thesis example puts the title in quotation marks. Follow your instructor if unsure.
• Year. The year of the work.
• University and degree. After the year, the university that awarded the degree and the kind of degree. These two are optional elements, and they identify the work. MLA’s own example abbreviates “University” to “U” (Northwestern U, PhD dissertation); do the same. Use the degree label your title page gives, such as PhD dissertation. For a master’s thesis, follow the same pattern with the term on the title page, for example MA thesis. That is an extension of MLA’s PhD example, not a rule MLA states.

Read through a database

If you found it in a database such as ProQuest, add the database as a second container, in italics, then the address of the record:

Mbeki, Lena R. Water Access and School Attendance in Rural Districts. 2021. Westbrook U, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, example.org/docview/123456.

A UK doctoral thesis

In the UK the project is often called a thesis, not a dissertation. The MLA Style Center’s UK example puts the title in quotation marks and calls it a thesis: Oxford U, DPhil thesis. Check the title page for the word it uses.

In-text citation

Use the author’s last name, and a page if you cite one: (Mbeki 41).

Check before you submit

• Use the term on the title page, dissertation or thesis.
• A dissertation is often not in scholarly databases, so a reference to one may show as “Couldn’t verify” in PaperCitation. Your library’s catalog is the best place to check.
• For APA, see citing a dissertation in APA 7.