How to Cite a Dissertation in APA
To cite a dissertation in APA, start with the last name of the author followed by a comma and their first and middle initials, for example “Weber, C.E.” Next, add the year of publication in parentheses followed by a period. Then, note the full title of the dissertation in italics, capitalizing the title as you would a regular sentence. Finally, indicate where you accessed the dissertation, first putting “Doctoral dissertation” in parentheses, adding a period, and including “Retrieved from” before noting the place.
Provide the author of the dissertation. The first part of an APA citation lists the last name of the author, followed by a comma, and then the author's first and middle initials. While dissertations typically only have 1 author, if there's more than 1, you should list them in the order they appear on the title page. For example: "Weber, C.E." If the dissertation has more than 1 author, separate their names with commas. Use an ampersand before the last name. For example: "Crowe, B. D., Raven, C. W., & Moore, A. D." Your reference list will list all of the references you used in your research paper alphabetically by the last name of the author. Add the year of publication. After the author's name, the next part of an APA citation is the year the dissertation was published in parentheses. Place a period after the closing parenthesis. For example: "Weber, C.E. (2003)." Include the full title of the dissertation. Dissertation titles can be lengthy. In your list of references, you must include the entire title in italics. Duplicate the same punctuation the author used. Capitalize the title just as you would a regular sentence. This generally means that only the first word is capitalized. For example: "Weber, C.E. (2003). Making common cause?: western and middle eastern feminists in the international women's movement, 1911-1948 " Indicate where you accessed the dissertation. If the dissertation was done for a degree-granting institution in the United States or Canada, it typically is published on a commercial database like ProQuest. Alternatively, it may be published on the granting institution's repository site. For commercial databases, start by putting "Doctoral dissertation" in parentheses and add a period. Then include the sentence "Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses." Finish by adding the accession number in parentheses, which typically starts with the letters "AAT" and can be found in the ProQuest listing for the dissertation. Do not put a period after the accession number. For example: "Crowe, B. D. (2010). I ain't fattening frogs for snakes: An inquiry into the application of creativity research to teaching practice (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (Accession Order No. AAT 3411606)" If the place you retrieved the dissertation from is the granting institution's repository site, type the phrase "Doctoral dissertation" in parentheses with a period at the end. Next, write "Retrieved from:" and include the URL where you found the dissertation. For example: "Weber, C.E. (2003). Making common cause?: western and middle eastern feminists in the international women's movement, 1911-1948 (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1056139187 " Proofread the full citation. Once you've completed your citation, check to make sure you've formatted it correctly and that the information provided is accurate. If the citation takes more than one line, use the hanging indent style after the first line. Make sure the entry is single-spaced. Typically you will double space between entries. Give the name of the author. The first part of any APA citation is always the last name of the author followed by their first and middle initials. This remains the same regardless of whether the dissertation is unpublished. For example: "Simpson, H. B." Separate multiple authors with commas, using an ampersand before the last name. For example: "Simpson, H. B., Mann, J. K., & Hacker, F. P." Include unpublished dissertations in your overall reference list, organizing them alphabetically by the last name of the first author listed on the title page of the dissertation. Provide the year the dissertation was written. If a dissertation is unpublished, it stands to reason you won't have a year of publication. But you still need to answer the "when" question. Check the title page to find out the date the dissertation was written. With APA style, you only need the year, even if the dissertation is unpublished. For example: "Simpson, H. B. (1988)." Type the full title of the dissertation. Use sentence-style capitalization for the title of the dissertation. This generally means you're only going to capitalize the first word. The title of the dissertation should be in italics. After the title, include the phrase "Unpublished doctoral dissertation" in parentheses, then close that part of the citation with a period. For example: "Simpson, H. B. (1988). Manic-depressive behavior in early childhood (Unpublished doctoral dissertation)." Include the name of the institution and its location. Since the dissertation isn't published, you need different information to answer the "where" question. Dissertations are kept on file at universities, so you want the name of the school where the dissertation was submitted. If the school has more than one location, add a comma after the name of the school and type the correct location. For example, "University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill." Location isn't necessary if the school has only one location. For example, "Vanderbilt University." Check the complete citation. Once you've completed your citation, proofread the entry carefully to make sure the information is correct and you've used the proper formatting. A complete citation of an unpublished thesis might look like this: "Simpson, H. B. (1988). Manic-depressive behavior in early childhood (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign." Unlike published dissertations, you do include a period at the end of the citation, after the name and location of the school. Single-space the entire entry, with a double-space between entries. List the name of the author. In-text citations typically are provided in parentheses after the information from that reference that you've included in your paper. Start the in-text citation with the last name of the author. You don't need to include initials with in-text citations, unless necessary to distinguish between two authors with the same last name who published in the same year. If there is more than one author, separate their names with commas. Use an ampersand before the last name listed in parenthetical citations. For example: "(Winken, Blinken, & Nod, 1992)." Provide the year of publication. Follow the author's last name with a comma, and then type the year the dissertation was published. If the dissertation is unpublished, this will be the year the dissertation was written. For example: "(Simpson, 1988)." If you're citing more than 1 reference in the same parenthetical, separate the 2 with a semi-colon. For example: "(Simpson, 1988; Cleaver, 1992)." Include the page number. Put a comma after the year, then write "p." if the information appears on a single page or "pp." if it appears on multiple pages or a range of pages. Finish with the page number, then add a period after the closing parentheses. For instance: "(Simpson, 1988, p. 76)." Alternatively: "(Simpson, 1988, p. 76; Cleaver, 1992, pp. 103-119)." Integrate the author's name into your text if possible. Sometimes your writing flows better if you name the author of the work in your text directly in your sentence. When you do this, you don't need to follow up with a parenthetical citation. If you have the author's name in the text of the sentence, simply put the date of publication (or writing) in parentheses after the author's name. If there is more than 1 author, use the word "and" rather than an ampersand if their names appear in the text. For example: "According to Simpson (1988), dogs don't dream. However, the work of Winken, Blinken, and Nod (1992) provides evidence that they do." 
Provide the author of the dissertation. Add the year of publication. Include the full title of the dissertation. Indicate where you accessed the dissertation. Proofread the full citation. Give the name of the author. Provide the year the dissertation was written. Type the full title of the dissertation. Include the name of the institution and its location. Check the complete citation. List the name of the author. Provide the year of publication. Include the page number. Integrate the author's name into your text if possible. 