MLA- Modern Language Association
Citing Sources within Your Document
Dissertations and Theses
Format for a dissertation or thesis varies according to whether it is published or unpublished.
Select an example to view from the following menu:
1. Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis
Format:
Last Name of Author, First Name of Author. "Title of Dissertation or Thesis." Descriptive Label for Type of Document (Diss. or Thesis). Name of Degree Granting Institution, year written.
Example:
Hughey, Annie Catherine. "The Treatment of the Negro in South Carolina Fiction." Thesis. U of South Carolina, 1933.
2. Published Dissertation or Thesis
If a dissertation or thesis has been published by University Microfilms International (UMI) or by another publisher, you treat it like a book, but include relevant information about the dissertation or thesis before it was published.
Format:
Last Name of Author, First Name of Author. Title of Dissertation or Thesis. Descriptive Label for Type of Document (Diss. or Thesis). Degree-granting University, Date. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. UMI Order Number (if relevant).
Example:
Lavely, Marcia Marvin. A Study of American Literature which Incorporates the Use of the Gullah Dialect (Sea Islands). Diss. U. of Mississippi, 1991. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1998. 9216069.