How to Cite a Dissertation or DNP Project

What Information Do You Need?

The title page of the document gives you almost everything. The rest comes from the place where you found it.

• Author: the student who wrote the work.
• Year: the year the degree was awarded or the work was submitted.
• Title: exactly as printed on the title page.
• Type of work: doctoral dissertation, master's thesis, DNP scholarly project, capstone and so on. Use the wording on the title page.
• Degree-granting institution: the university, not the database that hosts it.
• Where you found it: ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, a university repository, or a bound copy in a library.
• URL: only if the document is open access and the address is stable.

Published or Unpublished?

In citation terms, a dissertation or thesis is published when a reader can get it from a database such as ProQuest or from an open repository, and unpublished when it exists only as a copy held by the university or in a library. This matters most in APA, where the bracketed description and the ending of the reference change. It matters less in other styles, but you still need to say where a reader can find the work.

A DNP scholarly project or capstone is treated in the same way as a dissertation or thesis. None of the styles has a special pattern for it, so use the closest dissertation pattern and describe the work honestly, using the words on its title page. If you are unsure, ask your instructor or program handbook.

APA 7th Edition: Dissertations and Theses

For a ProQuest dissertation, name the database at the end but do not add its login-only address. For a repository, name the repository and give the direct address. Do not add "Retrieved from" or an access date, because a dissertation does not change.

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AMA 11th Edition: Dissertations and Theses

AMA gives the author, the title, a label such as "Dissertation" or "Thesis", the university and the year. Add an access date and the address when you read the work online.

Vancouver: Dissertations and Theses

Vancouver (NLM style) puts the type of work in square brackets after the title, then the place and the university. The place of publication is in square brackets when it does not appear on the work itself. Programs differ on details, so match your handbook where it gives an example.

Harvard: Dissertations and Theses

Harvard versions all include a description of the degree level. This is the common pattern, but your school's guide has the final say.

MLA 9th and Chicago Author-Date

Should You Cite a Dissertation at All?

Dissertations and DNP projects are useful for finding literature reviews, instruments and study designs, and they can be the best evidence on a narrow topic. But they have not been through journal peer review. Before you rely on one, search for a journal article by the same author that reports the same study, and cite the article if you find it. Check your assignment as well: some instructors limit the number of theses or unpublished works.

It is also common to read other students' DNP projects for ideas about structure. Using someone's work as a model is fine. Using their findings, wording or reference list without credit is not, so follow your institution's academic-integrity policy and cite what you draw on. See how to avoid plagiarism, and the capstone project guide and the dissertation guide if you are writing one yourself.

Quick Comparison

Element	APA 7th	AMA 11th	Vancouver	Harvard
Type of work	In brackets after the title	Word after the title (Dissertation)	In brackets after the title	After the title (PhD thesis)
Title	Italic, sentence case	Italic, title case	Plain, sentence case	Italic, sentence case
Database named?	Yes, for ProQuest	No	No	Not usually
Access date	No	Yes, if online	Yes, if online [cited]	Yes, if online
In text	(Author, Year)	Superscript number	Number in order of citation	(Author, Year)

Common Mistakes

• Citing ProQuest as the publisher instead of the university that awarded the degree.
• Leaving out the type of work, so the reader cannot tell a thesis from a book.
• Calling a DNP project a "dissertation" when its title page says otherwise.
• Adding a login-only database address that readers cannot open.
• Treating the findings of an unpublished project as established evidence.
• Using a project as a template and reproducing its wording without citing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need the ProQuest number?

APA 7th, AMA and Vancouver do not require it, though some programs ask for it. If your handbook does, add it as instructed.

How do I cite my own DNP project?

If it is part of your coursework and unpublished, you can usually cite it as an unpublished work with the university. Ask your instructor first, because some programs prefer that you simply describe it rather than cite it.

What if the repository record lists a different year than the title page?

Use the year on the title page or the degree award date, whichever your style guide prefers, and stay consistent across your reference list.

Which style should I use?

Whichever your program requires. Most nursing programs in the United States use APA, while AMA and Vancouver are common in medical and health science courses. See the full guides for APA 7th, AMA, Vancouver and Harvard.