chicago style cite thesis

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Theses & Dissertations

Citing a published thesis, citing an unpublished thesis, citing a thesis in online database or repository.

• CMS 14.224: Theses and dissertations

Titles of unpublished works appear in "quotation marks"—not in italics . This treatment extends to theses and dissertations, which are otherwise cited like books.

The kind of thesis, the academic institution, and the date follow the title. Like the publication data of a book, these are enclosed in parentheses in a note but not in a bibliography.

If the document was consulted online, include a URL or, for documents retrieved from a commercial database, give the name of the database and, in parentheses, any identification number supplied or recommended by the database.

For dissertations issued on microfilm, see 14.120 . For published abstracts of dissertations, see 14.197 .

Note-Bibliography

First-name Last-name, "Title of Thesis: Subtitle," (Publisher, Year).

      Mihwa Choi, “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty,” PhD diss., (University of Chicago, 2008).

Short Note:

Last-name, "Title of Thesis."

Choi. “Contesting Imaginaires ."

Bibliography Entry:

Last-name, First-name. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Year.

Choi, Mihwa. “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty.” PhD diss. University      of Chicago, 2008.

Author-Date

Text Citation:

(Last-name Year)

(Mihwa 2008)

Reference Entry:

Last-name, First-name. Year. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle."

Choi, Mihwa. 2008. “Contesting  Imaginaires  in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty.”  PhD diss.       University of Chicago.

Note -Bibliography

Note #. First-name Last-name, "Title of Thesis: Subtitle," Unpublished thesis type, University. Year.

Barry C. Hosking, "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes in Sheep with the Amino-acetonitrile Derivative, Monepantel with a Particular Focus on Australia and New Zealand," PhD diss., (Ghent University, 2010).

Note #. Last-name,"Title of Thesis."

Barry C. Hosking, "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes."

Bibliography:

Last-name, First-name. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Unpublished thesis type. University. Year.

Hosking, Barry C. "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes in Sheep with the Amino-acetonitrile Derivative, Monepantel with a Particular Focus on Australia and New Zealand." PhD diss., Ghent University, 2010.

(Hosking 2010)

Last-name, First-name.  Year.  "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Unpublished thesis type. University.

Hosking, Barry C.    2010.  "The Control of Gastro-intestinal Nematodes in Sheep with the Amino-acetonitrile Derivative, Monepantel with a Particular Focus on Australia and New Zealand." PhD diss., Ghent University.

Note #. First-name Last-name, "Title of Thesis: Subtitle," Database Name (Identifier if given), Year, Internet address.

      12. Meredith Stewart, "An Investigation into Aspects of the Replication of Jembrana Disease Virus, " Australasian Digital Theses Program (WMU2005.1222), 2005, http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051222.104106.

Note #. Last-name, "Title of Thesis."

21. Stewart, "An Investigation into Aspects."

Last-name, First-name. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle." Database Name (Identifier if given), Year. Internet address.

Stewart, Meredith. "An Investigation into Aspects of the Replication of Jembrana Disease Virus ." Australasian Digital Theses Program (WMU2005.1222),  2005. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051222.104106.

(Stewart 2005)

Last-name, First-name. Year. "Title of Thesis: Subtitle."  Database Name  (Identifier if given), Internet address.

Stewart, Meredith. 2005. "An Investigation into Aspects of the Replication of Jembrana Disease Virus ." Australasian Digital Theses Program  (WMU2005.1222),    http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20051222.104106.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Chicago Style / How to Cite a Thesis/Dissertation in Chicago/Turabian

How to Cite a Thesis/Dissertation in Chicago/Turabian

Academic theses and dissertations can be a good source of information when writing your own paper. They are usually accessed via a university’s database or a third party database, or found on the web. The main difference between a thesis and a dissertation is the degree type they are submitted for:

• Thesis—A document submitted to earn a degree, such as a master’s degree, at a university.
• Dissertation—A document submitted to earn an advanced degree, such as a doctorate, at a university.

This guide will show you how to create notes-bibliography style citations for theses and dissertations in a variety of formats using the 17th edition of the  Chicago Manual of Style.

Guide Overview

• Citing a thesis or dissertation from a database
• Citing a thesis or dissertation from the web
• Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation

Citing a Thesis or Dissertation from a Database

Citation structure.

1. First name Last name, “Title” (master’s thesis or PhD diss., University Name, year published), page number, Database (Identification Number).

Bibliography:

Last name, First name. “Title.” Master’s thesis or PhD diss., University Name, year published. Database (Identification Number).

Citation Example

1. Kimberly Knight,  “Media Epidemics: Viral Structures in Literature and New Media” (PhD diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2011), 17, MLA International Bibliography (2013420395).

Knight, Kimberly.  “Media Epidemics: Viral Structures in Literature and New Media.” PhD diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2011. MLA International Bibliography (2013420395).

Citing a Thesis or Dissertation from the Web

1. First name Last name, “Title” (master’s thesis or PhD diss., University Name, year published), page number, URL.

Last name, First name. “Title.” Master’s thesis or PhD diss., University Name, year published. URL.

1. Peggy Lynn Wilson, “Pedagogical Practices in the Teaching of English Language in Secondary Public Schools in Parker County” (PhD diss., University of Maryland, College Park, 2011), 25, https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/11801/1/Wilson_umd_0117E_12354.pdf.

Wilson, Peggy Lynn. “Pedagogical Practices in the Teaching of English Language in Secondary Public Schools in Parker County.” PhD diss., University of Maryland, College Park, 2011. https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/11801/1/Wilson_umd_0117E_12354.pdf.

Citing an Unpublished Thesis or Dissertation

In rare cases, you may need to cite a thesis or dissertation that has not yet been published. This is particularly the case if you want to cite your own work or the work of a colleague.

1. First name Last name, “Title” (unpublished manuscript, Month Day, Year last modified), format.

Last name, First name. “Title.” Unpublished manuscript, last modified Month Day, Year. Format.

1. John Doe, “A Study of Generic Topic” (unpublished manuscript, June 19, 2021), Microsoft Word file.

Doe, John. “A Study of Generic Topic.” Unpublished manuscript, last modified June 19, 2021. Microsoft Word file.

Chicago Formatting Guide

Chicago Formatting

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Chicago 17th edition notes and bibliography

• Introduction
• Author, title, date
• Book chapter
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Citing theses

• Personal communication
• Newspaper or magazine articles
• Manuscripts
• Conference papers
• Legal materials

Titles of theses and dissertations appear in quotation marks otherwise they are cited like books.

The kind of thesis, the academic institution, and the date follow the title. Like the publication data of a book, these are enclosed in parentheses in a note but not in a bibliography.

If the document was consulted online, include a URL or, for documents retrieved from a commercial database, the name of the database and, in parentheses, any identification number supplied or recommended by the database.

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Chicago Citation Style, 17th Edition: Thesis or Dissertation

• Bibliography
• One Author or Editor
• Multiple Authors or Editors
• Author and Editor
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• Anonymous Work
• Chapter from an Edited Work
• Multivolume Work
• Edition Other than the First
• Dictionary or Encyclopedia
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Book Review
• Basic Webpage
• Blogs and Social Media
• Government Website
• Audio/Video Recording
• Online Multimedia
• Interview or Personal Communication
• Lecture or Presentation
• Primary Source Published in an Edited Collection
• Thesis or Dissertation
• Pamphlet or Brochure
• Sacred Text
• Indirect Source
• Government Document
• Paintings, Illustrations, Tables
• AI Generated Content
• Plagiarism This link opens in a new window

Thesis or Dissertation (14.215)

Example 1 – Print

N:           1. Lindsey Bingley, "From Overalls to Aprons? The Paid and Unpaid Labour of Southern Alberta Women, 1939-1959" (master's thesis, University of Lethbridge, 2006), 58.

B:     Bingley, Lindsey. "From Overalls to Aprons? The Paid and Unpaid Labour of Southern Alberta Women,              1939-1959." Master's thesis, University of Lethbridge, 2006.

Example 2 – Online (Commercial Database)

N:           1. Libra Rose Hilde, "Worth a Dozen Men: Women, Nursing, and Medical Care during the American Civil War" (PhD diss., Harvard University, 2003), 295, ProQuest ( 3091579).

B:     Hilde, Libra Rose. "Worth a Dozen Men: Women, Nursing, and Medical Care during the American              Civil War." PhD diss., Harvard University, 2003. ProQuest (3091579).

Example 3 – Online (Institutional Repository)

N:           1. Hiroshi Ishida, "A Geography of Contemporary Maori Agriculture." (PhD diss., University of Auckland, 1966), 110-16, https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/2489.

B:     Ishida, Hiroshi. "A Geography of Contemporary Maori Agriculture" PhD diss., University of Auckland,              1966. https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/2489.

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Home General Guidelines     Notes     Bibliography Books     One Author or Editor     Multiple Authors or Editors     Author and Editor     Author and Translator     Organization as Author     Anonymous Work     Chapter from an Edited Work     Multivolume Work     Edition Other than the First     Dictionary or Encyclopedia     E-Book Articles     Journal Article     Magazine Article     Newspaper Article     Book Review Websites     Basic Webpage     Blogs and Social Media     Government Website Audiovisual Media     Audio/Video Recording     Online Multimedia Other Sources     Interview or Personal Communication     Lecture or Presentation    Primary Source Published in an Edited Collection     Thesis or Dissertation     Pamphlet or Brochure     Sacred Text     Indirect Source     Government Document     Paintings, Illustrations, Tables Plagiarism

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Citation Help: Dissertations & Theses

• Getting Started
• Audio/Visual
• Business Reports and Gray Literature
• Dissertations & Theses
• Conference Sessions & Presentations
• Web Pages and Social Media
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• In-text Citation
• Audio / Video
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A quick note:

The following examples follow the Notes-Bibliography style. For Author-Date style, please consult The Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition.

Chicago AND Turabian Citation Examples: Dissertations & Theses

Chicago and Turabian use the exact same format for citing dissertations and theses.

Important Elements:

• Author 
• Title of Dissertation or Thesis
• Type of Document (Dissertation or Thesis)
• Name of Degree Granting Institution

Thesis or dissertation

1. Author First Last, "Title of Dissertation or Theis" (Doctoral diss. or Master's Thesis, Name of Institution, Year), pp.-pp.

1. Dana S. Levin, "Let's Talk about Sex . . . Education: Exploring Youth Perspectives, Implicit Messages, and Unexamined Implications of Sex Education in Schools" (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2010), 101-2.

Shortened note

2. Author Last, "Shortened Title," pp.

2. Levin, "Let's Talk about Sex," 98.

Bibliography Entry

Author Last, First. "Title of Dissertation or Thesis." Doctoral diss. or Master's Thesis, Name of Institution, Year.

Levin, Dana S. "Let's Talk about Sex . . . Education: Exploring Youth Perspectives, Implicit Messages, and Unexamined Implications of Sex Education in Schools." PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2010.

Examples courtesy of  The Turabian 8th edition .

Chicago/Turabian Examples by Source

•    Articles
•    Audio & Video
•    Books
•    Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
•    Dissertations & Theses
•    Websites, Including Social Media
•    Other Source Types

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Librarians are available to help you with your questions. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have regarding citation styles, citation management, etc.

Ask a question below or contact your subject specialist librarian for more help!

Useful Resources for Chicago/Turabian

Check out the  Chicago Manual of Style's Shop Talk website  for more great information about using the Chicago Manual of Style through the links below!

• Shop Talk for Students
• Formatting a paper in Chicago Style
• What's the difference between Chicago and Turabian?!?

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How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in Chicago Author–Date Referencing

• 2-minute read
• 17th May 2020

Want to reference someone else’s thesis or dissertation in your own work ? This can be useful if you are working on an unusual topic where little research has been published or when you know someone who wrote their final master’s or PhD piece on the same topic you are studying.

As with any source, though, you’ll need to cite it properly. Check out our guide to find out how this works in Chicago author–date referencing.

How to Format In-text Citations

In author–date Chicago referencing , you cite a thesis or dissertation by giving the author’s surname and the date of completion in brackets. For instance, we could cite a source by “Carter” from 2001 like this:

Citing your sources is very important (Carter 2001).

If you’re quoting a thesis or dissertation, meanwhile, you should include the page number in your citation:

Place quotes “within quote marks” (Carter 2001, 65).

You will then give the full source information in your reference list.

Reference List Entry for a Thesis or Dissertation

In the reference list at the end of your paper, the basic format for a thesis or dissertation is:

Author Surname, First Name. Year of completion. “Title.” Type of paper, academic institution, year of completion. URL/database ID (if applicable).

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For instance, the entry for a master’s dissertation would look like this:

Carter, Susan. 2001. “Citing Sources.” Master’s diss., University of Learning.

For an online version of a document, make sure to add the URL, too:

Johnson, Luke. 2012. “The Joy of Writing.” PhD diss., University of Learning. http://www.uol.ac.uk/archive/phd/johnson-10122017-final.pdf.

If you’ve only referred to an abstract rather than a full dissertation or thesis, meanwhile, you can simply add this detail after the title:

Carter, Susan. 2001. “Citing Sources.” Abstract. Master’s diss., University of Learning.

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Chicago Referencing Guide

• Notes - basic patterns
• Bibliography - basic patterns
• Chapters and other parts of a book
• Journal articles
• Magazine articles
• Newspaper articles
• Reference works

Thesis - general pattern

Thesis, dissertation or exegesis, type of thesis.

• Social media
• Graphic arts
• Live performances
• Exhibition catalogues
• Television and radio
• Advertisements
• Online videos
• Sound recordings
• Legal resources
• Lectures and paper presentations
• Personal communications, unpublished interviews and AI content
• Tables - Examples
• Figures - Examples

Bibliography:

Thesis and dissertation can mean different things, depending on which institution the work is from.

At Auckland University of Technology (and other NZ universities):

• Thesis is used either for a doctoral or a master's degree.
• Dissertation is used either for a master's or a bachelor's degree with honours.
• Exegesis is the written component of a practice-based thesis where the major output is a creative work;  e.g. a film, artwork, novel.

In some other parts of the world, such as the United States, a dissertation may be used for a doctoral degree and a thesis   used for a master's degree. You can use the same citation pattern, no matter what the type of thesis is called.

List the type of thesis as it appears on the title page, but abbreviate dissertation as diss .

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Go to Index

Author-Date: Sample Citations

Go to Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations

The following examples illustrate the author-date system. Each example of a reference list entry is accompanied by an example of a corresponding in-text citation. For more details and many more examples, see chapter 15 of The Chicago Manual of Style . For examples of the same citations using the notes and bibliography system, follow the Notes and Bibliography link above.

Reference list entries (in alphabetical order)

Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. 2015. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life . New York: Simon & Schuster.

Smith, Zadie. 2016. Swing Time . New York: Penguin Press.

In-text citations

(Grazer and Fishman 2015, 12)

(Smith 2016, 315–16)

For more examples, see 1 5 . 40 – 45 in The Chicago Manual of Style .

Chapter or other part of an edited book

In the reference list, include the page range for the chapter or part. In the text, cite specific pages.

Reference list entry

Thoreau, Henry David. 2016. “Walking.” In The Making of the American Essay , edited by John D’Agata, 167–95. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press.

In-text citation

(Thoreau 2016, 177–78)

In some cases, you may want to cite the collection as a whole instead.

D’Agata, John, ed. 2016. The Making of the American Essay . Minneapolis: Graywolf Press.

(D’Agata 2016, 177–78)

For more details, see 15.36 and 15.42 in The Chicago Manual of Style .

Translated book

Lahiri, Jhumpa. 2016.  In Other Words . Translated by Ann Goldstein. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

(Lahiri 2016, 146)

For books consulted online, include a URL or the name of the database in the reference list entry. For other types of e-books, name the format. If no fixed page numbers are available, cite a section title or a chapter or other number in the text, if any (or simply omit).

Austen, Jane. 2007. Pride and Prejudice . New York: Penguin Classics. Kindle.

Borel, Brooke. 2016. The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ProQuest Ebrary.

Kurland, Philip B., and Ralph Lerner, eds. 1987. The Founders’ Constitution . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/.

Melville, Herman. 1851. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale . New York: Harper & Brothers. http://mel.hofstra.edu/moby-dick-the-whale-proofs.html.

(Austen 2007, chap. 3)

(Borel 2016, 92)

(Kurland and Lerner 1987, chap. 10, doc. 19)

(Melville 1851, 627)

Journal article

In the reference list, include the page range for the whole article. In the text, cite specific page numbers. For articles consulted online, include a URL or the name of the database in the reference list entry. Many journal articles list a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). A DOI forms a permanent URL that begins https://doi.org/. This URL is preferable to the URL that appears in your browser’s address bar.

Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. 2017. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.

LaSalle, Peter. 2017. “Conundrum: A Story about Reading.” New England Review 38 (1): 95–109. Project MUSE.

Satterfield, Susan. 2016. “Livy and the Pax Deum .” Classical Philology 111, no. 2 (April): 165–76.

(Keng, Lin, and Orazem 2017, 9–10)

(LaSalle 2017, 95)

(Satterfield 2016, 170)

Journal articles often list many authors, especially in the sciences. If there are four or more authors, list up to ten in the reference list; in the text, list only the first, followed by et al . (“and others”). For more than ten authors (not shown here), list the first seven in the reference list, followed by et al.

Bay, Rachael A., Noah Rose, Rowan Barrett, Louis Bernatchez, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Jesse R. Lasky, Rachel B. Brem, Stephen R. Palumbi, and Peter Ralph. 2017. “Predicting Responses to Contemporary Environmental Change Using Evolutionary Response Architectures.” American Naturalist 189, no. 5 (May): 463–73. https://doi.org/10.1086/691233.

(Bay et al. 2017, 465)

For more examples, see 1 5 . 46–49 in The Chicago Manual of Style .

News or magazine article

Articles from newspapers or news sites, magazines, blogs, and the like are cited similarly. In the reference list, it can be helpful to repeat the year with sources that are cited also by month and day. Page numbers, if any, can be cited in the text but are omitted from a reference list entry. If you consulted the article online, include a URL or the name of the database.

Manjoo, Farhad. 2017. “Snap Makes a Bet on the Cultural Supremacy of the Camera.” New York Times , March 8, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/technology/snap-makes-a-bet-on-the-cultural-supremacy-of-the-camera.html.

Mead, Rebecca. 2017. “The Prophet of Dystopia.” New Yorker , April 17, 2017.

Pai, Tanya. 2017. “The Squishy, Sugary History of Peeps.” Vox , April 11, 2017. http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/11/15209084/peeps-easter.

Pegoraro, Rob. 2007. “Apple’s iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple.” Washington Post , July 5, 2007. LexisNexis Academic.

(Manjoo 2017)

(Mead 2017, 43)

(Pegoraro 2007)

Readers’ comments are cited in the text but omitted from a reference list.

(Eduardo B [Los Angeles], March 9, 2017, comment on Manjoo 2017)

For more examples, see 15 . 49 (newspapers and magazines) and 1 5 . 51 (blogs) in The Chicago Manual of Style .

Book review

Kakutani, Michiko. 2016. “Friendship Takes a Path That Diverges.” Review of Swing Time , by Zadie Smith. New York Times , November 7, 2016.

(Kakutani 2016)

Stamper, Kory. 2017. “From ‘F-Bomb’ to ‘Photobomb,’ How the Dictionary Keeps Up with English.” Interview by Terry Gross. Fresh Air , NPR, April 19, 2017. Audio, 35:25. http://www.npr.org/2017/04/19/524618639/from-f-bomb-to-photobomb-how-the-dictionary-keeps-up-with-english.

(Stamper 2017)

Thesis or dissertation

Rutz, Cynthia Lillian. 2013. “ King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues.” PhD diss., University of Chicago.

(Rutz 2013, 99–100)

Website content

It is often sufficient simply to describe web pages and other website content in the text (“As of May 1, 2017, Yale’s home page listed . . .”). If a more formal citation is needed, it may be styled like the examples below. For a source that does not list a date of publication or revision, use n.d. (for “no date”) in place of the year and include an access date.

Bouman, Katie. 2016. “How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole.” Filmed November 2016 at TEDxBeaconStreet, Brookline, MA. Video, 12:51. https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_bouman_what_does_a_black_hole_look_like.

Google. 2017. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified April 17, 2017. https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

Yale University. n.d. “About Yale: Yale Facts.” Accessed May 1, 2017. https://www.yale.edu/about-yale/yale-facts.

(Bouman 2016)

(Google 2017)

(Yale University, n.d.)

For more examples, see 1 5 . 50–52 in The Chicago Manual of Style . For multimedia, including live performances, see 1 5 . 57 .

Social media content

Citations of content shared through social media can usually be limited to the text (as in the first example below). If a more formal citation is needed, a reference list entry may be appropriate. In place of a title, quote up to the first 160 characters of the post. Comments are cited in reference to the original post.

Conan O’Brien’s tweet was characteristically deadpan: “In honor of Earth Day, I’m recycling my tweets” (@ConanOBrien, April 22, 2015).

Chicago Manual of Style. 2015. “Is the world ready for singular they? We thought so back in 1993.” Facebook, April 17, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoManual/posts/10152906193679151.

Souza, Pete (@petesouza). 2016. “President Obama bids farewell to President Xi of China at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit.” Instagram photo, April 1, 2016. https://www.instagram.com/p/BDrmfXTtNCt/.

(Chicago Manual of Style 2015)

(Souza 2016)

(Michele Truty, April 17, 2015, 1:09 p.m., comment on Chicago Manual of Style 2015)

Personal communication

Personal communications, including email and text messages and direct messages sent through social media, are usually cited in the text only; they are rarely included in a reference list.

(Sam Gomez, Facebook message to author, August 1, 2017)

Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite a master's thesis in Chicago

To cite a master's thesis in a reference entry in Chicago style 17th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give first the last name, then the name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For more than seven authors, list the first seven names followed by et al.
• Title of the thesis: Give the title in quotation marks.
• Degree: Type of degree.
• University: Give the name of the institution.
• Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a master's thesis in Chicago style 17th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . " Title of the thesis ." Degree , University , Year of publication .

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the Chicago style guidelines in action:

A psychology master's thesis with one author

Bauger, Lars . " Personality, Passion, Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being among Junior Elite Athletes in Norway ." Master's Thesis , University of Tromsø , 2011 .

A master's thesis with one author

Aube, Kyle Eric . " A Comparison of Water Main Failure Prediction Models in San Luis Obispo, CA ." Master's Thesis , Cal Poly , 2019 .

This citation style guide is based on the Chicago Manual of Style (17 th edition).

More useful guides

• Chicago Citation Quickguide
• How to Cite A Dissertation
• Citing and referencing: University theses and dissertations

More great BibGuru guides

• AMA: how to cite a magazine article
• APA: how to cite a newspaper article
• MLA: how to cite an undergraduate thesis

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

General Format

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Since The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is primarily intended as a style guide for published works rather than class papers, these guidelines will be supplemented with information from, Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (8th ed.), which is largely based on CMOS with some slight alterations.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all CMOS citation guidelines, see the Citation Style Chart.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS.

A Note on Citations

Unlike many citation styles, CMOS gives writers two different methods for documenting sources: the Author-Date System and the Notes-Bibliography (NB) System.  As its name suggests, Author-Date uses parenthetical citations in the text to reference the source's author's last name and the year of publication. Each parenthetical citation corresponds to an entry on a References page that concludes the document. In these regards, Author-Date is very similar to, for instance, APA style.

By contrast, NB uses numbered footnotes in the text to direct the reader to a shortened citation at the bottom of the page. This corresponds to a fuller citation on a Bibliography page that concludes the document. Though the general principles of citation are the same here, the citations themselves are formatted differently from the way they appear in Author-Date.

If you are using CMOS for school or work, don't forget to ensure that you're using your organization's preferred citation method. For examples of these two different styles in action, see our CMOS sample papers:

Author-Date Sample Paper

NB Sample Paper

General CMOS Guidelines

• Text should be consistently double-spaced, except for block quotations, notes, bibliography entries, table titles, and figure captions.
• A prose quotation of five or more lines, or more than 100 words, should be blocked.
• CMOS recommends blocking two or more lines of poetry.
• A blocked quotation does not get enclosed in quotation marks.
• A blocked quotation must always begin a new line.
• Blocked quotations should be indented with the word processor’s indention tool.
• Page numbers begin in the header of the first page of text with Arabic number 1.
• For CMOS and Turabian’s recommendations, see “Headings,” below.

Supplemental Turabian Style Guidelines

• Margins should be set at no less than 1”.
• Typeface should be something readable, such as Times New Roman or Courier.
• Font size should be no less than 10 pt. (preferably, 12 pt.).

Major Paper Sections

• The title should be centered a third of the way down the page.
• Your name, class information, and the date should follow several lines later.
• For subtitles, end the title line with a colon and place the subtitle on the line below the title.
• Double-space each line of the title page.

CMOS Title Page

• Different practices apply for theses and dissertations (see Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, ad Dissertations [8 th ed.].
• Titles mentioned in the text, notes, or bibliography are capitalized “headline-style,” meaning first words of titles and subtitles and any important words thereafter should be capitalized.
• Book and periodical titles (titles of larger works) should be italicized.
• Article and chapter titles (titles of shorter works) should be enclosed in double quotation marks.
• The titles of most poems should be enclosed in double quotation marks, but the titles of very long poems should be italicized.
• Titles of plays should be italicized.
• For example, use lowercase terms to describe periods, except in the case of proper nouns (e.g., “the colonial period,” vs. “the Victorian era”).
• A prose quotation of five or more lines should be “blocked.” The block quotation should match the surrounding text, and it takes no quotation marks. To offset the block quote from surrounding text, indent the entire quotation using the word processor’s indentation tool. It is also possible to offset the block quotation by using a different or smaller font than the surrounding text.
• Label the first page of your back matter, your comprehensive list of sources, “Bibliography” (for Notes and Bibliography style) or “References” (for Author-Date style).
• Leave two blank lines between “Bibliography” or “References” and your first entry.
• Leave one blank line between remaining entries.
• List entries in letter-by-letter alphabetical order according to the first word in each entry, be that the author's name or the title of the piece..
• For two to three authors, write out all names.
• For four to ten authors, write out all names in the bibliography but only the first author’s name plus “et al.” in notes and parenthetical citations.
• When a source has no identifiable author, cite it by its title, both on the references page and in shortened form (up to four keywords from that title) in parenthetical citations throughout the text.
• Write out publishers’ names in full.
• Do not use access dates unless publication dates are unavailable.
• If you cannot ascertain the publication date of a printed work, use the abbreviation “n.d.”
• Provide DOIs instead of URLs whenever possible.
• If no DOI is available, provide a URL.
• If you cannot name a specific page number when called for, you have other options: section (sec.), equation (eq.), volume (vol.), or note (n.).

CMOS Bibliography Page

• Note numbers should begin with “1” and follow consecutively throughout a given paper.
• Note numbers are superscripted.
• Note numbers should be placed at the end of the clause or sentence to which they refer and should be placed after all punctuation, except for the dash.
• Note numbers are full-sized, not raised, and followed by a period (superscripting note numbers in the notes themselves is also acceptable).
• In parenthetical citation, separate documentation from brief commentary with a semicolon.
• Do not repeat the hundreds digit in a page range if it does not change from the beginning to the end of the range.

For more information on footnotes, please see CMOS NB Sample Paper .

While  The Chicago Manual of Style does not include a prescribed system for formatting headings and subheads, it makes several recommendations.

• Maintain consistency and parallel structure in headings and subheads.
• Use headline-style for purposes of capitalization.
• Subheadings should begin on a new line.
• Subheadings can be distinguished by font-size.
• Ensure that each level of hierarchy is clear and consistent.
• Levels of subheads can be differentiated by type style, use of boldface or italics, and placement on the page, usually either centered or flush left.
• Use no more than three levels of hierarchy.
• Avoid ending subheadings with periods.

Turabian has an optional system of five heading levels.

Turabian Subheading Plan

Here is an example of the five-level heading system:

CMOS Headings

Tables and Figures

• Position tables and figures as soon as possible after they are first referenced. If necessary, present them after the paragraph in which they are described.
• For figures, include a caption, or short explanation of the figure or illustration, directly after the figure number.
• Cite a source as you would for parenthetical citation, and include full information in an entry on your Bibliography or References page.
• Acknowledge reproduced or adapted sources appropriately (i.e., photo by; data adapted from; map by...).
• If a table includes data not acquired by the author of the text, include an unnumbered footnote. Introduce the note by the word Source(s) followed by a colon, then include the full source information, and end the note with a period.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS

On the new OWL site, contributors’ names and the last edited date are no longer listed at the top of every page. This means that most citations will now begin with the title of the resource, rather than the contributors' names.

Footnote or Endnote (N):

Corresponding Bibliographical Entry (B):

“Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

“General Format.” The Purdue OWL. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/.

Author Date In-text Citation:

("General Format" 2017).

Author Date References Page Citation:

Year of Publication. “Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

2017. “General Format.” The Purdue OWL . https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02.

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Mindfullness & COVID-19

• General Format Rules
• General Rules – Bibliography
• Encyclopedia & Dictionary
• Government Publication
• Social media
• Dissertation/Thesis
• Online Video
• Audio/Podcast
• Lecture/Speech

Chicago Style Guide

Thesis/dissertation – chicago bibliography, general tips.

• Titles of unpublished works appear in quotation marks—not in italics. This treatment is applied to theses and dissertations.

Thesis/Dissertation Print

Last , First M . " Thesis/Dissertation Title ." PhD diss., [OR] Master's thesis , Academic institution , Year .

1. Mihwa Choi, "Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty," (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008).

2. Choi "Contesting Imaginaires".

Choi, Mihwa. "Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty." PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008.

Thesis/Dissertation Commercial Database

For items retrieved from a commercial database, add the name of the database and an accession number following the facts of publication. This dissertation cited below is shown as it would be cited if it were retrieved from ProQuest's database for dissertations and theses.

Last , First M . " Thesis/Dissertation Title ." PhD diss., [OR] Master's thesis , Academic institution , Year . Database name ( accession number ).

Choi, Mihwa. "Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty." PhD diss.,, University of Chicago, 2008. ProQuest (AAT 3300426).

Thesis/Dissertation Web

Last , First M . " Thesis/Dissertation Title ." PhD diss., [OR] Master's thesis , Academic institution , Year . http:// www.url.com

Johnson, Shakela Carion. "An Examination of the Social Characteristics and Beliefs of Delinquent and Non-Delinquent Youth." PhD thesis. Auburn University, 2007. http://search.proquest.com/docview/304897390?accountid=12528

1. Mihwa Choi, "Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty," (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008), ProQuest (AAT 3300426).

Choi, Mihwa. "Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty." PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008. ProQuest (AAT 3300426).