Skip to Main Content
Ask A Librarian

Chicago Citation Style Guide

A quick guide to Chicago-style citations

Theses & 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Titles of unpublished works appear in "quotation marks"—not in italics.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.

Citing a Published Thesis

Note-Bibliography

Note:

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

Example:

      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."

Example:

Choi. “Contesting Imaginaires."

Bibliography Entry:

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

Example:

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)

Example:

(Mihwa 2008)

Reference Entry:

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

Example:

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

Citing an Unpublished Thesis

Note-Bibliography

Note:

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 First-name Last-name, "Title of Thesis: Subtitle," Unpublished thesis type, University.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

Example:

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).

Short Note:

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

Example:

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

Bibliography:

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 Unpublished thesis type.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

Example:

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.

Author-Date

Text Citation:

(Last-name Year)

Example:

(Hosking 2010)

Reference Entry:

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 Unpublished thesis type.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

Example:

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.

Citing a Thesis in Online Database or Repository

Note-Bibliography

Note:

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

Example:

      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.

Short Note:

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

Example:

21. Stewart, "An Investigation into Aspects."

Bibliography Entry:

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

Example:

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.

Author-Date

Text Citation:

(Last-name Year)

Example:

(Stewart 2005)

Reference Entry:

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

Example:

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.