How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in IEEE
Complete guide with examples for citing published and unpublished theses and dissertations in IEEE style.
Unpublished Thesis or Dissertation
Titles of theses and dissertations are placed in quotation marks. Include the degree type, abbreviated department, abbreviated university, location, and year.
Reference List Entry
[1] A. A. Author, “Title of thesis,” M.S. thesis/Ph.D. dissertation, Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City, State/Country, Year.
Example: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation
Citation
[1] S. Tremblay, “Social media use and adolescent identity formation in rural Quebec,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Sociol., McGill Univ., Montréal, QC, Canada, 2025.
In‑Text Citation
Tremblay [1] found that social media influences adolescent identity formation.
Published Dissertation (Online)
If the dissertation is available online, include the [Online] tag and the URL.
Example
[2] V. Hayot-Sasson, “Towards easy and efficient processing of ultra‑high resolution brain images,” M.Comp.Sc. thesis, Dept. Comput. Sci. & Software Eng., Concordia Univ., Montréal, QC, Canada, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/982970/
Thesis from an Institutional Repository
Example
[3] L. Nguyen, “Urban heat islands and equity: A case study of Vancouver neighbourhoods,” M.A. thesis, Sch. Community Regional Planning, Univ. British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0123456. [Accessed: Apr. 8, 2026].
Frequently Asked Questions
Should the title be italicized or in quotation marks?
In IEEE style, thesis and dissertation titles are placed in quotation marks, not italics.
Do I need to abbreviate the university and department names?
Yes. IEEE uses abbreviations for university and department names (e.g., “Univ.” for University, “Dept.” for Department).