citation for master's thesis

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How to cite a master's thesis in APA

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To cite a master's thesis in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
• Title of the master's thesis: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
• URL: Give the full URL where the document can be retrieved from.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a master's thesis in APA style 6th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the master's thesis (Master's thesis). Retrieved from URL

If the thesis is available from a database, archive or any online platform use the following template:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Title of the Master's thesis: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
• Publication number: Give the identification number of the thesis, if available.
• Name of the degree awarding institution: Give the name of the institution.
• Name of Platform: Give the name of the database, archive or any platform that holds the thesis.
• URL: If the thesis was found on a database, omit this element.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a master's thesis in APA style 7th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the Master's thesis ( Publication number ) [Master's thesis, Name of the degree awarding institution ]. Name of Platform . URL

If the thesis has not been published or is available from a database use the following template:

• Location: Give the location of the institution. If outside the United States also include the country name.

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the master's thesis (Unpublished master's thesis). Name of the degree awarding institution , Location .

If the thesis is not published, use the following template:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the master's thesis [Unpublished master's thesis]. Name of the degree awarding institution .

APA reference list examples

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a master's thesis citation in action:

A master's thesis found in an online platform

Bauger, L . ( 2011 ). Personality, passion, self-esteem and psychological well-being among junior elite athletes in Norway ( Master's Thesis ). Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/29a9/ef96c34e577211246b83b11813a2585033c5.pdf

Bauger, L . ( 2011 ). Personality, passion, self-esteem and psychological well-being among junior elite athletes in Norway [ Master's Thesis , University of Tromsø ]. Semantic Scholar . https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/29a9/ef96c34e577211246b83b11813a2585033c5.pdf

An unpublished master's thesis

Aube, K. E . ( 2019 ). A comparison of water main failure prediction models in San Luis Obispo, CA ( Unpublished master's thesis ). Cal Poly , San Luis Obispo, CA .

Aube, K. E . ( 2019 ). A comparison of water main failure prediction models in San Luis Obispo, CA [ Unpublished master's thesis ]. Cal Poly .

This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ( 6 th edition).

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APA Style 6th Edition: Citing Your Sources

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Standard Format

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Dissertation or thesis available from a database service:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of publication).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Retrieved from Name of database.  (Accession or Order No.)

For an unpublished dissertation or thesis:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of creation).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Name of Institution, Location.

See Ch 7 pp. 207-208 APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title
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Citation Help for APA, 7th Edition: Master's Thesis, Dissertation, or Capstone Project

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Introduction

When creating references for dissertations, theses, and projects, you will need to determine the correct reference type to follow. Dissertations, theses, and projects are generally divided into two separate groups; those that are published and those that are unpublished.

In most cases, unpublished projects are those that are in print and available only from the degree-granting institution. On the other hand, published projects are those that are available in a database, a university archive, or a personal website. 

Variations - URLs?

Some URLs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter URLs. Shortened URLs can be created using any URL shortener service; however, if you choose to shorten the URL, you must double-check that the URL is functioning and brings the reader to the correct website. 

Common URL Shortner websites include:

More Information

For more information about URLs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE:  Check your instructor's preference about using short URLs. Some instructors may want the full URL. 

Variations - DOIs?

Some DOIs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter DOI numbers. Shortened DOIs can be located at the International DOI Foundations, shortDOI Service . 

More Information:

For more information about DOIs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference for using short DOIs. Some instructors may want the full DOI. 

Variations - Live Hyperlinks?

Should my urls be live.

It depends. When adding URLs to a paper or other work, first, be sure to include the full hyperlink. This includes the http:// or the https://. Additionally, consider where and how the paper or work will be published or read. If the work will only be read in print or as a Word doc or Google Doc, then the URLs should not be live (i.e., they are not blue or underlined). However, if the work will be published or read online, then APA advises to include live URLs. This would allow the reader to click on a link and go to the source.   

For more information, see Section 9.35 on pages 299-300 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference about using live URLs. Some instructors may not want you to use live URLs. 

Print Master's Thesis, Dissertation, or Project

When creating references for dissertations, theses, and projects, you will need to determine the correct reference type to follow. Dissertations, theses, and projects are generally divided into two separate groups; those that are published and those that are unpublished. In most cases, unpublished projects are those that are in print and available only from the degree-granting institution. 

Panasuk, K. N. (2008). What variables appear to work in stress management programs in the workplace and how effective are

these  programs  [Unpublished master’s final project]? The College of St. Scholastica.

Author: Panasuk, K. N.

Begin the reference with the author's last name first. then, add the initials for the first and middle names (if the middle name or middle initial is provided). add a period after each initial, and if there is a middle initial, add a space between the initials., year of publication: (2008)..

Next, in parentheses, list the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title verso page (back side of title page). Follow the parentheses with a period.   

Title & Subtitle of the Book: What variables appear to work in stress management programs in the workplace and how effective are these programs [Unpublished master's final project]?

Next, add the title and subtitle of the master's thesis, dissertation, final applied project, or capstone. The title and subtitle are separated by a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns.  Italicize the title and subtitle. Do not add a period immediately after the title. Instead, add brackets with the type of project (Master's project, doctoral dissertation, etc.) you are referencing. Before the type of project add "Unpublished". When choosing wording to describe the project, use the language the degree-granting institution uses to describe the project (e.g., Master's thesis, Doctoral dissertation, Final Applied Project, Capstone Project, Clinical Project, etc.). Add a period after the brackets. If the title has a question mark or exclamation mark, replace the period after the brackets with the proper punctuation mark used in the title.   

Source Information: The College of St. Scholastica.

Complete the reference with the source information, which is the full name of the college or university awarding the degree. add a period after the institution's name.  more information:.

For more information about master's theses, dissertations, or capstone projects, Section 10.6 on pages 333-334 in the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Parenthetical Citation Example:

 (Panasuk, 2008)

Narrative Citation Example:

Panasuk (2008) identified ...

For more information about author format within parenthetical and narrative citations, see Section 8.17 and Table 8.1 on page 266 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Master's Thesis Published in a Commercial Database (like ProQuest Dissertations & Theses)

When creating references for dissertations, theses, and projects, you will need to determine the correct reference type to follow. Dissertations, theses, and projects are generally divided into two separate groups; those that are published and those that are unpublished. In most cases, published projects are those that are available in a database, a university archive, or a personal website. 

Skallet, S. (2016). Environmental approval duration estimating model for improved linear energy construction project schedules  (Publication No.

10125148)  [Master's capstone project, The College of St. Scholastica]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. 

Author: Skallet, S.

Begin the reference with the author's last name first. then, add the initials for the author's first and middle names (if a middle name or middle initial is provided). add a period after each initial, and if there is a middle initial, add a space between the initials.     year of publication: (2016)..

Next, in parentheses, add the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title page verso (back side of title page). Follow the parentheses with a period.   

Title & Subtitle of the Book:  Environmental approval duration estimating model for improved linear energy construction project schedules  (Publication No. 10125148) [Master's capstone project, The College of St. Scholastica].

Next, add the title and subtitle (if there is a subtitle) of the capstone, final applied project, thesis, or dissertation. Separate the title and subtitle with a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns. Italicize the title. Do NOT add a period after the title.

After the title, in parentheses, add the publication number (normally found in the record of the project within ProQuest). Before the publication number put "Publication No." Do NOT add a period after the parentheses. 

After the publication number, add brackets with the type of project (Master's thesis, Master's capstone project, doctoral dissertation, etc.) you are referencing. Use the language described by the degree-granting institution to describe the project. Then, add a comma and the name of the institution. Add a period after the brackets.      

Source Information: ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. 

Complete the reference with the commercial database where you found the masters thesis/project. end with a period.    more information:  .

For more information on Master's Theses/Projects, see Section 10.6 on pages 333-334 in the APA Manual, 7th edition.

 (Skallet, 2016)

Skallet (2016) argued ...

Dissertation Published Online

Adame, A. (2019). Fully immersed, fully present: Examining the user experience through the multimodal presence scale and virtual reality gaming

variables [Master's thesis, California State University San Bernardino]. CSUSB ScholarWorks Electronic Theses, Projects, &

Dissertations.  https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/918/

Author: Adame, A. 

Begin the reference with the author's last name first. Then, add the initials of the author's first and middle names (if a middle name or middle initial is provided). Add a period after each initial, and if there is a middle initial, add a space between the initials. 

Year of Publication: (2019). 

Next, in parentheses, add the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title verso page (back side of the title page). Follow the parentheses with a period. 

Title & Subtitle of the Book: Fully immersed, fully present: Examining the user experience through the multimodal presence scale and virtual reality gaming variables [Master's thesis, California State University San Bernardino]. 

Next, add the title and subtitle (if there a subtitle present) of the thesis or project. Separate the title and subtitle with a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle as well as proper nouns. Italicize the title and subtitle. Do NOT add a period after the title. Instead, after the title, add brackets with the type of project (Master's thesis, doctoral dissertation, etc.) you are referencing. Use the language described by the degree-granting institution to describe the project. Then, add a comma and the name of the institution. Add a period after the brackets.   

Source Information: CSUSB ScholarWorks Electronic Theses, Projects, & Dissertations.  https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/918/

Complete the reference with the name of the website or archive where you found the project. After the name of the website or archive, add a period. Then, add the URL to the project. 

For more information about Master's Theses or Projects, see Section 10.6 on page 333 and example 66 on page 334 in the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

(Adame, 2019)

Adame (2019) distinguished between ...

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Thesis, dissertation or exegesis?

Theses and dissertations from online sources, theses and dissertations in hardcopy format.

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Terminology

Thesis and dissertation can mean different things, depending on which institution the work is from.  For study purposes and for your APA reference you need to know the level of the work.

• Always check the title page, or subsequent pages, to determine exactly what the work is
• Use the information there for your APA reference

At Auckland University of Technology (and other NZ universities)

Thesis is either for a doctoral or a master's degree.

Dissertation is 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 North America, a dissertation may be for a doctoral degree and a thesis for a master's degree.  

See Section 7.05  in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition .

Reference format for a thesis from a commercial database:

Reference format for a thesis from an institutional repository:

A Doctoral dissertation (USA) from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database

Reference list entry:

• Include the name of the database and the order number of the document
• Use this style for theses retrieved from a commercial database

Thesis from a NZ institutional repository :

• Include the full URL for the thesis/dissertation and the full name of the degree-granting institution/university
• Also include the location of the university, if outside the United States.

In-text citations guide  

Reference format for unpublished thesis/dissertation:

• Give the correct full name of the university, not its abbreviation or brand name.
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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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citing thesis

Theses and dissertations..

Titles of theses and dissertations are given in italics. References to theses should include the name of the university (or other institution) and year of completion of the thesis. If the thesis has been published, it should be treated as any other book reference (see  3.12.1 , References to Books, Complete Data).

General format for Thesis/Dissertation 

1. Maiti N.  Association Between Bullying Behaviors, Health Characteristics, and Injuries Among Adolescents in the United States.  Dissertation. Palo Alto University; 2010.

2. Ghanbari S.  Integration of the Arts in STEM: A Collective Case Study of Two Interdisciplinary University Programs . Dissertation. University of California; 2014. Accessed October 14, 2016.  http://escholarship.org/uc/item/9wp9x8sj

3. Neel ST.  A Cost-Minimization and Policy Analysis Comparing Immediate Sequential Cataract Surgery and Delayed Sequential Cataract Surgery From Payer, Patient, Physician, and Surgical Facility Perspectives in the United States.  Master’s thesis. London School of Economics and Political Science; 2013.

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Cite a Thesis

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper

Consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?
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MLA 9th Edition Style Guide: Dissertation/Thesis

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Dissertation/Thesis

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Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting . 2010. Northwestern U,

MA thesis.  ProQuest , search.proquest.com/docview/305212264?accountid=7432.

Dissertation

PhD dissertation.  ProQuest , search.proquest.com/docview/305212264?accountid=7432.

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Biblioteca General © 2024 - Universidad de Puerto Rico. Todos los derechos reservados.

How do I cite a dissertation in MLA style?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

A dissertation is a unique type of source. It is a finished, stand-alone work written under the auspices of an institution. In a change from the previous edition of the MLA Handbook ,    we do not distinguish between published and unpublished dissertations. To cite a dissertation, include in the entry the author, title, and date of publication as core elements. As an optional element, list the institution granting the degree and a description of the work.

Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting . 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation.

If you accessed the dissertation through an online repository, include this fact as the title of the second container:

Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting . 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation.  ProQuest , search.proquest.com/docview/305212264?accountid=7432.

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.

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The Manuscript Clearance Portal will automatically calculate a student's deadlines once the " Defense Announcement Form " is submitted. Students in the manuscript clearance process should be familiar with both types of deadlines:  Semester and 60-Day.

Summer 2024 Manuscript Clearance Semester Deadlines

Initial, pre-defense doctoral deadline, june 17, 2024.

Last day for doctoral students to submit doctoral dissertation or treatise for pre-defense format review. 

Initial, Pre-Defense Masters Deadline

June 24, 2024.

Last day for master’s students to submit master's thesis for pre-defense format review. 

Final, Post-Defense Deadline (All degrees)

July 8, 2024.

Last day for the post-defense, final content-approved manuscript (all degrees) and required Manuscript Clearance Portal forms to be submitted. 

Formatting Deadline

july 30, 2024

Last day for students (all degrees) to receive an email from Manuscript Clearance Office confirming final clearance. 

Manuscripts must be submitted by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) of the listed deadline date. Forms must be completed by the same time on the deadline date.

Explanation of Manuscript Clearance Deadlines

Initial, Pre-Defense Deadline

• The relevant pre-defense (initial) format review deadline is the date by which students must submit their manuscript to the Manuscript Clearance Advisor for a pre-defense (initial) formatting review. Manuscripts will not be reviewed and counted as an initial submission under the following conditions: 1) not submitted via the ProQuest ETD website; 2) poorly formatted based on The Graduate School's guidelines, or 3) otherwise appears incomplete (e.g., multiple sections omitted). While it is understood that content will likely change after the defense, it is expected that manuscripts submitted for the pre-defense (initial) format review are at least 90% complete and have been formatted in full accordance with the criteria in the most recent version of The Graduate School's formatting guidelines.

Final, Post-Defense Deadline

• The post-defense deadline indicates the date by which students must submit the post-defense, final content-approved version of their manuscript to ProQuest ETD and ensure completion/signatures of all required manuscript clearance forms in The Graduate School's Manuscript Clearance Portal by 11:59 p.m. ET (except "Official Final Clearance"). Although students cannot complete all forms in the Manuscript Clearance Portal directly, they are ultimately responsible for ensuring their committee has completed the needed approvals. 
• *If there are no content changes requested by the student's supervisory committee or made to the manuscript after the defense, a resubmission of the final, content-approved manuscript is still required in ProQuest ETD by this deadline. A pre-defense manuscript submission in ProQuest ETD is not sufficient in meeting this deadline. 
• Additional formatting revisions are often required after this date in order for final manuscript clearance to be completed, but content changes are prohibited .
•  The Formatting Deadline is the date by which any post-defense formatting revisions (only those required by the Manuscript Clearance Office) should be completed and "Official Final Manuscript Clearance" should be granted in the Manuscript Clearance Portal. 

Academic units may set their own deadlines in advance of these manuscript clearance deadlines. Students must adhere to their unit's deadlines in addition to those established by The Graduate School. Please consult with your Graduate Program Coordinator, if you are unsure of your academic unit's requirements.

In the absence of additional deadlines set by academic units, we strongly recommend students defend at least 1 week prior to the post-defense deadline . Missing a semester deadline will result in the student automatically becoming ineligible to graduate in the current term. While students may be allowed to defend until the semester's post-defense deadline, they should understand that ALL content changes must be completed AND approved in the Portal by their committee prior to the deadline. The finalized manuscript must be submitted to ProQuest ETD by the deadline as well.  Extensions will not be granted for students who defended late and were unable to complete any content changes in time.

60-Day Deadline  

No later than 60 days after a successful defense :

• Post-defense, final content-approved manuscript must be submitted.
• Required forms (through Final Content Approval) must be completed in the Portal.

No later than 1 week after the 60-day deadline :

• All requested formatting corrections must be complete. (Multiple reviews may be required.)
• Official Final Manuscript Clearance must be achieved in the Portal.

This deadline applies to students who :

• Defend early in their semester of expected graduation.
• Defend in a semester prior to their expected graduation.
• Missed a semester deadline after defending (resulting in delayed graduation).

University closures are not excluded from the 60 days, but deadlines may be adjusted (forward or backward) if they fall on a weekend or a day the university is closed. The deadline will be automatically adjusted in the Portal.

Future Manuscript Clearance Semester Deadlines

Summer 2024.

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Blame, Resent, Repeat

The Washington Post’s Disgrace

Watch: joe biden's senior moment of the week (vol. 94), do no harm under duress, the many notes of anthony burgess, a year to remember (even if we don’t want to), mit hired six new diversity deans. two of them are serial plagiarists, complaint alleges., in dissertation titled 'cite a sista,' tracie jones-barrett stole an entire passage on 'ethical considerations' from her classmate.

In June 2021, a year into the cultural aftershocks of George Floyd's death, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology set out to meet the moment, as so many other schools had, by hiring more diversity officers.

MIT welcomed six new deans of diversity, equity, and inclusion, one for each of the institute's main schools , as part of a "DEI Strategic Action Plan" launched the previous year. Aimed at boosting the representation of women and minorities, in part by developing DEI criteria for staff performance reviews, the plan pledged to "make equity central" to the university "while ensuring the highest standards of excellence."

But according to a 71-page complaint filed with the university on Saturday, at least two of the six DEI officials may not be living up to those standards. The complaint alleges that Tracie Jones-Barrett and Alana Anderson are serial plagiarists, copying entire pages of text without attribution and riding roughshod over MIT's academic integrity policies.

In her 2023 dissertation titled "Cite a Sista," which explored how black women in the Ivy League "make meaning of thriving," Jones-Barrett, MIT’s deputy "equity officer," lifts a whole section on "ethical considerations" from Emmitt Wyche III, her classmate in Northeastern University's Graduate School of Education, without any sort of citation.

The section is one of several long passages taken from Wyche's 2020 thesis , "Boyz in the Hoods: (Re) Defining the Narratives of Black Male Doctoral Degree Completers," which does not appear in Jones-Barrett's bibliography. Wyche and Jones-Barrett did not respond to requests for comment.

Anderson, who served as the diversity czar for MIT's computer science college until last year, when she left to become Boston Beer Company's inclusion and belonging program manager, likewise copied copious material from other scholars. Her 2017 dissertation , "#BLACKONCAMPUS: A Critical Examination of Racial and Gender Performances of Black College Women on Social Media," lifts over a page of material from Mark Chae, a professor of counseling at Pillar College, who is not cited anywhere in her dissertation.

"It would have been nice to at least get a citation!" Chae told the Washington Free Beacon in an email. "Anderson seems quite comfortable in taking credit for large portions of another writer's scholarly work."

Anderson, who held DEI posts at Boston University and Babson College before coming to MIT, lifts another long passage from Jarvis Givens, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, without an in-text citation. The omissions appear to violate MIT's plagiarism policy , which states that scholars must cite their sources any time they "use the words, ideas, or phrasing of another person."

MIT did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In total, the two diversity deans lifted about 10 full pages of material without attribution, according to the complaint, as well as dozens of shorter passages sprinkled throughout their theses.

Like former Harvard University president Claudine Gay, who resigned in January amid her own plagiarism scandal, Anderson even stole language from another scholar's acknowledgments, copying phrases and sentences used by Khalilah Shabazz, now a diversity official at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, to thank her dissertation advisers.

Anderson's acknowledgments contain several typos not seen in Shabbaz's, including missing words and commas and a lack of subject-verb agreement.

Givens and Shabbaz did not respond to requests for comment. Anderson, who received her Ph.D. from Boston College's school of education, did not respond to a request for comment. Boston Beer Company did not respond to a request for comment.

Saturday's complaint, which was submitted to Boston College and Northeastern University alongside MIT, is the latest in a string of plagiarism allegations against campus diversity officials. Since Gay's resignation, DEI officers at Harvard , Columbia , the University of Wisconsin-Madison , and the University of California, Los Angeles , have been accused of research misconduct. Some, such as Columbia medical school's Alade McKen and UCLA medical school's Natalie Perry , copied pages of material from various sources—including Wikipedia—while others passed off old studies as new work .

The accused administrators have not been publicly sanctioned by their universities, which have either declined to comment on the allegations or issued statements in support of the officials. The complaint against Anderson and Jones-Barrett may be harder for MIT to brush aside, however, given the school's high-profile efforts to distance itself from DEI in the post-October 7 era.

The institute said this month that it would no longer require diversity statements from candidates applying to faculty positions, making it the first elite university to jettison the practice. It also led the way in restoring SAT requirements after many colleges went test-optional in an effort to boost diversity.

The pushback has come largely from MIT faculty and been driven, in part, by a sense that DEI programs excuse and even encourage anti-Semitism. An April article in MIT's faculty newsletter noted that an event on "Jewish inclusion" had whitewashed the rhetoric of the school's pro-Palestinian protesters, who have occupied campus buildings, called for "Intifada revolution," and allegedly chanted "death to Zionists."

"Jewish students," a blurb for the DEI event read, "are encountering much of the same discomfort that other minorities face on campus and in the world, in that they don't feel heard or acknowledged."

The two dissertations at issue are strikingly derivative, cobbled together from classmates, online sources, and even a book's dust jacket, and at times read like replicas of their unattributed source material.

Jones-Barrett's summary of her dissertation, for example, is nearly identical to the summary Wyche provides of his own. Both papers use "semi-structured interviews" to "gather insights" from black graduates of Ph.D. programs about their "subjective experiences" of "meaning-making," or, as Wyche misspells it, "mean-making." The primary difference is that Wyche's study deals with black men, while Jones-Barrett's deals with black women.

"This study, the first of its kind[,] uses Black Feminist Thought as a framework to explore and investigate how Black women at Ivy League graduate schools of education make meaning of thriving," reads the first sentence of Jones-Barrett's dissertation, which is missing a comma. "There are limited studies that center the voices of Black women at Ivy League graduate schools and there are no studies that look specifically at Ivy League graduate schools of education."

Jones-Barrett, who has taught courses at Harvard Extension School and was initially hired as the assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion for MIT's humanities school, also poached a passage on "potential research bias" from Wyche—now a DEI consultant who describes himself on LinkedIn as a "status quo disrupter"—which asserts that "it is nearly impossible for the researcher to isolate their experiences from the investigative process."

He's not the only classmate Jones-Barrett appears to have plagiarized: On the first page of her dissertation, she lifts an entire paragraph from Scott Fitzsimmons, who earned his Ph.D. in education from Northeastern in 2021, without attribution, swapping out "rural EMS leaders" for "Black women in graduate programs." Fitzsimmons declined to comment.

Anderson, meanwhile, lifts several paragraphs from a 2016 ThinkProgress article about her alma mater, Boston College, from which some of her study's interview subjects were drawn. That plagiarism undercuts her effort to prevent the school, to which she refers with a pseudonym, from being identified—a possible violation of the study's consent form, which promised participants that no "identifying information" would be disclosed.

Boston College and Northeastern University did not to requests for comment.

Anderson—who runs her own consultancy that offers "scientifically-based" DEI programming—also borrows three sentences from the dust jacket of Ebony and Ivy , a 2013 book by MIT historian Craig Wilder, who is only cited in one of the sentences and whose words do not appear in quotation marks.

Like many of the authors plagiarized by Gay, Wilder defended Anderson's decision to copy his work, writing in an email that he didn't think a citation was necessary.

"I cannot imagine why anyone would cite a dust jacket, nor do I see the urgency of criminalizing the failure to do so," Wilder told the Free Beacon . "I'm honored," he added, when other scholars "find inspiration from my publications."

Published under: Anti-Racism , Anti-Semitism , claudine gay , DEI , Diversity , Equity , MIT , plagiarism , Professors , Universities , Woke Schools

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Quantum Physics

Title: master thesis: high-rate multipartite quantum secret sharing with continuous variables.

Abstract: Quantum cryptography has undergone substantial growth and development within the multi-disciplinary field of quantum information in recent years. The field is constantly advancing with new protocols being developed, security measures being improved, and the first practical applications of these technologies being deployed in optical fibers and free space optical beams. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of a cutting-edge metropolitan-scale protocol for continuous-variable quantum cryptography. The protocol allows an arbitrary number of users to send modulated coherent states to a relay, where a generalised Bell detection creates secure multipartite correlations. These correlations are then distilled into a shared secret key, providing a secure method for quantum secret-sharing. This novel approach to quantum cryptography has the potential to offer high-rate secure multipartite communication using readily available optical components, making it a promising advancement in the field.

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