Check the degree document
AMA Dissertation Citation and Thesis References
Use the repository record and PDF title page to identify the degree, university, and version you read before building your reference.
An AMA dissertation citation identifies the author, thesis title, degree document, awarding institution, and year. For a thesis found online, include the DOI or access date and stable URL your required pattern calls for. We checked university AMA 11th edition guides against a University of Manitoba repository record and its PDF title page. Here is how to turn those details into a reference.
Confirm the degree document and institution
Open the thesis title page and read the statement naming the degree and awarding university. The word thesis appears on documents submitted for different degrees. Use the degree statement to choose Master's thesis or Dissertation, and check the repository's document type when its terminology differs.
The student's name leads the reference. Supervisors and examining committee members have separate roles, even when the record lists them beside the author. Put the awarding university in the institution field. MSpace hosts our example; University of Manitoba awarded the degree.
An academic document keeps its source type when deposited online. For a downloaded journal article, retain the journal reference. For a degree document, use the thesis or dissertation pattern.
Read the repository record and title page together
Manoj Reddy Medapati's Extracellular S100A4 induces human thyroid cancer cell migration is available in MSpace. Its full record identifies a Master of Science degree. The PDF title page names the same degree and University of Manitoba, with a 2013 copyright year. These are the fields we checked.
The record displays August 28, 2013, and separately stores an accession timestamp. The title page gives the year 2013, which is sufficient for this reference. Your access date records when you consulted the source. Keep it separate from the degree year and repository dates.
| Field | MSpace repository record | PDF title page |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Medapati, Manoj Reddy | Manoj Reddy Medapati |
| Title | Extracellular S100A4 induces human thyroid cancer cell migration | Same title |
| Degree and document type | Master of Science (M.Sc.); master thesis | Thesis submitted for MASTER OF SCIENCE |
| Institution | University of Manitoba repository | University of Manitoba |
| Date | 2013-08-28 | Copyright 2013 |
| Location | Check the document | Winnipeg |
| Persistent identifier | Handle 1993/22120 | No repository URL on the title page |
Build an AMA thesis or dissertation reference
The USAHS Writing Center and University of Mary guides give a thesis pattern with the author, title, document type, institution, and year. For online access, USAHS includes an access date and URL; University of Mary also allows a DOI. The reference below follows the URL pattern. Italicize the standalone thesis title and convert the author's given names to initials.
Both guides place the document type in a separate sentence after the title. Other templates use square brackets. Follow your instructor's or target journal's required form consistently. The thesis examples in the two guides omit the institution's city, as do the examples here.
For an AMA doctoral dissertation citation, use the verified author and title, followed by Dissertation and the awarding institution. Confirm the degree before changing that label.
Online AMA dissertation citation template
Author AA. Dissertation Title. Dissertation. University; Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
For a master's thesis, substitute Master's thesis for Dissertation.
Real AMA thesis citation example
Medapati MR. Extracellular S100A4 Induces Human Thyroid Cancer Cell Migration. Master's thesis. University of Manitoba; 2013. Accessed October 9, 2026. https://hdl.handle.net/1993/22120
The access date reflects our source check. Use the date you consulted the record and document.
Keep the thesis separate from a later journal article
Medapati is also the first author of a related 2015 article about extracellular S100A4 and thyroid cancer cells. PubMed lists nine authors, the journal Thyroid, volume 25, issue 5, pages 514-527, and DOI 10.1089/thy.2014.0257. That record requires a journal citation with its own title and publication year.
Compare this journal record with the thesis reference above. The thesis has one author and an awarding institution; the article has several authors and journal details. Their shared first author and topic help you find related work. Compare the passages you use before treating the article as a substitute for the thesis.
Cite the source you read for the claim in your sentence. When you discuss both documents, keep separate reference entries and number them in order of first citation. A repository abstract gives you less material than the complete thesis, so check the PDF before citing details found only in its chapters.
Related journal article with its own reference
Medapati MR, Dahlmann M, Ghavami S, et al. RAGE mediates the pro-migratory response of extracellular S100A4 in human thyroid cancer cells. Thyroid. 2015;25(5):514-527. doi:10.1089/thy.2014.0257
The DOI identifies the 2015 journal article. Each document needs its own reference.
How to cite a thesis in AMA with the generator
In AMA Cite, select Thesis / Dissertation and enter the author manually. Copy the verified title, choose the document type, and add the institution, year, and repository URL. The form also requires Institution location. Our title-page check supplies Winnipeg.
The current output includes that location, puts the type in brackets, and adds a final period after the URL. Compare the draft with the pattern above and edit your copied reference. Remove the city when following these university examples, use their separate document-type sentence, and leave the URL free of trailing punctuation.
The thesis form has no dedicated DOI or access-date field. Add the access date manually for the URL pattern, or insert a verified thesis DOI when your required pattern calls for it. DOI lookup currently creates a Journal record, so enter a thesis through the manual thesis form. Keep the checked reference with your source notes.