How to Format a Dissertation Title Page in APA 7th Edition

Your title page is the first thing your committee sees. It is also one of the most frequently corrected pages in dissertation drafts, not because the rules are complicated, but because most templates and examples circulating online are outdated or incorrect. Here is what APA 7th edition actually requires.

The Required Elements

A dissertation title page in APA 7 includes the title of your dissertation, your name, your institutional affiliation, the department or program, the name of your supervisor or committee chair, the course or degree for which the dissertation is submitted, and the submission date. Some universities add or modify these requirements, so always verify against your institution's dissertation formatting guide as well.

Title Formatting

Your dissertation title appears in the upper half of the page, centered, in bold, and in title case. Title case capitalizes the first letter of most words, excluding short prepositions, articles, and conjunctions unless they begin the title. The title should be three or four lines at most. If your title is long, use a subtitle separated by a colon on the next line.

Your Name

Your name appears on the line immediately below the title, centered and in plain text without bold or italics. Use your full legal name as it appears in your institution's records.

Spacing and Placement

The title page uses the same double spacing as the rest of your document. There is no extra spacing between elements unless your institution's template specifies otherwise. The content is centered vertically on the page, meaning it sits in the middle of the page rather than starting at the top margin.

Page Numbering

The title page is page 1 of your dissertation but the page number does not appear on it. Page numbers begin appearing on the abstract page. Your word processor should be set to suppress the page number on the title page while continuing the count from 1.

What Often Goes Wrong

The most common title page errors are using the wrong capitalization for the title, adding bold or italics to elements that should be plain text, incorrect spacing between elements, and using an outdated template that does not reflect APA 7th edition requirements. If your program provided a template, verify it against the current APA 7 manual before relying on it. Many institutional templates have not been updated since APA 6.