How to List a Course Title in APA

While the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association does not directly address citing a course title in research writing, follow APA guidelines for creating in-text citations for personal communication, since class meetings are comprised of personal communications between instructors and students. Do not cite any form of personal communication on the References page unless otherwise instructed by your professor or institution.

To cite a personal communication in text include the name of the instructor or speaker, the title of the course, the form of delivery -- such as lecture, slide presentation or discussion -- and the date, for example:

In a slide presentation to an Education and Society class meeting on September 4, 2012, C. Portman emphasized . . .

An example of a parenthetical in-text citation would read:

C. Portman (Education and Society slide presentation, September 4, 2012) explained how conflict theorists . . .

Alternatively, you could say:

Conflict theorists questioned the belief that . . . (C. Portman, Education and Society slide presentation, September 4, 2012).

In this example, C. Portman is the instructor. If a classmate or a guest speaker is the source of the personal communication, substitute the speaker's name for the instructor's name, and rename the form of delivery as needed.