APA Title Page: Student & Professional Format (7th ed.)
The title page is the first thing a reader (and a grader) sees, and APA 7 is specific about what belongs on it. The seventh edition of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020) splits the page into two versions: a student version for coursework and a professional version for manuscripts submitted to journals. They share a core block but differ in a few elements. This guide builds both, element by element. For the rest of APA — in-text citations and the reference list — see the main APA citation guide.
The short version: center a bold title in the upper half of the page, then the author name and affiliation. Students add course, instructor, and due date below, with a page-number-only header. Professionals add an author note at the bottom and a running head up top. Double-space everything.
What goes on an APA title page
Both versions of the APA cover page place the same three elements, centered, in the upper half of the page: the paper title, the author’s name (the byline), and the author’s affiliation. Everything else depends on which version you are writing.
| Element | Student | Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Paper title (bold, title case) | Yes | Yes |
| Author name (byline) | Yes | Yes |
| Affiliation | Yes | Yes |
| Course number and name | Yes | No |
| Instructor name | Yes | No |
| Assignment due date | Yes | No |
| Author note | No | Yes |
| Running head in header | No | Yes |
| Page number in header | Yes (number only) | Yes |
The byline carries the author’s name without titles or degrees — no Dr., no PhD, no Mr./Ms. Write it as Margaret S. Chen, not Dr. Margaret Chen. The affiliation names where the work belongs: for students, the department and the institution (for example, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan); for professionals, the institution where the research was conducted.
Student title page
Use this version for class papers unless your instructor says otherwise. Working down the page, double-spaced throughout:
- Paper title — bold, centered, title case, positioned three or four lines down from the top margin.
- One blank, double-spaced line.
- Author name — your full name, no titles or degrees.
- Affiliation — department and institution.
- Course number and name — for example, PSY 201: Cognitive Psychology.
- Instructor name — as your instructor prefers to be addressed.
- Due date — written out as the month, day, and year (October 14, 2026).
A described layout, top to bottom:
| Line(s) | Content (centered) |
|---|---|
| Header (top right) | 1 |
| ~3–4 lines down | Working Memory and Reading Comprehension in Early Readers |
| (blank line) | |
| Byline | Margaret S. Chen |
| Affiliation | Department of Psychology, University of Michigan |
| Course | PSY 201: Cognitive Psychology |
| Instructor | Dr. Alan Goldstein |
| Due date | October 14, 2026 |
The header on a student paper holds only the page number, flush right, starting at 1 on the title page. There is no running head.
Professional title page
Use this version for journal submissions and most graduate manuscripts. The top block is the same — bold title, byline, affiliation — but the lower-page and header elements change.
- Running head in the header, flush left, all caps, 50 characters maximum; page number flush right on the same line.
- Paper title — bold, centered, title case, in the upper half.
- Author name(s) — byline.
- Affiliation(s) — where the work was conducted.
- Author note — in the lower half of the page.
The author note sits in the bottom half, introduced by a centered, bold heading reading Author Note. Its paragraphs (each indented like a normal paragraph) typically cover, in order: ORCID iDs, any change in affiliation, disclosures and acknowledgments, and a contact line (“Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to…”). Omit any paragraph that does not apply.
The running head, explained
The APA running head is an abbreviated version of your title that repeats in the page header. Three rules govern it:
- All capital letters.
WORKING MEMORY AND READING, not mixed case. - 50 characters maximum, counting letters, spaces, and punctuation. Trim the title until it fits while still making sense.
- No label. APA 7 removed the
Running head:prefix that APA 6 placed before it on the title page. The professional running head now shows only the text itself, flush left, with the page number flush right.
Student papers skip the running head completely. If you have ever seen Running head: on a student paper, that formatting predates the 2020 manual.
Spacing, fonts, and placement
A few page-wide rules apply to either version. The whole title page — like the rest of an APA paper — is double-spaced, with no extra blank lines beyond the single double-spaced gap between the title and the byline. Use 1-inch margins on all sides and an approved font (12-pt Times New Roman, 11-pt Calibri, 11-pt Arial, and 11-pt Georgia are all acceptable). Place the title in the upper half of the page, roughly three or four lines down from the top margin, so it reads as a heading rather than a label crammed against the edge.
Once the title page is set, the rest of APA follows the same logic — author–date in-text citations in the body and an alphabetized reference list at the end. For a fully worked sample paper, see the APA format example; to generate correctly formatted references for that list, use the generator.