APA Format Title Page (7th Edition)
Two versions: student and professional. Different elements, same fundamentals. Here's exactly what each requires, with worked examples.
Student vs professional — pick the right version first
APA 7 distinguishes two title-page formats:
- Student papers — coursework, dissertations, theses. No running head, no author note, but adds course info.
- Professional papers — manuscripts for journal submission. Includes a running head and a detailed author note.
If your syllabus or journal guidelines don't specify, use student format.
Student title page — line by line
1
[page #]
[3-4 double-spaced lines from the top]
Your Paper Title in Bold,
Centered, in Title Case Like This
Your Name
Department of Psychology, University Name
PSYC 101: Introduction to Psychology
Dr. Instructor Name
October 4, 2026- 1-inch margins on all sides
- Double-spaced throughout (no extra spaces between elements)
- 12pt Times New Roman (or Calibri 11, Arial 11)
- Page number top-right, starting at 1
- Title bold, centered, title case, upper third of the page
Professional title page — line by line
SHORT RUNNING HEAD 1
[page #]
[3-4 double-spaced lines from the top]
Your Paper Title in Bold,
Centered, in Title Case Like This
Your Name
Department of Psychology, University Name
Author Note
Author Name (ORCID iD: 0000-0000-0000-0000)
...
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Author Name, Department of Psychology, University Name,
Address. Email: author@university.edu- Running head: ALL CAPS, ≤ 50 characters, top-left of every page
- Page number: top-right of every page
- Title block: same as student version (bold, centered, upper third)
- Author note at the bottom: 4 paragraphs (ORCID, conflicts, funding, contact)
Common mistakes
- Italicizing the title. APA 7 says bold, not italic. Italic is for book titles inside the title.
- Adding extra blank lines. The whole paper is double-spaced — no extra line breaks between elements.
- "Running head:" prefix. APA 6 used "Running head: SHORT TITLE" — APA 7 dropped the prefix. The all-caps short title stands alone.
- Including the running head on a student paper. Only professional papers have a running head.
- Wrong page number. Title page is page 1, not page 0 or unnumbered.
Manually formatting a title page in Word means juggling headers, page numbers, spacing, and font — and it's easy to forget one. TypeTeX includes APA 7 student and professional templates with the title page already set up correctly.
Open the template, replace the placeholder text with your title, name, and course, and download a clean PDF or .docx. Free, no signup needed to try.
Get the APA template freeFrequently Asked Questions
Student paper: title (bold, centered, upper third), your name, university affiliation, course number and name, instructor, due date, and page number (top right). Professional paper: title, author byline, author note (with institutional affiliation, ORCID, contact info), and a running head (left-aligned all-caps short title, top left of every page). Both versions get a page number top-right.
Student papers (most undergrad/grad coursework) skip the running head and the author note, and add course/instructor/due-date below the affiliation. Professional papers (manuscripts for journals or conferences) include the running head and a detailed author note. APA 7 explicitly distinguishes the two — your professor's syllabus or the journal will tell you which to use.
APA 7 accepts: Times New Roman 12pt, Calibri 11pt, Arial 11pt, Lucida Sans Unicode 10pt, Georgia 11pt, or Computer Modern (LaTeX default). Stick to one font throughout the paper. Times New Roman 12pt is the safe default — it's the original APA standard and matches what most journals expect.
Yes. The entire APA paper is double-spaced, including the title page. There is no extra space before, after, or between elements on the title page beyond the standard double-spacing.
Only on professional papers. The running head is a shortened version of the title in ALL CAPS, no more than 50 characters including spaces. It goes in the top-left header on every page (including the title page), with the page number in the top-right. APA 7 dropped the 'Running head:' prefix that older versions used — the running head text now stands alone.
Top right corner of the page header. Page 1 is the title page. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 — not Roman). The page number appears on every page including the title page.
Centered, one double-spaced line below your name. Include the department and institution: 'Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley'. If you're a student, you may also include your degree program. If you have multiple authors with different affiliations, use superscript numbers to link names to affiliations.
Yes. APA 7 changed the title formatting — it should be bold, in title case (capitalize major words), centered, and positioned in the upper-third of the title page. Don't underline or italicize the title (unless it includes a book title or species name that requires italics).
A four-paragraph block at the bottom of the title page covering: (1) ORCID iDs of the authors, (2) any disclosure of conflicts of interest, (3) acknowledgment of funding or assistance, (4) corresponding author contact info. It's only required for professional/manuscript papers, not student papers.
APA does not officially distribute templates, but Microsoft Word includes a built-in 'APA Style Paper' template under New → Document Templates. It's not perfect — always verify against the latest APA Publication Manual. TypeTeX includes APA-formatted student and professional templates (LaTeX and Typst) that you can edit in your browser.