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I'm using a PhD student as a reference for an application, and I wonder what title I should use for her. She hasn't yet got her PhD title but is still writing her thesis. Is there a name for that position?

PetaspeedBeaver
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The title would likely be "Mr." / "Mrs." / "Ms.". There is no prepended academic title that means "will likely have a doctorate at some point".

In other news, a PhD student is probably not a good reference in the first place. You should look for somebody who has been in the game a bit longer and provide a reference that more plausibly compares you against a wider range of previous students.

xLeitix
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I would use Mary Smith, Ph.D. Candidate

In my social sciences field (in the USA), Ph.D. Candidate is the accepted title once you defend your dissertation prospectus. Since the process is formal and sometimes arduous, we are very careful not to refer to a Ph.D. Candidate as a Ph.D. Student. Everyone distinguished between these two ranks in their email signatures and websites.

Also, the OP doesn't note the type of position that this person is being used as a reference for. IF it is an academic application, I would recommend a more senior reference. If you need a character or skills reference for some sort of non-academic position (where references are only checked as a formality by the HR department), this is less of a problem.

Dawn
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    Are you certain this is something that is common to your field and not just your field AND country? – Tobias Kildetoft Mar 26 '17 at 15:39
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    Could be. Will edit to reflect. – Dawn Mar 26 '17 at 16:08
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    @PeteL.Clark - In my applied math department, one had to present and defend the thesis proposal. Typically this was done when one was approximately halfway through the project, and the advisor was confident the topic was workable. (I don't remember exactly what this exam was called.) – aparente001 Mar 26 '17 at 17:56
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    I took an extremely cursory look for math (plain old) and saw that such an exam sometimes results in Admission to Candidacy, involving oral questions on the proposed area of research. – aparente001 Mar 26 '17 at 20:46
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Another alternative that sounds slightly more formal and hasn't been mentioned yet is doctoral student.

Federico Poloni
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You can put "ABD" after her name. From Wikipedia:

"All but dissertation" (ABD) is a mostly unofficial term identifying a stage in the process of obtaining a research doctorate in the United States and Canada.

You could also say

Marie Smith, PhD candidate.

aparente001
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    You can do that, but don't. – JeffE Mar 26 '17 at 03:45
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    @JeffE - Your comment would be infinitely more useful with some reasoning added. – aparente001 Mar 26 '17 at 03:52
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    You provided the reasoning right there in your answer: unofficial. An official reference for an official application requires use of correct official titles. – Ben Voigt Mar 26 '17 at 03:54
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    Asserting a title comes with both pretentiousness and respectability. The net effect can be positive for "PhD", but it's usually not for "ABD". – Nat Mar 26 '17 at 04:14
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    @aparente: See http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/28717/when-can-a-person-be-called-a-phd-abd for some opinions about "ABD." In my experience this is a kind of pseudo-title. For one thing, it is often used for people who used to be in a PhD program but dropped out, and there is something off-puttingly coy about this to many people.... – Pete L. Clark Mar 26 '17 at 07:18
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    ...It is also used in different ways in different academic fields. In parts of humanities and the social sciences, one can spend multiple years just writing the thesis, often in a remote location and without taking further coursework. In that case ABD really describes a different career stage. In my PhD program I (and most other students) passed all my exams in my first year, so I was "ABD" for 9 out of the 10 semesters and was resident and registered for courses the whole time. So using this title would sound pretentious and silly. – Pete L. Clark Mar 26 '17 at 07:22
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    Along with Federico Poloni, I see nothing wrong with "PhD student" -- in my experience that's the terminology that's actually used. The term "PhD candidate" is an officially correct (i.e., used by the university) one for a student with a certain advanced standing at most American institutions. However in practice I almost never hear it, so it sounds a bit pretentious. Certainly if the OP is applying for any academic position, people are not going to be impressed by the language "PhD candidate". (Indeed, as xleitix points out, by any name this may not be the best choice of recommender.) – Pete L. Clark Mar 26 '17 at 07:28
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    Note that, outside the USA, the phrase "ABD" is meaningless. And, frankly, it sounds ridiculous. Oh, this person has done "all but" the single largest thing that needs to be done. Is that sarcastic? – David Richerby Mar 26 '17 at 10:24
  • In my social sciences field, Ph.D. Candidate is the accepted title once you defend your dissertation prospectus. Since the process is formal and sometimes arduous, we are very careful not to refer to a Ph.D. Candidate as a Ph.D. Student. Everyone distinguished between these two ranks in their email signatures and websites. – Dawn Mar 26 '17 at 15:26
  • @PeteL.Clark - The most pretentious use of "PhD Candidate" I've ever seen was in a signature in an email I received from an acquaintance a month after entering a PhD program. – aparente001 Mar 26 '17 at 17:58