An Honorary Degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum) is an extra-ordinary academic degree awarded to an individual as a decoration, rather than as the result of matriculating and studying for several years. An honorary degree may be conferred by an institution that the recipient never attended. The degree itself may be a bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree – the latter being by far the most common. Usually the degree is conferred with great pomp and ceremony as a way of honoring a famous or distinguished visitor. Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Honoris causa (plural: Causae) is a Latin term meaning for the sake of honor, abbreviated as . ... This article is about academic degrees. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The matriculation ceremony at Oxford Matriculation refers to the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by acquiring the required prior qualifications. ... A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ...

Introduction

Honorary degrees are usually awarded at regular graduation ceremonies, at which the recipients are often invited to make a speech of acceptance before the assembled faculty and graduates – an event which often forms the highlight of the ceremony. Generally universities nominate several persons each year for honorary degrees; these nominees usually go through several committees before receiving approval. Those who are nominated are generally not told until a formal approval and invitation are made; often it is perceived that the system is shrouded in secrecy, and occasionally seen as political and controversial – in recent years a "lamentable" trend has been to award degrees to popular icons, such as politicians and actors, rather than to scientists and scholars. Academic procession during the University of Canterbury graduation ceremony. ... Look up Faculty on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Faculty has several different meanings and can refer to: University faculty are the instructors and/or researchers of high standing at universities, as opposed to the students or support staff. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... A committee comprises a mechanism of bureaucracy or of proto-bureaucracy whereby a limited number of people receive delegated functions of government or administration. ...

An ad eundem degree may also be considered a sort of honorary degree, although it is only conferred on an individual who has already achieved a comparable qualification at another university. An ad eundem degree is a courtesy degree awarded by one university or college to an alumnus of another. ...

The first honorary degree was awarded to Lionel Woodville in the late 1470s by the University of Oxford. He later became Bishop of Salisbury. Centuries: 14th century - 15th century - 16th century Decades: 1420s 1430s 1440s 1450s 1460s - 1470s - 1480s 1490s 1500s 1510s 1520s Years: 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 Events and Trends battle of Avenches 1476 Prominent Persons Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer Categories: 1470s ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Arms of the Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. ...

Practical use

Recipients of an honorary doctorate who do not also hold a bona fide doctorate often choose not to use the title of "doctor", though it may be appropriate to use the title provided it was conferred based on some tangible and relevant achievement. In many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, it is not customary for an honorary doctor to receive the formal title of "doctor", regardless of the background circumstances for the award. One notable exception is Benjamin Franklin, who, in 1757, received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University for his scientific accomplishments, and from then on went by "Doctor Franklin." Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Greuze 1777 For the former mayor of Nepean, see Ben Franklin (politician) Dr. Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was an American publisher, journalist, author, philanthropist, abolitionist, public servant, statesman, scientist, librarian, diplomat, poet, musician, philosopher, economist, and inventor. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

The recipient of an honorary degree may add the degree title postnominally, but it should always be made clear that the degree is honorary by adding "honorary" or "honoris causa" or "h.c." in parenthesis after the degree title. Post-nominal letters also called Post-nominal initials or Post-nominal titles are letters placed after the name of an individual to indicate that that individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. ... In rhetoric, a parenthesis (plural: parentheses; from the Greek word παρενθεσις) is (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) An explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage with which it has not necessarily any grammatical connexion, and from which it is usually marked off by round or square...

In recent years, some universities have adopted entirely separate postnominal titles for honorary degrees. This is in part due to the confusion that honorary degrees have caused. It is now common to use certain degrees, such as LL.D. or Hon.D., as purely honorary. For instance, an honorary doctor of the Auckland University of Technology takes the special title Hon.D. instead of the usual Ph.D. Some universities, including the Open University grant Doctorates of the University (D.Univ.) to selected nominees, while awarding Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees to those who have fulfilled the academic requirements. The Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is New Zealand’s newest university, formed on 1 January 2000 when the Auckland Institute of Technology was granted university status. ... The Open University (OU) is an open learning university which has students all over the UK and accepted its first students in 1971. ...

Customary degrees

Some universities also have the custom of awarding an honorary master's degree to every scholar it appoints as a full professor who had never earned a degree there, as a way of co-opting him as an alumnus. This is particularly true at the University of Cambridge, where all senior staff (whether academic faculty or not) are eligible for a special master's degree after five years of service. A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... An alumn (with a silent n), alum, alumnus, or alumna is a former student of a college, university, or school. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ...

Controversy

Some universities and colleges have been accused of granting honorary degrees in exchange for large donations. Honorary degree recipients, particularly those who have no academic qualifications, have sometimes been criticized if they insist on being called "Doctor" as a result of their award, as the honorific may mislead the general public about their qualifications. An honorific is a term used to convey esteem or respect. ...

The practice of awarding honorary degrees to celebrities has also been criticised. Detractors argue that such honorary degrees debase the value of a degree and are an attempt by the university to obtain media attention. Various honorary degree recipients have been criticised for not being meritorious. On various campuses, the awarding of an honorary degree to a controversial political figure has prompted protests from faculty or students. In 2001, the conferment of an honorary degree to George W. Bush by Yale University prompted a boycott of the university's commencement ceremony by numerous students and faculty. Celebrity is an abstract word stemming from the Latin celebritas, itself from the adjective celeber famous, celebrated. A celebrity is a person who is widely recognized in a society. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... Yale University is a private university in New Haven, Connecticut. ... See also Academic dress Categories: Education | Academia ...

Some universities, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [1], Cornell University [2], and the University of Virginia [3], do not award honorary degrees. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a research and educational institution located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is a widely renowned leader in science and technology, as well as in many other fields, including engineering systems, management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... Cornell University is a leading research university based in Ithaca, New York. ... Website Virginia. ...

See also

• Freedom of the City
• Homage

Freedom of the City is an award made by towns and cities, to esteemed members of its community; such people may then be termed Freemen or Freewomen of the City. ... For a description of the medieval homage ceremony see commendation ceremony Homage is generally used in modern English to mean any public show of respect to someone to whom you feel indebted. ...

External link

• Sunday Times article about inappropriate honorary degrees