It’s awarded to distinguished individuals who have achieved pre-eminence in their profession, or who have contributed significantly to the development of their country / society.

They are often given to those who have either made contributions to a certain field, or more commonly as a “thank you” to those who have made large donations to the institution. The conferment of honorary doctorates brings with it goodwill and contribute towards building up a network of research and other academic collaborations. Our honorary award holders are a source of inspiration to our graduates and provide positive role models for their future.

Honorary doctorates are conferred honoris causa, “for the sake of honour”. Honorary doctorates are awarded as:

• Doctor of Letters (D.Litt)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)
• Doctor of Literature (D.Litt)
• Doctor of Science (D.Sc)
• Doctor of Commerce (D.Com)
• Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L)
• Doctor of Laws (L.L.D)
• Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)
• Doctor of Humanities (D.Hum)
• Doctor of Divinity (D.D)
• Doctor of Music (D.Mus)
• Doctor of Theology (Th.D)
• Doctor of Architecture (D.Arch)
• Doctor of Social Science (D.S.Sc)
• Doctor of Education (D.Ed)
• Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D)
• Doctor of Arts (DA)
• Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A)
• Doctor of Physical Education (D.P.Ed)
• Doctor of Health Sciences (D.H.Sc)
• Doctor of Health Care (D.H.C)
• Doctor of Technology (D.Tech)
• Doctor of Liberal Arts (D.L.A)
• Doctor of Mathematics (D.Math)
• Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters (D.A.H)
• Doctor of Business (D.B)
• Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L)
• Doctor of Commercial Science (D.C.S)
• Emeritus Professors (Honoris Causa)
• Emeritus Associate Professors (Honoris Causa)
• Distinguished Chair Professor (Honoris Causa)
• Chair Professor (Honoris Causa)
• Distinguished Professor (Honoris Causa)
• Professor (Honoris Causa)
• Associate Professor (Honoris Causa)
• Assistant Professor (Honoris Causa)

Honorary Awards Policy Statement:

• Honorary Awards are awarded by the University for the purposes of: a. formally and publicly recognizing the exceptional or distinguished contribution of an individual to the University, the broader society or a field of academic endeavor; b. enhancing the standing and reputation of the University; and c. expanding or building on existing relationships.
• Honorary Awards are prestigious honours, intended to recognize substantial achievements or contributions by individuals.
• Honorary Awards are approved by Council following a rigorous selection process, using specified criteria and the application of due diligence processes (including risk assessment processes) designed to protect both the recipient and the University.
• To preserve their prestige, consistent with Values, an Honorary Award will only be made to persons of appropriate standing. There is therefore no expectation or requirement on Council o as appropriate to make an award in any category in any year.
• To protect the integrity of the awards and the reputation of the University, Council may, at its sole discretion, revoke an Honorary Award if in its view a recipient’s continued association with the University would bring the University into disrepute.
• Nominations must at all stages be treated confidentially. A nominee must not be advised of or consulted about their nomination at any stage

Principles & Criteria for Candidate Selection:

Statutory Authority:

The British National University of Queen Mary gives the power to grant honorary degrees, and assigns to the University Senate the role of providing for the granting of honorary degrees, and to Convocation the authority to confer honorary degrees approved by the Senate. The bylaws of Senate provide for an honorary degrees committee which has the task of encouraging and recommending nominees for honorary degrees, and submitting names to the Senate for consideration for honorary degrees. The bylaws provide that degrees honoris causa may be conferred at any Convocation provided that the names of such persons shall have been considered and approved by the honorary degrees committee, and shall have been recommended by the Senate.

Principles / Statement of Purpose:

An honorary degree is the highest honour the University can bestow. Acceptance of an honorary degree by a candidate brings honour to both the recipient and the University. Normally, one honorary doctorate is conferred at each Convocation ceremony. Honorary degrees are awarded to outstanding individuals who have made a worthy and unique contribution.

Criteria for Selection:

Through conferring honorary degrees the University recognizes individuals who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in research, scholarly and artistic works; performed exceptional public service; contributed greatly through their professional or philanthropic activity; and great athletic prowess.

The Honorary Degrees Committee will take the following considerations into account in selecting candidates:

• The level of excellence and eminence the candidate has demonstrated in scholarship, scientific inquiry or artistic endeavors, gaining high and sustained recognition nationally or internationally.
• The extraordinary nature of the candidate’s public service to humankind
• The candidate’s significant creative, material or financial contributions that have greatly benefited the University.
• The level of significant athletic prowess demonstrated by the candidate.
• A candidate whose presence at Convocation would be an inspiration to the graduating students.
• In determining those candidates to recommend, the committee will attempt over time to achieve a balance across academic or professional disciplines and types of contributions and a diversity of gender and cultural backgrounds.
• The committee may also take into consideration those who for reasons attributable to social prejudice or ignorance may have been passed over.

The following persons are not normally eligible for consideration for an honorary degree:

• current members of the Board or Senate
• current or recent members of the faculty or staff of the university & current students
• current holders of elected office at any level (municipal, provincial, federal and members of the Senate
• For clarification, elected officials are not normally eligible for the following reasons: (a) to protect the university from the perception of a conict of interest; and (b) to protect the university from the perception that it is getting involved in partisan politics;
• people who are elected officials in other countries may be considered if they do not have political influence over the university and if the university likely does not have inuence over their electorate
• people who are former holders of an elected office or former federal Senators are eligible for consideration; and people who have been awarded an honorary degree in the past are in no way restricted from running for elected offices in the future.
• religious leaders , unless they are being recognized largely for other contributions outside of their religious leadership.

Procedure for Nominations:

• Any member of the University community or the public may put forward a nomination. The nomination must be signed by at least three nominators, who may include letters of nomination and support. Nominators should declare on the nomination form the basis for their knowledge of the nominee’s achievements. Nominators should not be members of the nominee’s family.
• The nomination should be addressed to the senate honorary degrees committee.
• In any case where a member of the committee has a personal or close business connection to a nominee it should be disclosed to the committee. Such individuals are not required to recuse themselves from discussion, nor should they necessarily refrain from voting, but they may elect to do so depending on the nature of the conict.
• Individuals who are members of the honorary degrees committee may sign a nomination and may submit a letter of support, but having done so should declare a conict of interest when the nomination is considered by the committee, and refrain from voting on the nomination.

Decisions:

The honorary degrees committee will consider only complete nominations, and may

• Recommend the nominee for approval by Senate for one of the honorary degrees named in the bylaws;
• Invite the nominators or others to resubmit the nomination with more information, for future consideration; or reject the nomination
• The Senate will, at its next meeting, receive the names of those recommended for approval and will vote on each name separately at an in camera session. In unusual cases, such as a special convocation, the honorary degrees committee may make its recommendation to the executive committee for approval. The executive committee is empowered by senate’s bylaws to act on senate’s behalf to approve candidates for honorary degrees in special circumstances. Those approved for the awarding of a degree will be added to a reserve list of approved candidates maintained by the university registrar.

Publicizing the Nomination and the Award:

Nominators should not approach nominees to inform them that they are under consideration.

The University will not release the outcome of any individual nomination, except by making a public announcement of the honorary degree recipients for a particular convocation. The names approved by the senate will not be made public until this time. The Director will determine the timing of the public announcement in consultation with the Director, who will make the announcement.

Awarding:

Honorary degree recipients are invited to give the Convocation address but may decline the invitation to do so. Honorary degrees are not awarded in absentia. Honorary degrees are not awarded posthumously. An exception may be made in the case of the honour having been accepted and arrangements made for its awarding prior to the death of the nominee. The citation for the honorary degree should be no longer than three minutes in length. In accordance with council bylaws, “each recipient of an honorary degree shall be presented for admission [to the degree] by the Director or by a person designated for that purpose by the Director”

Revoking:

The bylaws of senate provide that “the senate may revoke an honorary degree and all the rights and privileges connected therewith.” The senate would consider revoking the degree on the recommendation of the honorary degrees committee, by means of a vote.