Honorary Degrees. What's the point?

[Salerio]

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What's you guys take on the awarding of honorary degrees for non-academic achievements?

I can understand why a university would honour someone who was (say) continuing to push the boundaries of mathematics or science throughout their lives. These guys tend to have a real doctorate anyway, so to award an honorary doctorate is showing a university is appreciating their continued academic success.

What's the point is awarding an honorary doctorate to a sports man or financier who has done nothing in academia? I don't see what the university gets out of it and I don't see what the person gets out of it. All I can see is that it degrades the value and point of the honorary degree system. If it's about money (as in the sportsman etc gave a bunch to the institute) just name a chair after him and thank him publicly at a graduation ceremony, it means as much.

So, I'd like to know what others think about these things.

[Elvis Calypso]

I work at a UK University. The only real requirement for our honorary degrees is that the recipient has some connection with the county. Often this means that local dignitaries, politicians, business leaders etc. are given awards alongside the showier minor celebrities. For a smallish public sector university dependent in part on the support and goodwill of the local council and local businesses, the goodwill and glad-handing afforded by these ceremonies can be quite beneficial. The celebrity awards are really just about publicity for the University and recipient. There's also aspects of oneupmanship on local rivals, not only in 'getting' famous locals before others do, but it also makes the University look like a 'proper' institution. In essence, it's free (relatively) good publicity, makes everyone seem important, and can grease the wheels of local city public and private sector politics. Everyone's a winner. Pointless though.

[Roboramma]

It's a way for a university to transfer some of its prestige to someone who they think is doing something of value, and thus who should be rewarded. It's good for the individual who gets the honorary degree because he gets prestige, and anyone who finds out that he was given it will think something like, "Wow, university X is a well respected institution, he must really have done something of value for them to give him an honorary degree."

[Azimer the Mad]

It's education-based currency. A nice, nontangible paper-based bribe or tip for someone.

[drkitten]

What's you guys take on the awarding of honorary degrees for non-academic achievements?

Well, universities are businesses like any other. It takes money to keep the lights on and the building heated in winter. And it takes advertisement to keep students applying.


What's the point is awarding an honorary doctorate to a sports man or financier who has done nothing in academia? I don't see what the university gets out of it and I don't see what the person gets out of it.

Well, the university gets to associate itself with the person, and the person gets to associate herself with the university. That's about it.

Sometimes it is just about money; if the sportsman donated a billion pounds to the University of Redbrick, an honorary degree is a nice "thank-you." Sometimes it's about recognition; if the sportsman just won twenty-five gold medals at the Olympic Games, it's nice to remind people of the sportsman's connection to the university. And sometimes it's just out and out sucking up; we want a high-profile, in-demand commencement speaker, and the price of getting the speaker is an honorary degree (which, frankly, costs nothing).

[Number Six]

A university honoring someone is okay but giving them an honorary degree doesn't seem all that respectful of the people that have to actually earn the degree. I understand it's an entrenched custom and not going to change though.

I think I recall reading once that Richard Feynmann strongly disliked the idea of a university giving honorary doctoral degrees.

[drkitten]

A university honoring someone is okay but giving them an honorary degree doesn't seem all that respectful of the people that have to actually earn the degree.

This would be a much more meaningful criticism if people had the opportunity to earn the type of degree given away as an honorary degree.

But there's no such thing, for example, as an honorary Ph.D. or an honorary M.D. But a typical honorary degree is instantly recognizable as such; it's usually either a D. Litt., a D.H.L., or it's explicitly labelled as an "Hon." or "h.c." degree.

So I don't see any problem with the university paving the streets with D. Litt.'s; it doesn't water down my Ph.D. at all.

[Number Six]

I had no idea honorary degrees had different letter and I never even thought about it and I suspect most others are the same. People know it's not a real degree so it's not that they're being fooled that it is real. But in school they make you do X, Y and Z to get a degree and they take it seriously (usually at least) and all that stuff and then they decide to give out degrees to people who never even attended the university or even applied to attend it and it's usually just because the person is famous.

Think about it...someone is so little interested in University X that they haven't even applied to attend it and then one day University X calls them up and asks them if they want a degree....hmmm.

Well whatever, it doesn't really matter. I don't mind them honoring people but I just wish they'd give it a different name than what they give to people that actually work for it. Different letters on the degree isn't enough. It's hard to read what that script writing says anyway.

[commandlinegamer]

I've said this before but there are people who have made major contributions to their field of expertise, who have not perhaps formalised it through academic study.

Given that we hand out awards like chocolate buttons these days, I don't see why they shouldn't be recognised; it doesn't mean under- and post-graduates' work is any less meaningful ffsm's sake.

[Damien Evans]

I've said this before but there are people who have made major contributions to their field of expertise, who have not perhaps formalised it through academic study.

Given that we hand out awards like chocolate buttons these days, I don't see why they shouldn't be recognised; it doesn't mean under- and post-graduates' work is any less meaningful ffsm's sake.

Like, for example, Patrick Moore, who's an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. Not a degree true, but a similar sort of thing.

[drkitten]

I had no idea honorary degrees had different letter and I never even thought about it and I suspect most others are the same. People know it's not a real degree so it's not that they're being fooled that it is real. But in school they make you do X, Y and Z to get a degree and they take it seriously (usually at least) and all that stuff and then they decide to give out degrees to people who never even attended the university or even applied to attend it and it's usually just because the person is famous.

Think about it...someone is so little interested in University X that they haven't even applied to attend it and then one day University X calls them up and asks them if they want a degree....hmmm.

Well, that's not usually how it works. I've seen honorary degrees awarded for four reasons, and only one of them would even vaguely fit that description.

What I've seen:

Degrees as "thank yous" for direct service to the school. (I.e. to Mr. Parsons for funding the building of Parsons Hall.)
Degrees awarded to honor successful alumni (e.g. when Beauregard Claghorn, '71, is elected as Senator).
As a price for current service to school (e.g. that's the only way to get a desired commencement speaker).
To honor someone who benefits the community that the school is in. (E.g. Foobar University gives it to the long-term Mayor of Foobar).


... all of whom are affiliated with the school.

[Dave Rogers]

Well, yesterday Goldie got an honorary degree from Brunel University, and he doesn't fit any of those four.

Dave

[drkitten]

Well, yesterday Goldie got an honorary degree from Brunel University, and he doesn't fit any of those four.


I think he does, under the "service to community" heading -- where the "community" in this case is "west London."

Brunel is fairly explicit about this. From their bylaws:


14.2 In order to qualify for the award of the degree of doctor candidates shall need to have exhibited one or more of the following:

outstanding scholarly achievement, usually recognised internationally;

outstanding service to the national or international community;

outstanding service to the University; and/or

outstanding service to the local community

14.3 Subject to the above, preference shall be given to nominees who can be demonstrated to have some existing connexion with the University which would be strengthened by the conferment of such an award.

Those are pretty close to the criteria I wrote above....

[Dave Rogers]

I think he does, under the "service to community" heading -- where the "community" in this case is "west London."

I don't think West London really came into it. From the presentation speech, the criterion was very clearly his service to the national community and culture, in particular his advocacy and support for social workers - which, let's face it, is a rare enough thing these days to warrant recognition on its own. The category in the rules would be "Outstanding service to the national or international community", which is a little different to the fourth of your criteria, and certainly not one of the first three. And that, I suspect, is what Number Six was getting at; it's a category that allows honorary degrees to be awarded to a random celebrity (Jeremy Clarkson springs to mind, for some reason) who has no particular involvement with any specific university, but happens to be nationally famous.

Dave

[MikeSun5]

Maybe it's like getting your father something for his birthday... what do you get someone who already has everything? :rolleyes:

I always thought honorary degrees were a silly waste of time. It's not like you can get hired for a job because you have one, and it's not like people who receive them actually need more accolades. Sometimes it seems like you can get an honorary degree just because you're good at something.

Aretha Franklin has a degree from Yale, and I don't even think she finished High School.

[TheDoLittle]

What's you guys take on the awarding of honorary degrees for non-academic achievements?

Some people like using a Nerf Vibrator.

[commandlinegamer]

This award I can't see the point of:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-11493040

Yeah, the guy's a successful businessman but controversy aside, the course isn't even up and running yet.

[Professor Yaffle]

David Attenborough has 29 honourary degrees:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7920613/Sir-David-Attenborough-heads-lists-of-most-honoured-by-Britains-universities.html

I wonder if he has a specific connection to all those universities or communities...