In Opposition to Honorary Doctorates
Give an honorary degree, but it is not a doctorate if you don't write a dissertation.
After completing my Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Leadership I noticed that some people added the prefix “Dr.” in front of their names but never wrote a dissertation. I knew that this happened for a variety of reasons before I began my program of study, but I paid closer attention to it after I took 7 years to finish my doctorate. I became more skeptical of the honorary doctoral degree when I found out that people could claim to be qualified to write and teach based on this award.
How can you tell the difference when recipients of honorary degrees typically wear the same hood and gown as those who have received substantive degrees?
What is the value of education?
What matters most when awarding a degree?
In the Middle Ages, early universities occasionally waived the requirements for a degree. This became a more common practice at Oxford or Cambridge as an academic form of knighting. Earning a degree without enrollment may be acceptable with the submission of a portfolio of peer-refereed research reviewed by a faculty panel, however, this is highly unusual and defeats the purpose of sitting under-qualified instructors and advisors. It is better to take one year to craft your research with help even if you have a completed paper, it could always improve.
I specifically pursued a Ph.D. in order to gain the credentials to teach in higher education. I recognize the desire for a university to award someone for speaking, their contributions, or their profession. However, when an education institution gives out honorary doctorates it diminishes the college and those who have earned their degree through formal means.
Under the changes from COVID-19, maybe we should reformulate what a degree is for and what a university does.
It is possible and even likely that very smart people don’t need a degree to make significant contributions to human society. And, most people who receive an honorary doctorate recognize that it is nominal. But if that is the case why attach the doctoral title to the awarded degree. Simply call it an honorarium or honorary degree and leave it at that.
If a school would like to give someone an honorary degree who has substantive accomplishments or as recognition for their commencement address, they should make it a generic degree or even equivalent to bachelor’s degree. Or they can give them another award, hall, or scholarship. This is a way to recognize their efforts and skill without elevating their standing beyond what they have done academically. This is especially true when the school does not have a doctoral program. A doctorate degree must be only granted to those who have earned it in the proper program of study.
What is the difference between practical knowledge and research?
Teachers often combine theory and their own experience during class for the benefit of students. These stories help students understand their current situation better by using people they can relate to. And, this allows them to plan for the future by putting themselves in these positions.
But, in order to become a professor, one must make an original contribution to the field in research. Individuals who have higher academic proficiency chose to pursue a graduate degree in order to become a college professor, industry researchers or ranking professional.
However, some highly skilled practitioners may gain an honorary degree from certain schools as an award for their achievements. The history of the honorary degree is replete with controversial recipients, odd stories, and errors in judgment.
George W. Bush received an honorary doctorate from Yale University in 2001 under protest from 170 faculty members. Margaret Thatcher was denied an honorary degree from Oxford. The Philosophy Faculty at Cambridge refused to award an honorary doctorate to Jacques Derrida.
Long Island University gave Kermit the Frog an Honorary Doctorate of Amphibious Letters. McGill University granted musician Joni Mitchell an honorary Doctor of Music in 2004.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst, Michigan State University, and The University of Edinburgh gave the dictator of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe an honorary degree in 1984. More than 50 honorary degrees granted to Bill Cosby have been rescinded because of charges of sexual assault.
Each of these individuals was not only awarded a degree but the highest degree that a university can confer: the doctorate.
Why give someone a doctoral degree that confers honor but not the educational credentials associated with a doctorate?
Recipients of honorary doctorates generally do not claim or use the title “Dr.” in correspondence. Although, the university issuing the honorary degree uses the title when they do so. However, this social convention is not always scrupulously observed.
Notable people have used the honorary prefix to bolster their standing.
Maya Angelou, a poet laureate who had no earned degrees, received over 30 honorary ones. She liked being called “Dr. Angelou.” The comedian Stephen Colbert must have gotten laughs when he got an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Knox College in 2006. He played up the gag by giving medical advice on his Comedy Central show, demonstrating the ridiculous way that these degrees can be misused.
Benjamin Franklin attended only the Boston Latin School but did not receive the grammar school degree. Yet, he called himself “Dr. Franklin” because he received an honorary master’s degree from The College of William and Mary in 1756, honorary doctorates from the University of St. Andrews in 1759, and the University of Oxford in 1762. While his scientific inventions are impressive, his knowledge and skill were empirical, not academic. As an innovator his pattents and products stand alone.
Accomplished Christian teachers and writers such as Billy Graham and Ravi Zacharias have been given unearned doctoral degrees. Both were referred to as “Dr.” in publications that were removed under questioning. Billy Graham had an earned BA degree from Wheaton College in anthropology. Ravi Zacharias received his undergraduate degree from Tyndale University in 1972 and M.Div. from Trinity International University in 1976. A doctorate is not needed to do what they did in their lives and impact people. Their work mirrors that of a dissertation but was not part of a curriculum of study.
Edwin H. Land, the inventor of instant cameras and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, had never completed an undergraduate degree but received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University. He was often referred to as “Dr. Land.” Rev. Theodore Hesburgh received the most honorary degrees recorded at 150. After 100 degrees the process would seem to lose its allure.
Who receives an honorary doctorate?
Notable individuals with significant accomplishments in a field can be recognized with an honorary doctorate degree. But they should not be given this title. A doctorate is a specific degree that confers upon a person the rank of expert scholarship in a field. Accomplishments, however significant, are not scholarship. They are not based on research. Even if they represent the practice of implementing science the act of creating technology is different than teaching about a subject.
Some schools attempt to avoid confusion when awarding a degree. The Auckland University of Technology gives the title HonD for Honorary Doctorate. The Open University awards a Doctor of the University or DUniv. Harvard University, Brown University, and the University of Pennsylvania provide tenured faculty with academic degrees from other universities an honorary degree from their own. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cornell University, Stanford University, and Rice University have made the strategic decision to avoid honorary degrees. Thomas Jefferson founded The University of Virginia in 1819 and rejected honorary degrees. Likewise, UCLA has a ban on honorary degrees.
Universities should all adopt a policy to either avoid honorary doctoral degrees altogether or make the award a general degree that has no academic standing.
An awardee can wear a gown and you can give them a fancy hat and sash. But these austere institutions of higher education should not grant a degree or provide the hood which clearly indicates scholarship.
A person’s accomplishment, however celebratory one’s life may be, is reward enough and does not require conflating any achievement with earning a doctorate degree.