Honorary degrees
An honorary degree is essentially a symbolic award not earned through academic pursuits. While recipients often receive a doctoral degree, bachelor’s and master’s degrees are also options. Those honored typically refrain from using the title Doctor, opting instead to denote their status with terms like honoris causa, honorary or h.c. following the degree on official documents.
Throughout its history, the University has conferred over 280 honorary degrees over 100 plus years. Recipients include former presidents of the University, prominent figures associated with the campus, individuals important to Dallas and SMU, former U.S. presidents, other government officials, distinguished alumni from various fields and world leaders.
Conferring an honorary degree
The Honorary Degrees Committee recommends nominees to the Faculty Senate based on nominations from students, faculty, administration, trustees and alumni. All nominations are considered if accompanied by sufficient supporting data. The identities of nominators are typically kept confidential from committee members.
The committee also actively seeks out individuals worthy of recognition from the University community. Their nominations are guided by the Statement of Policy and require affirmative votes from at least six committee members before being submitted to the senate for approval.