Final Approval Body: Senate
Senior Administrative Position with Responsibility for Policy: University Secretary
Date Initially Approved: 2017
Date of Last Revision: April 2024, April 2026
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to outline the requirements involved for the nomination and selection of candidates for an Honorary Degree, the revocation of an Honorary Degree, or issuance of a special statement regarding a previously awarded Honorary Degree.
Definitions
Ad Hoc Subcommittee – A body struck by the Senate Honorary Degrees Committee for the purpose of reviewing a request for the revocation of an Honorary Degree.
Honorary Degree – A degree awarded to an individual to recognize outstanding personal and public achievements, and contributions to society or the university on a national or international scale. The degree is not awarded for the completion of a Senate-approved academic program of study.
Senate – The governing body of the university with responsibility for determining all matters of an academic character affecting the university as a whole.
Senate Honorary Degrees Committee – The Senate committee with responsibility for advising the Senate on general policy relating to honorary degrees and presenting to the Senate, after due consideration, a list of the names recommended for an honorary degree.
Special Statement - A statement that offers a contextual view of an Honorary Degree recipient’s contributions, both from a perspective that is contemporary with the time of the award, and through the lens of the modern world. The Statement may include reference to the full impact of achievements, actions, and attitudes of recipient, steps that should be taken or explored to overcome harm that may have been caused by the fact of the award should be articulated, and recommendations for how the University can meaningfully acknowledge these harms and reconcile its past actions with its current values.
Policy Statement
ºÚÁϳԹÏ×ÊÔ´ awards Honorary Degrees to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to societies or the university on a community, local, national, or international scale. The contribution may be to the advancement of the candidate’s discipline or field of work, or it may be to the national or international community, Indigenous communities, or to the University’s mission, values, or goals.
In reviewing honorary degree nominations, ºÚÁϳԹÏ×ÊÔ´ recognizes that outstanding contributions to a discipline or field of work might encompass non-traditional forms of achievement, though still extraordinary.
10 or fewer honorary degrees will normally be awarded in each calendar year. At spring Convocation ceremonies, the presentation of honorary degrees will normally be distributed among Faculties and Schools as follows: Arts and Science (2), Business (1), Education (1), Engineering and Applied Science (1), Graduate Studies (1), Health Sciences (1), and Law (1). There will normally be two honorary degrees awarded at the fall Convocation ceremonies.
In exceptional circumstances, the Senate Honorary Degrees Committee may choose to vary the number of honorary degrees conferred each year by one to two degrees in the case of either an exceptionally strong group of candidates or a group of candidates with insufficient qualifications.
While the utmost diligence has been, and will continue to be, exercised by the university when awarding an Honorary Degree, there may be rare occurrences when a recipient’s past and/or current conduct or statements bring disrepute to the University and call the decision to confer such an honour on the individual into question. In such instances, the Honorary Degree may be revoked and/or a special statement may be issued. The University recognizes that it cannot undo, nor simply forget, actions in its history. It requires that the University reflect on its actions, beliefs, and values of the past with its current place in the fabric of Canadian society, and to acknowledge the role that ºÚÁϳԹÏ×ÊÔ´ has played over time in shaping that fabric. It reminds us of the importance of the decisions that we make and the impacts these decisions can have on people now living, and in the future – impacts which often are not undone easily.
Scope
This Policy is applicable to all nominations for an honorary degree from ºÚÁϳԹÏ×ÊÔ´, to all requests for the revocation of an Honorary Degree, to all requests for the issuance of a special statement, and to the process by which the Senate Honorary Degrees Committee and Senate evaluates such nominations and requests.
Eligibility and Exclusions
Active members of faculty and staff, Board of Trustees, and Senate members at Queen's are generally not eligible for Honorary Degrees, as outstanding contributions to Queen's by these individuals may be recognized in other ways. Retired members may be considered at least three years after retirement.
Normally, an active politician should not be nominated for an Honorary Degree. However, an exception may be made in the case of a person who has been a politician for a considerable length of time and has made a particularly outstanding contribution.
Honorary Degrees may be awarded to a group or entity that is not a natural or legal person, provided that the group or entity fulfils the requirements for an Honorary Degree recipient as set out in this Policy. In such cases, the degree is awarded to the group or entity as a whole and not to the individual members of it.
Posthumous honorary degrees will not be awarded. In awarding an Honorary Degree, the university is honouring a recipient, not the recipient’s memory. If a candidate dies after accepting the Senate invitation to receive the degree but before the convocation at which the degree is to be conferred, the Honorary Degree will be awarded.
Only in exceptional circumstances will a degree be awarded in absentia. The Principal will determine when this would be appropriate.
Responsibilities
University Secretary – Receive nominations of candidates for Honorary Degrees, requests for revocation of an Honorary Degree, and requests for the issuance of a special statement; verify that nominations meet the requirements outlined in this Policy, the Procedure for Selecting Honorary Degree Candidates; and the Procedure for the Revocation of an Honorary Degree; and provide the required information to the Senate Honorary Degrees Committee.
Senate Honorary Degrees Committee – Review complete nomination packages and revocation requests in accordance with the principles laid out in this Policy and provide a recommendation regarding a final decision to the Senate.
Senate – Consider the recommendation received from Senate Honorary Degrees Committee and make a final decision.
Related Policies, Procedures, Guidelines: Procedure for the Selection of Honorary Degree Candidates, Procedure on the Revocation of Honorary Degrees
Policies Superseded by this Policy: n/a
Contact: University Secretariat
Date for Next Review: 2031