Honorary Degrees

Faculty, staff, and trustees may submit nominations of candidates for a possible honorary degree. 

Nominees should exemplify the highest ideals of Ohio Wesleyan–people whose achievements, character, and service have made a meaningful difference in their fields or communities.

Honorary degrees may be awarded at a future commencement or other significant occasion. 

Please use the online nomination form to submit your nomination.

Degree Descriptions

Ohio Wesleyan confers degrees in ten categories. The following is a listing of those categories with a brief description of each:

1. Doctor of Civil Laws (D.C.L.)
   This degree should be conferred only upon truly eminent statesmen, civil servants, or people with an outstanding international reputation. This degree is extremely rare at Ohio Wesleyan, but could well be used as an effective counterpart to the Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree.
2. Doctor of Divinity (D.D.)
   This degree is traditionally awarded by church-related universities and colleges in recognition of outstanding leadership in the church and its institutions. (Usually given to clergy)
3. Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.)
   This degree should be conferred upon outstanding people in the plastic or spatial arts, such as painters, engravers, sculptors, architects, or actors who enhance the human understanding through some visual display of merit.
4. Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.)
   This degree should be conferred upon eminent people engaged as a writer or educator in the broad field of the humanities.
5. Doctor of Humanities (D.Hum.)
   This degree should be conferred only upon eminent people who have devoted their lives to the service of humanity through community activity or philanthropy.
6. Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
   This degree should be conferred upon eminent people in public life, including people in the fields of medicine, scientific research (when the Doctor of Science degree (Sc. D.) is not thought distinguished enough), business and education.
7. Doctor of Literature (Litt.D.)
   This degree should be conferred upon eminent people in the field of letters, such as authors, critics or interpreters of literature, or a patron or promoter of Belle-Lettres.
8. Doctor of Music (Mus.D.)
   This degree should be conferred upon eminent people in music, such as a composer, musicologist, or performer of outstanding merit.
9. Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)
   This degree should be conferred upon eminent people in the field of theoretical theology.
10. Doctor of Science (Sc.D.)
    This degree should be conferred upon eminent people in the research or teaching aspects of science.