Honorary Degrees
The practice of awarding honorary degrees to distinguished individuals has been a tradition at Loyola Marymount University since 1925.
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa (for the sake of the honor) is an academic degree for which a degree-awarding institution has waived the usual requirements. The degree itself is typically a doctorate and may be awarded to someone as a way of honoring a distinguished contribution to a specific field or for humanitarian contributions to society.
Honorary degrees are usually awarded at graduation ceremonies, where the recipient may make a speech of acceptance, an event which often becomes the highlight of the commencement ceremony. Recipients of honorary degrees wear academic regalia and are generally 'hooded' at the ceremony.
Honorary degrees are not considered to be of the same standing as substantive degrees and recipients do not usually adopt the title of "doctor" but may add the letter abbreviation of the honorary degree as a suffix to their name. Two honorary degrees most often awarded by LMU are the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) or Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.).
List of Honorary Degree Recipients