Responsible unit: Office of the President

Contact: Ulf Nyman

It is a tradition at Swedish universities and higher education institutions to award honorary doctorates. The awarding of an honorary doctorate is an expression of the university's appreciation of outstanding contributions in one or more of the university's areas of academic activity.

Who appoints honorary doctors?

The Deputy Vice President appoints the honorary doctors for their respective academic area. The highest degree of confidentiality should be observed at the preparatory stage and until a decision has been formally made and published.

Who can become an honorary doctor?

When the Deputy Vice President appoints an honorary doctor the following requirements shall be fulfilled.

• The proposed person should be affiliated with the university, since an honorary doctorate is an expression of the appreciation of outstanding contributions in one of the university's academic areas. Honorary doctorates may not be awarded in return for financial contributions, gifts and the like.
• A person who has already been awarded a doctorate within a certain academic area in Sweden, e.g. a PhD, may not be awarded an honorary doctorate in the same area. However, it is quite possible to for example appoint a doctor of philosophy to an honorary doctor of laws and vice versa. It is not usual for someone to be appointed an honorary doctor at the same university where they graduated. An honorary doctor is not required to have obtained an academic degree.
• In the case of persons with a foreign doctoral degree, there is nothing to prevent awarding an honorary doctorate in the same area as the foreign degree.
• The proposed person should not be an honorary doctor in the same field at another university or higher education institution in Sweden. However, a person may, for example, be an honorary doctor of philosophy at one university and honorary doctor of medicine at another.
• An honorary doctorate cannot be awarded posthumously.

The Deputy Vice President is responsible for ensuring that the requirements are fulfilled.

Preparation of the decision and the conferment ceremony

The Deputy Vice Presidents decide on the preparation within their respective science area. Within the Academic Area for Human Science, it is particularly important to actively involve the faculties in the preparation process.

Constraint shall be observed as regards the number. Each area may appoint a maximum of five honorary doctors per year.

The appointment of honorary doctors may involve costs for the department which has made the nomination. Therefore, the Head of Department must approve the nomination. Only members of the university faculty1 may nominate honorary doctors. A person who is not a faculty member can, however, propose an honorary doctor by asking a member of faculty, e.g. the Head of Department, to submit the nomination.  If they wish, they can then sign the nomination jointly.

Before a decision is made, the Deputy Vice President shall consult the President and the other Deputy Vice Presidents. The Deputy Vice Presidents of the Academic Area for Human Science shall also consult the Dean in the area who is not a Deputy Vice President, before a decision is made.

When appointing honorary doctors, the gender perspective shall be taken into account.

All those who are nominated for an honorary doctorate will not be awarded. Therefore, the proposer shall not contact the nominee before a decision has been made. The highest degree of confidentiality should be observed from the time when a proposal has been submitted until a decision is made and published; the Deputy Vice President must be free to endorse or refuse the proposal. The Deputy Vice President shall contact the proposed honorary doctor to enquire if they accept the appointment. A proposal which results in the appointment of an honorary doctor shall be registered in connection with the publication of the decision.

The honorary doctors shall be appointed no later than 31 March every year.

When the decision to appoint an honorary doctor has been made, the Deputy Vice President shall designate a host for them. The task of the host is to handle contacts with the honorary doctor as well as all practical preparations in connection with the ceremony.

What are the benefits of an honorary doctorate?

The appointed honorary doctors are conferred at the annual conferment ceremony together with the other doctorates at the university. The honorary doctorate entitles the person appointed to call themself doctor.