Honorary Degree Call for Nominations

Members of the campus community are invited to nominate candidates to receive honorary doctorates from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Candidates for an honorary degree may be nominated by faculty, staff, students or alumni of the UMass Amherst campus. Nominees should be especially outstanding and renowned in their field. Factors that are considered include distinguished intellectual, social, or creative achievements in a specific field of endeavor and/or having made extraordinary contributions to the University or to the Commonwealth. In recognition of UMass Amherst’s commitment to diversity, nominations should take into consideration social, economic, national, racial, gender and cultural diversity. The Board of Trustees policy concerning the nomination and awarding of honorary degrees is available at University of Massachusetts Policy on Awarding Honorary Degrees.

To ensure full consideration, the nomination package must include the official nomination form, found online and a cover letter explaining in detail how the candidate meets the criteria for selection. Be sure to outline the nominee’s achievements and contributions and include biographical and other supporting information.

Nominations go through a lengthy selection process with several steps of consideration and approval, including reviews by an internal committee and by the Board of Trustees. Deliberations will remain confidential at all stages, so, unfortunately, we will not be able to discuss with nominators the status of any nominations once the process is underway. In addition, it is important that nominees not be notified of their nomination. 

The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 15, 2022. For nominations received by this date, the earliest an honorary degree could be awarded is 2023.

Please send nominations to:
Rebecca Dufault
Office of External Relations and University Events
Email: rdufault@umass.edu