Titles & Degrees
On first reference, use a person's full name. This rule also applies to the person's title.
When referring to a woman with a courtesy title, use the title Ms. unless the woman is known to prefer another form.
Titles that precede names are capitalized; titles following names are not.
Examples: President Barbara Snyder; Glenn Nicholls, vice president of student affairs
Avoid using long titles before names.
Refer to all faculty members as Professor or Prof. regardless of their faculty rank (e.g., assistant professor). Medical doctors and dentists should be called Dr.
Academic Degrees
Academic degrees, when spelled out rather than abbreviated, are capitalized. In
casual references when the full title of the degree is not given, it is not
capitalized.
Examples:
- the Master of Science in Nursing degree. (This degree is abbreviated M.S.N.,
which means that the word nursing is part of the formal title. The master of
arts degree in comparative literature, for example, is simply the M.A., so the
words comparative literature are not capitalized.)
- the Master of Arts degree in comparative literature
- a master's degree in comparative literature
- a master's in comparative literature
When academic degrees are abbreviated, the abbreviations take periods.
Examples: Ph.D., LL.M., M.A., M.B.A., B.S.
In citing abbreviated degrees, it is not necessary to identify them explicitly
as degrees.
Example: He earned the B.S. from Harvard.
Instead of: He earned the B.S. degree from Harvard.
However, use the word degree in the following context.
Example: He earned the Bachelor of Science degree from Case Western
Reserve University in 1972.
When referring to graduates, use the past tense:
Example: He graduated from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.