Ad eundem degree

For other degrees, see Academic degree

An ad eundem degree is a courtesy degree awarded by one university or college to an alumnus of another. The recipient of the ad eundem degree is often a faculty member at the institution where he or she is receiving the honor.

Before the advent of modern means of transportation had shrunk the world, it was common, when a graduate from one university moved into the neighborhood of another, for the new university to admit the graduate as a courtesy, "at the same degree" (in Latin, ad eundem gradum). Thus if someone was a bachelor of arts in the university that they had attended, they would likewise be a bachelor of arts of their new university. (Not every college extended this courtesy to all other colleges, however.)

The practice diminished in the early 19th century, but it continues at the Royal College of Surgeons of England,[1] University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and Trinity College, Dublin where the process is known as "incorporation". At several Ivy League universities, including Harvard, Yale, Brown and Penn, faculty appointed or promoted to the rank of associate professor or professor are awarded a master's degree (an AM at Harvard and Brown; an MA at Yale[2]) if they do not already hold a degree from the respective university.

At Amherst College a similar custom is followed, with the granting of a master of Arts degree by the college to its faculty even though the college grants only a bachelor's degree (AB) to its own matriculated students. Dartmouth College and Wesleyan University confer an MA degree on faculty members promoted to full professor. It is an earned degree, not honorary, because it recognises formal learning. It is acceptable to list both the original degree(s) and the incorporated ("ad eundem") degree when listing post-nominals.[3]

Rhodes University in South Africa uses the term "ad eundem gradum" to give a student status to undertake a research higher degree based on experience, as opposed to an explicit qualification.[4] In this case the student does not acquire a qualification, but is exempt from an entry requirement. In yet another variation, the University of Sydney may confer an ad eundem gradum degree on a retiring staff member (academic or otherwise) who has had at least 10 years' service and is not a Sydney graduate, though in this case, the Sydney award is at the same level as an existing qualification.[5]

References

  1. ↑ see
  2. ↑ Yale University Bylaws, sec. 38
  3. ↑ See, The Oxford University Calendar, "Notes on Style - "In the case of incorporated degrees, the original degree and the incorporated degree should be shown: e.g. ‘MA Dub, MA Oxf’."
  4. ↑ Higher Degrees Guide, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 2010
  5. ↑ Degrees conferred ad eundem gradum, The University of Sydney, 2007

External links