Honorary Degrees

An honorary degree is one of the highest awards given by the university and the University of Wisconsin System. The Committee on Honorary Degrees evaluates nominees who have shown outstanding service to humanity globally, nationally, or locally. The committee looks for achievements that have enhanced lives though contributions to scholarship or through artistic talent and creativity, and, importantly, evidence of a dedication to the Wisconsin idea, broadly construed.

The Committee on Honorary Degrees is currently undergoing changes designed to provide additional structural guidance for the honorary degree selection process. Updated information will be posted in 2024.

Cecil Garvin, esteemed teacher of Ho-Chunk language, to receive honorary degree
The University of Wisconsin–Madison will award an honorary doctorate degree this May to Cecil Garvin, a highly respected Ho-Chunk elder who has devoted much of his professional life to the preservation and promotion of the …
April 21, 2023
Ella, Nosbusch, Grant to receive honorary degrees from UW–Madison
Three global leaders with careers of extraordinary accomplishment will be awarded honorary degrees at spring commencement this May at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The recipients are Krishna Ella, a groundbreaking vaccine scientist and entrepreneur; Keith …
March 28, 2022
Broadway star, prominent psychologist to be speakers at commencement
John Gottman, Ph.D., an alumnus of UW–Madison, is world-renowned for his work on marital stability and divorce prediction. He will be awarded an honorary doctoral degree during spring commencement. As is the tradition for recipients …
April 9, 2021
V. Craig Jordan, Michael G. Moore to receive honorary degrees
Update: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spring commencement ceremonies at Camp Randall and the Kohl Center are being postponed. The honorary degrees for V. Craig Jordan and Michael G. Moore are now scheduled to be conferred …
April 9, 2020
Steve Miller, Tom Brock to receive honorary degrees
The 2019 recipients of honorary degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison are both rock stars — one literally, the other in microbiology. The honorees are legendary musician Steve Miller, a 2016 Rock and Roll Hall …
February 20, 2019
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Honorary Degree Preliminary Nomination

Primary Contact Information
The committee and Office of the Secretary of the Faculty will initially correspond with the primary contact of the nomination.
Primary contact name*
First Name Last Name
Primary contact email address*
Nominee Information
This process is highly confidential, and the nominee should not be told of the nomination. The committee will evaluate the nominee and may ask the nominator(s) specific points or questions so the nomination can advance. If advanced, the sponsoring department will be asked to submit a full dossier.
Nominee name*
First Name Last Name
Sponsoring Academic Unit Information
The strong support of an academic unit is essential to the success of a nomination, especially when the nominee's accomplishments reflect the values and interests of the unit. The nominating unit must be willing and able to invest the time and effort required to submit a complete and persuasive proposal. Often the faculties of two or more departments collaborate in endorsing a nomination.
Is the nomination currently sponsored by a UW–Madison academic unit?*
- Yes
- No
List of the sponsoring UW–Madison academic unit(s)*
List of up to three UW–Madison academic units that might be able to sponsor the nomination*

Nominations chosen to move the final stage of consideration will require a sponsoring academic unit(s).
Nomination Materials
Please upload 1) a letter (less than two pages) documenting the nominee's extraordinary contributions to a field or profession, and to society, and 2) the nominee's curriculum vitae, or in its absence, information about the nominee ordinarily presented in a curriculum vitae. Due to the need for confidentiality, outside letters of support should not be requested for the preliminary nomination.
Upload nomination materials*
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Cecil Garvin, esteemed teacher of Ho-Chunk language, to receive honorary degree

Ella, Nosbusch, Grant to receive honorary degrees from UW–Madison

Broadway star, prominent psychologist to be speakers at commencement

V. Craig Jordan, Michael G. Moore to receive honorary degrees

Steve Miller, Tom Brock to receive honorary degrees

Honorary Degree Preliminary Nomination

Primary Contact Information

Nominee Information

Sponsoring Academic Unit Information

Nomination Materials