Nominations for Honorary Degrees
TO: Members of Council, Heads of Academic Departments, Schools and Centres (who may wish to raise the subject within their Department, School or Centre), all members of staff and students, alumni (via York Alumni Association).
The Constitution and Nominations Committee is seeking nominations for honorary degrees. These awards are presented at Graduation ceremonies in January and July. They seek to recognise extraordinary individuals who represent the University’s vision, values and excellence and will inspire our graduating students.
Criteria for nomination and award of an honorary degree are set out in the University’s Policy on non-academic honorary degrees and fellowships (Section B.2).
This year the Committee is particularly keen to encourage nominations in recognition of outstanding academic achievement.
At least one nomination from each Department and research unit would be welcomed for consideration by the Committee. Such nominations would be additional to, and equally weighted with, those from individual members of the University.
Proposers should complete the Honorary degree nomination form (MS Word 
, 1,554kb) and return to alice.wakely@york.ac.uk by Monday 20 October 2025 at the latest. Constitution and Nominations Committee will meet in November to consider the nominations for 2025/26.
Please note that all nominations must remain CONFIDENTIAL, including from the nominee themselves. Communications with successful nominees will be led by the Directorate for Reputation, Economic Development and Advocacy (REDA).
Joan Concannon
Chief Reputation and Stakeholder Relations Officer