Types of Honorary Doctorates: D.Litt., D.Div., DHL & More

An honorary doctorate is one of the highest and most honourable awards that a university can give to a person. When a college or a university chooses to confer an honorary degree, it does not put up a requirement to attend classes, pass written tests, or draft a research paper known as a dissertation. Instead, universities give this award to recognise individuals who have made selfless contributions to society, education, science, the arts, literature, or humanitarian causes.

If you want to understand the real meaning of an honorary doctorate, you must go through various Types of Honorary Doctorates. It will help you see how higher education institutions celebrate their success in various fields. Universities do not choose only one generic degree title for every recipient. Instead, they choose specific degree titles on the basis of the honouree’s life achievements and career options. Some of the most common examples of honorary doctorates include the Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.), Doctor of Divinity (D.Div.), and Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL). 

This article will act as a guide that will explain everything that you are supposed to know about the Types of Honorary Doctorates. It will involve their history, common titles, and the distinction between standard and earned degrees.

What do you understand by an Honorary Doctorate? 

The first thing that needs to be answered is, what is an honorary doctorate? An honorary doctorate is a degree that is granted “for the sake of honour”. In Latin, it is widely known as “honoris causa”. When a university awards an honorary doctorate, it means that it is celebrating and acknowledging that the recipient’s real-world impact matches or exceeds the standards of an advanced university education. 

The earned doctorates show that an individual has completed advanced academic research, whereas honorary doctorates celebrate a person’s real-world selfless contributions and legacy in society. When you are learning about the Types of Honorary Doctorates, it becomes easy for you to recognise the titles and the jobs they are given for. You can easily identify which title is given for what kind of contribution.

You can also read about how to get an honorary doctorate in detail here.

What is the history behind the honorary doctorates? 

Giving out honorary doctorates has been a tradition for a long time. It is a hundred-year-old tradition. It originated in mediaeval Europe, when universities wished to create strong relationships with respected leaders, scholars, public figures, and big personalities. 

1. Mediaeval beginning

The earliest recorded honorary doctorate was conferred by the University of Oxford in England in the 1400s. The university awarded a degree to a scholar named Lionel Woodville to show respect for his learning and standing in the community. As time passed, other European universities started adopting this tradition to connect with some popular political leaders, writers, and religious figures.

2. Development in North America

American colleges adopted this tradition during the ongoing colonial era. Harvard University awarded its first honorary degree to a certain religious leader, Increase Mather, in 1692. Afterwards, during the American Revolutionary War, Harvard awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law to George Washington in 1776 to acknowledge his leadership in military and civic life. 

3. Advanced Evolution

There are various new industries, technologies, and academic subjects developing. This is why universities are also creating new degree titles. In the current times, colleges or universities confer honorary doctorates in fields starting from environmental science and public administration to digital media and music performance. 

What are the Primary Types of Honorary Doctorates? 

When a university decides to confer an honorary doctorate, they ensure that the title of the award matches the candidate’s professional field and achievements. The following is an in-depth breakdown of the major Types of Honorary Doctorates conferred by institutions across the world: 

1. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt. or Litt.D.)

The Doctor of Letters, also known as Litterarum Doctor in Latin, is one of the oldest and most prestigious honorary doctorates in the humanities. The following are some of the important details about the Doctor of Letters: 

• Complete Title: The complete title of D.Litt. is “Doctor of Letters” or “Doctor of Humane Literature”.
• Important Areas: The most important areas that this award focuses on are creative writing, literature, history, philosophy, language, and journalism. 
• Who is it conferred to: This award is specifically conferred to famous poets, authors, journalists, historians, and literary scholars. 
• Core examples: To simplify it, you can say that an institute might confer a D.Litt. to a world-renowned novelist who has influenced reading habits across generations through their books. 

The Doctor of Letters identifies long-term contributions and services to human culture through written works. It highlights and focuses on people who use their words to educate, inspire, and maintain history. It ensures that it celebrates people who have given meaning to people and their reading habits through their words. 

2. Doctor of Divinity (D.Div. or D.D.)

The Doctor of Divinity, also popularly known as Doctor Divinitatis, is a historic honorary doctorate that aims at increasing spiritual leadership, theology, and moral ethics. It is a bit more distant from the practical contributions and tilted towards spiritual development. The following are some of the important details about the D.Div.:

• Complete Title: The full name of this degree is the “Doctor of Divinity”.
• Important areas: This honorary doctorate focuses on areas like theology, religious leadership, ethics, interfaith dialogue, and faith-based community work. 
• Who is it conferred to: This honorary doctorate is usually conferred to bishops, pastors, rabbis, imams, theologians, and religious peacebuilders. 
• Core examples: To give an example, a university might confer a D.Div. to a religious leader who works to solve conflicts and problems, along with building peace between different communities.

Some universities give out the D.Div. as a standard academic degree, whereas there are some universities that confer it completely as an honorary title to respect their outstanding ethical and spiritual services and contributions.

3. Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL or L.H.D.)

The Doctor of Humane Letters, also called Litterarum Humanarum Doctor, is one of the most popular titles that is conferred in the current times. 

• Complete Title: This honorary doctorate is usually known as the “Doctor of Humane Letters”. 
• Important Areas: The areas that this honorary doctorate focuses on are philanthropy, human welfare, civil rights, social justice, and general service to humanity. 
• Who is it conferred to: The DHL is generally given out to activists, community developers, philanthropists, and public servants.
• Core Example: As an example, understand that a university might give this award to a person who has invested decades in creating a non-profit organisation to support families living in poverty. 

The difference between the DHL and an earned degree is that the earned degree firmly aims at supporting one academic subject, whereas the DHL honours people who make living life a better choice for others. It is usually chosen when an individual’s achievements encompass multiple fields, like business, charity, and public education.

What are the Specialised Types of Honorary Doctorates?

The world of Honorary Doctorates is not limited to D.Litt., D.Div., and DHL. It goes beyond that. Universities confer specialised honorary doctorate titles to acknowledge the wider range of success in different fields. 

A brief description of the specialised Types of Honorary Doctorates. 

If you want to understand all these Types of Honorary Doctorates clearly, you must go through the ways a university selects the recipients for each specialised category among all the Types of Honorary Doctorates. 

Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)

The Doctor of Laws is an honorary doctorate awarded for contributions to public governance and legal advocacy. Universities confer this award on people who have helped shape fair laws, defended civil liberties, or led public institutions. The recipients for this award usually include former presidents, Supreme Court justices, and international human rights workers. 

Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)

The Doctor of Science is an honorary doctorate award that honours major achievements in natural sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It not only identifies and acknowledges a simple lab experiment done by a student, but it also honours an individual whose research led to a breakthrough discovery, like creating life-saving vaccines, discovering new planets, or modifying clean energy technology.

Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) and Doctor of Music (D.Mus.)

University life is not just about academia. Arts and culture play a crucial role in it. The Doctor of Fine Arts and Doctor of Music are 2 honorary doctorates that recognise and celebrate the fact that creative expression needs deep dedication and skill. 

• An individual whose paintings are getting featured in major museums across the world might end up receiving a Doctor of Fine Arts award. 
• A person who is a composer and whose symphonies or songs have influenced the history of music for decades might get conferred with a Doctor of Music. 

What is the importance of honorary doctorates?

An honorary doctorate is not just another award. It is one of the highest achievements that a person can get. Along with being an honour, it has some major benefits for society. The following are some of the benefits of an honorary doctorate: 

1. Motivate students.

Universities invite successful authors, scientists and humanitarian leaders to receive honorary degrees, giving students a chance to meet real-world role models. Hearing an honouree’s story at commencement helps inspire new grads as they start their own careers.

2. Establishing Links Between Academia and Society

Successful authors, scientists and humanitarian leaders are invited to universities to present honorary degrees, giving students the chance to meet real-world role models. At commencement, listening to an honouree’s story inspires new grads as they begin their own careers.

Universities are not isolated places. They exist to serve society. Universities strengthen their connection with the outside world of their campuses by recognising people who solve social problems, create inspiring art or build communities.

3. Pointing to Major Causes

When an activist or non-profit founder is awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters or a Doctor of Laws, it shines a spotlight on important social issues, whether it’s environmental protection, literacy or poverty relief.

Conclusion:

Knowing the Types of Honorary Doctorates gives a clear idea of how higher education institutions celebrate extraordinary human achievement. Honours such as Doctor of Letters (D. Litt.), Doctor of Divinity (D. Div.) and Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) are bestowed on leaders, artistic creators, scientific innovators and those with a lifelong commitment to the public good.

These are ceremonial titles granted by universities to bridge the gap between the academic world and the real world. Honorary degrees are given to those who have contributed to the good of society through their work and continue to inspire students and future generations.

If you're wondering whether recipients of these degrees can legally or ethically use the title "Dr.", read our detailed guide on Can You Call Yourself "Dr." with an Honorary Doctorate?