Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation, an office, a military decoration, or honour, or is a member of a religious institute or fraternity. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters, but in some contexts it may be customary to limit the number of sets to one or just a few. The order in which post-nominals are listed after a name is based on rules of precedence and what is appropriate for a given situation. Post-nominal letters are one of the main types of name suffix. In contrast, pre-nominal letters precede the name rather than following it, such as addressing a physician or professor as "Dr. Smith".
Various University Style Guides, such as: the University of Sydney Style Guide and the Australian Government Style Manual and that of the various State Governments.
Outside of any specific academic or State or Federal Government requirement, then in the following order:
Those Honours promulgated by the Governor-General in the Commonwealth Government Gazette, e.g. Current National and former Imperial honours
Those Honours and Appointments promulgated by a State Governor or Territory Administrator in the relevant State Government Gazette, e.g. Fellows of the Royal Society of NSW (FRSN), King's Counsels (KC).
All honorary degrees included in an Australian university's Annual Report to an Australian Parliament.
Fellowships and memberships of professional bodies and learned societies incorporated by a statutory instrument i.e a Royal Charter under the Australian (not a foreign) Crown (e.g. the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the Institution of Engineers Australia, the Australian Institute of Building, and the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy) or an Act of Parliament (such as the Bar Associations of some States)
Parliamentary designations
Foreign Honours where permitted by Australian Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Fellowships and memberships of other Australian Professional Institutions.
Australian Qualifications, ideally with date and institution, in descending order (with the highest closest after the name).
The Canadian government'sThe Canadian Style specifies that no more than two sets of post-nominal letters should normally be given, unless all are to be given either for information or for reasons of protocol, and that these should be the two highest of different types. The types and the order in which they are given are:[1]
Distinctions conferred directly by the Crown
University degrees
Memberships of societies and other distinctions
In European fraternities
Going back to the mid 17th century, today's classical European fraternities such as the German Student Corps have used post-nominal symbols and letters to allow their members to indicate their fraternity membership and honorary positions held in their signature.
The Zirkel of a German Student Corps. This symbol captures the letters "v, c, f, A", as post-nominal for that fraternity.
In the United Kingdom various sources have issued guidance on the ordering of styles and titles for British citizens, including the Ministry of Justice, Debrett's and A & C Black's Titles and Forms of Address; these are generally in close agreement, with the exception of the position of MP, etc., in the listing:[2][3][4]
According to Debrett's, DD, MD and MS degrees are always given; other doctorates, other medical degrees, and other divinity degrees are sometimes given; and other degrees are seldom shown, with BA and MA never used socially (although formal lists may include them);[6]
Royal Academicians and associates, (e.g., RA, ARA),
Fellowships, Membership, etc. of professional institutions, associations, etc. (e.g. FICE) – chartered and other professional statuses should be shown before the designatory letters for the relevant professional body (e.g. CEng FMIET; EngTech TMIET),[7]
According to Debrett's and Black's: Member of Parliament (MP), etc.[clarification needed] (Black's also includes Writers to the Signet here);
Membership of the Armed Forces (e.g. RAF, RN, VR, RM, RMP) (not included by Black's).[8]
In addition, British citizens who have received honours from Commonwealth countries are usually given permission from the King to use the postnominals for that honour.[9]
This differs from the civil ordering in that it omits appointments except for KC, includes diplomas and certificates in addition to degrees, merges medical qualifications, fellowships of learned societies, royal academicians, and membership of professional bodies into a single item, and omits membership of the armed forces.
Loughborough University gives a very similar ordering, but with "Appointments (e.g MP, KC)" replacing item 3 (KC) and "Higher Education awards (in ascending order, commencing with undergraduate)" replacing items 4–6 (degrees, diplomas and certificates). This restores the Appointments section from the civil list omitted by Oxford and Nottingham, although the other differences remain.[12]
Nottingham Trent University gives essentially the same ordering as Oxford and Nottingham, but without specifying the order in which degrees should be given.[13] Nottingham Trent, Oxford and Loughborough recommend degree abbreviations be given in mixed case without stops between the letters (e.g. BA, not B.A.; PhD, not Ph.D.), as does Cambridge.[14]Imperial College London, however, uses all small caps for post-nominals (e.g. phd, not PhD).[15]
Where all degrees are shown, as in university calendars, most universities will give these in ascending order.[16] However, advice on the precise ordering varies:
The Oxford University Calendar Style Guide places degrees in the order: bachelor's degrees (including postgraduate bachelor's degrees such as the Oxford BCL) and other first degrees; master's degrees (including those that are first degrees, such as MPhys); doctorates; higher doctorates in order of academic precedence. Degrees at the same level are ordered alphabetically by awarding institution and multiple degrees from the same institution are grouped, with position determined by the lowest degree in the grouping. Certificates and diplomas are listed after degrees (no mention is made of foundation degrees). Oxford recommends giving institution names separated by a space from the degree, not enclosed in parentheses, and that degrees from the same institution be separated by spaces only, with commas between degrees from different institutions.[17]
Loughborough University advises listing all higher education awards in ascending order starting from undergraduate, so MPhys would come before BCL and postgraduate certificates and diplomas would come between undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The examples given do not include institution names.[12]
In the United States, standard protocol is to list post-nominal letters in the following order:[18]
Religious institutions
Theological degrees
Military decorations
Academic degrees
Honorary degrees, honors, decorations
Professional licenses, certifications and affiliations
Retired uniformed service.
Active duty services personnel do not use any post-nominals other than, if applicable, Staff Corps affiliation (Navy only) followed by a comma and then their branch of service. Names are bracketed by the appropriate pre-nominal and post-nominal, e.g. LCDR John Q Public, MC, USN.[18]
Etiquette for higher educational qualifications
Higher education qualifications in the UK
In the UK, it is usual to list only doctorates, degrees in medicine, and degrees in divinity.[6] In particular, when a person has letters indicating Crown honours or decorations, only the principal degree would normally be given.[3] The University of Oxford Style Guide advises writers: "Remember that you do not need to list all awards, degrees, memberships etc held by an individual – only those items relevant to your writing."[10]
In an academic context, or in formal lists, all degrees may be listed in ascending order of academic status, which may not be the same as the order in which they were obtained (although see notes on medical qualifications, below). The Oxford style is to list qualifications by their title starting with bachelor's degrees, then master's degrees, then doctorates. Postgraduate Certificates and Diplomas are listed after doctorates, but before professional qualifications,[17] with a similar ordering being used by other universities.[19] In this style, foundation degrees and other sub-bachelor qualifications are not shown. An alternative style is to give all higher education qualifications, starting from undergraduate, ordered by their level rather than their title. In this style, one might list a Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education first, then foundation degrees, first degrees at bachelor level, first degrees at master level (integrated master's degrees and first degrees in medicine), postgraduate degrees at master level (including postgraduate bachelor's degrees such the Oxford BCL), and doctorates. In this style, postgraduate certificates and diplomas could be shown either before postgraduate degrees at master's level (as in the table given by Loughborough University) or before first degrees at master's level (reflecting their position in the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies).[12][20] Strictly speaking, both the Debrett's and Ministry of Justice lists only allow for the inclusion of degrees, not non-degree academic awards.
For someone with a substantive doctorate, it is usual either to give "Dr" as the title (without a stop per normal British usage) or to list their degrees post-nominally, e.g. "Dr John Smith" or "John Smith, PhD" but not "Dr John Smith, PhD". Postnominals may be used with other titles, e.g. "Mr John Smith, PhD", "Sir John Smith, PhD", or "The Rev John Smith, PhD".[21]
In the case of a BA from Oxford, Cambridge or Dublin who proceeds to be an MA of those universities (which is taken without further study), the MA replaces the BA and thus only the MA should be listed.[22] Oxford has said that there is no risk of confusion between their MA and "earned" MAs as the Oxford MA is denoted "MA (Oxon)" rather than simply MA.[23] However, Debrett's has advised using just "MA" to describe a Cambridge Master of Arts.[24]
Graduates from British and Irish universities sometimes add the name of the university that awarded their degree after the post-nominals for their degree, either in parentheses or not, depending on preferred style. University names are often abbreviated and sometimes given in Latin, e.g."BA, MA (Dunelm), PhD (Ebor)";[25] a list of abbreviations used for university names can be found at Universities in the United Kingdom#Post-nominal abbreviations. Where the same degree has been granted by more than one university, this can be shown by placing the names or abbreviations in a single bracket after the degree name, e.g. "Sir Edward Elgar, Mus.D. (Oxon., Cantab., Dunelm. et Yale, U.S.A.), LL.D. (Leeds, Aberdeen, and W. University, Pennsylvania.)".[26]
Honorary degrees, if shown, can be indicated either by "Hon" before the post-nominals for the degree or "hc" (for honoris causa) after the post-nominals, e.g. "Professor Evelyn Algernon Valentine Ebsworth CBE, PhD, MA, ScD, DCL hc, FRSC, FRSE" (emphasis added);[27] "Professor Stephen HawkingHon.ScD, CH, CBE, FRS" (emphasis added).[28] The Oxford University Calendar Style Guide recommends not giving honorary degrees in post-nominals.[17]
Higher education qualifications in the US
In academia and research, all degrees may be listed. In general, however, it is normal to only list those relevant to the circumstance. For example, if Jane Doe had a BS, MS, and PhD in computer science as well as an MBA, then if working in management in a retail company she would write "Jane Doe, MBA", but if working in an IT company she might write "Jane Doe, PhD", and if working in academia she could write "Jane Doe, BS, MS, MBA, PhD".[18]
The Gregg Reference Manual recommends placing periods between the letters of post-nominals (e.g., B.S., Ph.D.); however, The Chicago Manual of Style recommends writing degrees without periods (e.g., BS, PhD). If post-nominals are given, the full name should be used, without Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Miss. Other prefixes (e.g., Professor) may be used.[29]
Etiquette for medical qualifications
Medical qualifications in the UK
In contrast to the style for academic qualifications, medical qualifications are listed in descending order, i.e.: doctorates, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and qualifying diplomas. Letters indicating doctorates, master's degrees and fellowships of royal colleges are always given, while bachelor's degrees, memberships and qualifying diplomas are only shown for people with no higher qualifications. In all but formal lists, only three medical qualifications are normally given.[30]
Where someone holds qualifications in multiple fields, they are normally given in the order: medicine, surgery (except for MRCS, which is considered a qualifying diploma), obstetrics, gynaecology and other specialities. These are followed by qualifying diplomas and other diplomas.[31]
The academic style guides do not have a separate section for medical qualifications, so if following one of these guides, medical degrees should be listed with other degrees, medical diplomas with other diplomas, and fellowships and memberships of royal colleges with other fellowships and memberships of professional bodies.
Etiquette for fellowships or memberships
Learned societies and professional bodies in Africa
In Africa, learned societies and professional bodies use designatory letters for their members and fellowships. For example:
A Member of the Forestry Society of Kenya (FSK), a non-governmental professional membership organization of Kenyan Foresters, is entitled to use the post-nominal, MFSK, e.g. "Charity Kosgei MFSK."[33]
Learned societies, royal academies and professional institutions in the UK
In the UK there is, according to Debrett's, no defined order of precedence for placing designatory letters for fellowships of learned societies and memberships of professional bodies within their respective groups. Debrett's suggests that "In practice, where one society is indisputably of greater importance than another the letters are usually placed in that order. Alternatively, the fellowship of the junior society may be omitted. If such precedence cannot be determined, the letters may be placed in order of conferment. Where this is not known, they may be placed in alphabetical order."[34] Earlier guidance that "Strictly speaking, they should be arranged according to date of foundation or incorporation of the societies concerned"[35] has now been removed.
Only postnominals indicating honorific fellowships (e.g., FRS, FBA, FREng) are normally used socially. For professional bodies it is usual to list those most relevant to a person's profession first, or those most relevant to the particular circumstances. It is common to omit fellowships (except honorific fellowships) and memberships that are not relevant in a given situation.[34][36]
Debrett's notes that although Royal Academicians are listed after fellows of learned societies (and before members of professional bodies), they do not yield to them in precedence, "In practice the two lists do not coincide."[37]
The distinction between a learned society and a professional body is not well defined. Many organisations (e.g., the Royal Society of Chemistry) claim to be both learned societies and professional bodies.[38] However, it is clear from both the Ministry of Justice and Debrett's that only fellowships of learned societies are listed, while fellowships and memberships may be listed for professional bodies.
A Doctor of Philosophy may use the post-nominal PhD or DPhil (according to the usage of the awarding institution), or the pre-nominals Dr or Dr., e.g. Indiana Jones could be styled "Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr." or "Henry Walton Jones, Jr., PhD", but not "Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr., PhD".
A Postgraduate Diploma is indicated by the post-nominals PgDip. Someone with a BA, MA and postgraduate diploma could write "BA PgDip MA"[40] or (following the Oxford Calendar's style) "BA MA PgDip".
A BA graduate of the Open University could indicate the university from which they got their degree using "BA (Open)" or "BA Open".
Someone with a BSc from Cardiff, an MSc from London and a PhD from Cardiff could write "BSc PhD Card, MSc Lond", or "BSc Card, MSc Lond, PhD Card"; alternatively they could choose to omit the lower degrees and simply write "PhD Card" ("London" may be substituted for "Lond" and "Cardiff" for "Card", and institution names could be enclosed in parentheses). If not indicating the awarding universities, they would write "BSc MSc PhD", or simply "PhD".
A member of the British parliament may use the postnominals "MP", e.g. "Caroline Lucas MP".[42] Note the post-nominals MP may not be used once someone ceases to be a Member of Parliament, including after Parliament has been dissolved for an election.
A peer who is a member of the Privy Council may use the postnominals "PC"; for non-peers, the pre-nominal "Right Honourable", abbreviated "Rt Hon", identifies them as members.[43] Thus: "The Rt Hon David Cameron",[44] but "The Rt Hon Earl Grey KG PC" (KG indicating he was also a Knight of the Garter).
Chartered status is shown before the relevant professional membership, e.g. "Prof. Dame Carole Jordan DBE FRS CPhys FInstP", where DBE indicates Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, FRS Fellow of the Royal Society, CPhys Chartered Physicist, and FInstP Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the awarding body for CPhys.[45]
In the UK, someone who earned a BA, MA and BSc in that order would normally write "BA, BSc, MA", but in Australia they would normally write "BA, MA, BSc".
"Reverend Canon Mark Tanner MA (Oxon), BA (Hons), MTh"[46] demonstrates: 1) the use of '(Oxon)' to indicate an Oxbridge MA (to avoid confusion with an earned MA); 2) the use of '(Hons)' to indicate an honours degree; 3) ordering of degrees by date gained.
In Belgium, the persons officially admitted to the Royal Association of Descendants of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels are entitled to place the post-nominal initials PB (Patricius Bruxellensis) or - in case they hold a title of nobility - NBP (Nobilis Patricius Bruxellensis) behind their name.[47]
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, when the first doctorates were awarded at the University of Bologna and the University of Paris.
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.
An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The most common undergraduate degree is the bachelor's degree, although some educational systems offer lower-level undergraduate degrees such as associate and foundation degrees. Common postgraduate degrees include engineer's degrees, master's degrees and doctorates.
A master's degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. A master's degree normally requires previous study at the bachelor's level, either as a separate degree or as part of an integrated course. Within the area studied, master's graduates are expected to possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theoretical and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, critical evaluation, or professional application; and the ability to solve complex problems and think rigorously and independently.
A bachelor's degree or baccalaureate is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years. The two most common bachelor's degrees are the Bachelor of Arts (BA) and the Bachelor of Science. In some institutions and educational systems, certain bachelor's degrees can only be taken as graduate or postgraduate educations after a first degree has been completed, although more commonly the successful completion of a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for further courses such as a master's or a doctorate.
A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or official document of diplomacy.
Degree abbreviations are used as an alternative way to specify an academic degree instead of spelling out the title in full, such as in reference books such as Who's Who and on business cards. Many degree titles have more than one possible abbreviation, with the abbreviation used varying between different universities. In the UK it is normal not to punctuate abbreviations for degrees with full stops, although this is done at some universities.
The system of academic degrees at the University of Oxford originates in the Middle Ages and has evolved since the university's founding in 1096.
The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in information technology (IT), computing, software engineering, computer engineering and computer science, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Founded in 1957, BCS has played an important role in educating and nurturing IT professionals, computer scientists, software engineers, computer engineers, upholding the profession, accrediting Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) status, and creating a global community active in promoting and furthering the field and practice of computing.
A postgraduate diploma is a postgraduate qualification at the level of a master's degree, awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. The minimum requirement of completing a Bachelor's degree is necessary to start the Postgraduate course. The duration of a Postgraduate course can vary from 1 year to 2 years.
A name suffix in the Western English-language naming tradition, follows a person's surname and provides additional information about the person. Post-nominal letters indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honor. Other examples include generational designations like "Sr." and "Jr." and "I", "II", "III", etc.
A licentiate is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin America, and Syria.
In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts (BAs) are promoted to the rank of Master of Arts (MA), typically upon application after three or four years after graduation. No further examination or study is required for this promotion, which is a mark of seniority rather than an additional postgraduate qualification.
Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or both, rather than an "ordinary", "general" or "pass" bachelor's degree. Honours degrees are sometimes indicated by "Hons" after the degree abbreviation, with various punctuation according to local custom, e.g. "BA (Hons)", "B.A., Hons", etc. In Canada, honours degrees may be indicated with an "H" preceding the degree abbreviation, e.g. "HBA" for Honours Bachelor of Arts or Honours Business Administration.
A Master of Arts is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have typically studied subjects within the scope of the humanities and social sciences, such as history, literature, languages, linguistics, public administration, political science, communication studies, law or diplomacy; however, different universities have different conventions and may also offer the degree for fields typically considered within the natural sciences and mathematics. The degree can be conferred in respect of completing courses and passing examinations, research, or a combination of the two.
A postgraduate certificate (abbreviated as PGCert, PG Cert or PGC is a postgraduate qualification at the level of a master's degree.
Master's degrees in Europe are the second cycle of the Bologna process, following on from undergraduate bachelor's degrees and preceding third cycle doctorates. Master's degrees typically take two years to complete, although the number of years varies between countries, and correspond to 60 – 120 ECTS credits. Within the European Higher Education Area, representing almost all countries in Europe, master's degrees are referenced to the Framework of Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area and national qualifications frameworks.
A master's degree in the United Kingdom is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges in most cases upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
↑ "Fellowships of Learned Societies". Wayback Machine. Debrett's. 3 February 2014. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
↑ "Our Charter". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 29 May 2016. 'As a learned society we are concerned with advancing chemistry as a science, developing its applications, and disseminating chemical knowledge. As a professional body we maintain professional qualifications and set high standards of competence and conduct for professional chemists. We also provide a wide range of services and activities of value both to members, and to the community.' (emphasis added)
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