Pre-nominal letters

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Pre-nominal letters are a title which is placed before the name of a person as distinct from a post-nominal title which is placed after the name. Examples of pre-nominal titles, for instance professional titles include: Doctor, Captain, EUR ING (European Engineer), Ir (Ingenieur), Mons. (monsignore) CA (Indian Chartered Accountant) [1] and Professor.

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These distinctive titles replace the standard honorifics used in polite address, indicating gender and, for women, marital status; the common English forms are Mr., Ms., Mrs. and Miss. These honorifics are not normally considered as titles.

Academic degrees

In some Continental European countries, all academic degrees were traditionally pre-nominal.

Pre-nominal academic degrees in German-speaking countries include: Dipl.-Ing. (Master's degree in engineering), Dipl.-Kfm. (master's degree in management), Dipl.-Phys. (master's degree in physics), Dipl.-Inf. or Dipl.-Inform. (master's degree in computer science), Dr.-Ing. (German doctorate in engineering), Dr. med. (German doctorate in Medicine) and Mag. (Austrian master's degree (Magister) in all disciplines except engineering).

Pursuant to the Bologna process, most of these pre-nominal degrees will be replaced by post-nominal bachelor's and master's degrees; but people who held academic degrees before the Bologna process may continue to use the pre-nominal academic degrees. In contexts where pre-nominal academic letters are used, such degrees may be placed prenominally for consistency (for example, "MMathPhil Marcos Cramer"). [2]

In the Czech Republic, all academic degrees are widely used before the name: Bc. – for Bachelor, Mgr. – for Master, Ing. – for Engineer, "lesser" doctors such as MUDr. (doctor of medicine), MDDr. (dentist doctor), JUDr. (doctor of Law), RNDr. (doctor of Natural Sciences), PhDr. (doctor of Philosophy), ThDr. (doctor of Theology). Before them appeare titles given to university teachers (prof. for Professor and doc. for "docent" = Associated Professor). These degrees could be combined, with the highest degree appearing first, e. g. prof. JUDr. Ing. Bc. The titles of the same rank are separated by "et", e. g. Mgr. et Mgr. [3] [4] Army titles include gen. for General, plk. for Colonel; Church titles include P. (pater) and R.D. (Reverendissimus Dominus).

In Finland, abbreviated academic titles can appear before or after the name (for example, FM Matti Meikäläinen or Matti Meikäläinen, FM). In the United States a person may at their discretion use "Dr." as a pre-nominal or their doctoral degree's initials as a post-nominal, but rarely at the same time. It would also be very unusual to see a professional license (such as for an engineer) used as a pre-nominal in any form.

In Poland, abbreviated academic titles appear as pre-nominal letters: inz. for holders of inżynier degree (Polish equivalent for a Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), or Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc)) awarded by a polytechnical university or faculty; mgr for holders of a Magister (Polish equivalent for a master's degree); mgr inz. for holders of a Magister awarded by a polytechnical university or faculty; dr for holders of a Doktorat (Polish Doctorate); dr inz. for holders of a Doktorat awarded by a polytechnical university or faculty; dr hab. for holders of a Doktorat and a habilitacja (Polish post-doctoral habilitation qualification); dr hab. inz. for holders of a Doktorat and a habilitacja awarded by a polytechnical university or faculty.

In Portugal and the other Portuguese-speaking countries, it is usual for a person with a university degree to be generally referred by the abbreviated pre-nominal title dr. (doutor), independently of the real degree that he or she holds. The main exceptions to this are the holders of degrees in engineering and architecture, who are referred respectively by the pre-nominal abbreviated titles eng. (engenheiro) and arq. (arquiteto).

Order of titles

In the UK, those with both a knighthood and rank in the armed forces (or clergy, or academic titles) put the Sir after the other title; [5] for example: Lieutenant General Sir William Leishman; [6] His Eminence Sir Norman Cardinal Gilroy, KBE; [7] Professor Sir Richard Peto. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master's degree</span> Postgraduate academic degree

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctorate</span> Academic or professional degree

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A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the first and last name. Some titles are hereditary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of Science</span> Masters degree awarded for post-graduate study in the sciences

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The system of academic degrees at the University of Oxford can be confusing. This is not merely because many degree titles date from the Middle Ages, but also because many changes have been haphazardly introduced in recent years. For example, the (medieval) BD, BM, BCL, etc. are postgraduate degrees, while the (modern) MPhys, MEng, etc. are integrated master's degrees, requiring three years of undergraduate study before the postgraduate year.

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Licentiate (degree)</span> Academic degree similar to masters degree

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.

A Master of Engineering is a professional master's degree in the field of engineering.

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A Diplom is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine and only for engineers in France, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of Arts</span> Type of masters degree in the fields of humanities and social sciences

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The Diplôme d'Ingénieur is a postgraduate degree in engineering (see Engineer's Degrees in Europe) usually awarded by the Grandes Écoles in engineering. It is generally obtained after five to seven years of studies after the Baccalauréat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engineering education</span> Educational activity of teaching knowledge and principles of engineering

Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education, and any advanced education and specializations that follow. Engineering education is typically accompanied by additional postgraduate examinations and supervised training as the requirements for a professional engineering license. The length of education, and training to qualify as a basic professional engineer, is typically five years, with 15–20 years for an engineer who takes responsibility for major projects.

A magister degree is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor of Law</span> Doctorate in legal studies

A Doctor of Law is a doctorate in legal studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candidate (degree)</span> Nomenclature of academic degree in various countries

Candidate is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe.

References

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  6. "Lieutenant Tulloch's RAMC microscope". BBC - A History of the World. BBC . Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  7. Bloomsbury Publishing (31 January 2007). Titles and Forms of Address: A Guide to Correct Use (22nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   9781408148129.
  8. "Experts Examined - Sir Richard Peto". BBC News . 13 June 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2021.