What do you think about honorary degrees?

Question

Bill Gates is apparently slated for an honorary degree from Harvard in June. Other famous or "important" people have received honorary degrees based on something other than their academic effort. What do you all think about this? Is it fair? Should it be stopped? Should it increase? Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

Honorary degrees cannot be judged by the standards of ordinary degrees. Instead, they are awarded to people who have made significant contributions to their field or to human endeavor as a whole. Sometimes they are given to alumni who have done exceptionally well, even if those alumni are not particularly famous or important on the large scale. These degrees are not "real" in any sense. You don't put them on a resume to get a job or anything like that. So it's fine that a school awards them.

On the other hand, some schools give away too many. Harvard can do what it wants. But some small schools do it as a publicity stunt. For instance, it's a great way to get a famous person to come to your school to accept the honorary degree. While he's there, you can usually get him to say a few words. Bingo: you saved thousands of dollars on a top speaker. Or it's a way to get alumni to donate.

The sad thing about honorary degrees is that so often they are a delicate dance between the mediocre school and the mediocre celebrity--someone who agrees to the whole rigmarole because he feels sorry for the school sometimes...but more often because he feels deep down that he doesn't get the respect and public adulation that he deserves. They feed off each other.

In any event, anyone who makes a big deal publicly about his or her honorary degree, especially from a lesser school, is to be pitied. And probably avoided...

Answer 2

I don't care that much. The recipient is supposed to make it clear that the degree is honorary. As long as they do that, it's not a big deal.

I mean, they're not getting the regular academic degree. So, who knows what the "academic" standards are for these honorary degrees. You can see it as the university granting course credit for work experience or something.

Bill Gates is not a great example to use to say these things are bad. The guy actually made it to Harvard. Just never finished his degree. His accomplishments easily suggest he's qualified to hold at least a Masters in business and Computer Science, if not doctorates.

Answer 3

It's an ego stroke and a way to massage them for MONEY and donations and publicity that the uni would not receive otherwise. I think they're bogus. I went to university and paid my dues, studied, and then film stars, and business millionaires get honorary degrees?? What the f...?
You can't stop it. But who really cares if these people have some fake degree' honorary' degree. It's kind of like fake boobs. You bought 'em.!! right?