Honorary Degrees

Our vision for Honorary Degrees is to team up with changemakers across the globe.

Deadline for nominations: 8 April 2025.

Eligibility

Loughborough University bestows Honorary Degrees on high-profile individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to fields the University has close links with.

Areas of contribution could be any academic, business or professional service area, or of particular relevance to the University’s values and strategic vision.

Nominations can be made by:

  • Current staff members of Loughborough University, its subsidiaries or of Loughborough Students’ Union
  • Current Loughborough University students
  • Current lay members of University Council

Self nominations or nominations of immediate family members are not permitted.

Criteria

Criteria would include:

  • High profile, exceptional candidates who have made a substantial contribution to their chosen field whether that be industry, education, research, culture, Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI), sustainability, society or other public service.
  • An outstanding and inspirational example of achievement to the University entire community.  
  • Enhance the University's academic or general reputation; and
  • Have the potential to act as a champion and supporter of the University in an ongoing capacity.
Submit an Honorary Degree nomination

Questions about nomination

  • Nominations can be made using the online form below. If you would prefer to provide a nomination via other means e.g. by video or through a short interview, please contact the Committee Secretary and arrangements will be made.
  • Nominations received before the deadline will be considered for Committee review. It is not guaranteed that all nominations received by the deadline will be reviewed at the very next Committee meeting. If there is a time sensitive element to your nomination, please notify the Committee Secretary.
Online nomination form
    1. Why are you nominating this individual for a Loughborough University Honorary Degree?

      Suggested word count: min – 150 words, max – 500 words.

      Please do not include weblinks in lieu of providing specific information about an individual’s key achievements. Your nomination should specifically reference how the nominee meets the award criteria.

    2. Which area of the University Strategy does your nomination support?

      Select tick box(es) that are relevant.

    3. Can you detail (if any) the connections to the nominee that you or the university already have?

      Nominations can be people in your field who you admire, great leaders or anyone who is striving to create a better future. It is not essential for nominees to have existing connections with the University, although in some circumstances, this may strengthen the case.

      If you do know of specific individuals within the University and its networks that are linked with the nominee, this can be helpful to us when trying to make contact with successful nominees.

    4. Please can you give examples of the potential to act as a champion and supporter of the University in an ongoing capacity.

      Suggested word count: min – 150 words, max – 500 words. 

      Examples might include acting as a mentor or ambassador for the University, providing guest lectures or joining an advisory board.

      A system is now in place to facilitate ongoing engagement with our Honorary Graduates.

    5. Have you discussed this nomination with your line manager/Dean/Head of Service?

      Yes/No answer.

      Whilst not essential, in order to achieve a degree of coordination with nominations, it is recommended that nominations are discussed within your School/Professional Service.

If you have any further questions about the nomination process or would like to see previous, exemplar nominations, please contact the Committee Secretary.

University staff can find an intranet-based example of a successful honorary degree nomination at the link below.

Exemplar honorary degree nomination [intranet]
Previous honorary award recipients

Nomination process and timeline

Stage One (Pre-Approval)

University Honours Committee meets three times per academic year and there are deadlines for receipt of nominations linked to those meeting dates.

It is important to note that it is not guaranteed that a nomination received by the deadline will be considered at the very next meeting.

A selection is made by the Secretary and Deputy Chief of Staff using the following principles:

  1. A number of nominations that is manageable to cover during the meeting, with consideration to the other agenda items that may also need to be covered
  2. Achieving a balance of nominations from across sport, the Arts, business, academia etc
  3. Achieving a balance of honorary degree nominations that support the three strands of the University strategy
  4. The length of time the nomination has been in the pool awaiting consideration
  5. Any known time sensitivities which mean a nomination needs to be prioritised or fast tracked for consideration at the next meeting

The Chair (or Deputy Chief of Staff in consultation with the Chair) has the right to filter out nominations before they reach Committee on the following basis:

  • Reasons that are confidential and not in the public domain or widely known within the University. E.g. the individual or parties linked to the individual would find the offer of an award inappropriate (for HR / legal reasons)
  • The individual or parties linked to the individual have / have had a legal dispute with the institution and therefore offering an honorary award would be inappropriate 
  • The nominee is a serving politician. Nominations for serving politicians cannot be considered by University Honours Committee. Please note that nominations for current members of the House of Lords are permitted.
  • Self nominations or nominations of immediate family members are not permitted.
University Honours Committee

Stage Two (Approval Stage)

Once a nomination has been considered by the Committee and a decision made, those decisions are then ratified at the next meetings of University Senate and Council.

See Senate and Council meeting dates.

Senate Council

Stage Three (Invitation Stage)

If final approval is received, an invitation is then sent from the Vice-Chancellor, inviting the nominee to accept the award.

If the award is accepted the Graduation Office will liaise with the nominee on a suitable ceremony date. It is not guaranteed that the nominee will be awarded at the next graduation ceremony but the closest, mutually convenient date will be agreed.

Due to governance involved in the process, it can take up to 12-18 months from the point of nomination before an award is actually made.

Submit an Honorary Degree nomination