The Harvard Gazette

Honorary Degrees

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Honorands Katalin Karikó (clockwise from top left), David Levering Lewis, Michael Mullen, Jennifer Doudna, Hugo Noé Morales Rosas, and Tom Hanks join President Larry Bacow and Provost Alan Garber.

Harvard awards six honorary degrees

Recipients include a Nobel laureate, an actor, a biochemist, a historian, a co-founder of Radio Bilingüe, and a decorated military leader

Campus|

DateMay 25, 2023May 25, 2023

Harvard Yard during Commene

Harvard to award seven honorary degrees

Recognizing game changers who continue to shape the world

Campus|

DateMay 26, 2022May 29, 2022

2018 Commencement feature photograph

Harvard awards nine honorary degrees

Recipients include a chancellor, Drew Faust, an editor, a museum director, and distinguished professors

Campus|

DateMay 30, 2019May 29, 2019

2018 honrands.

Seven receive honorary degrees

Presented during Morning Exercises on Commencement Day

News|

DateMay 24, 2018May 24, 2018

Presentation of the honorary degrees is held during Morning Exercises on Commencement Day.

Harvard awards 10 honorary degrees

Recognizes principal speaker Mark Zuckerberg among others top in their field

Campus|

DateMay 25, 2017May 25, 2017

Honorary degree recipient Steven Spielberg will be the principal speaker for Harvard's Afternoon Program at its 365th Commencement.

Nine to receive honorary degrees

Spielberg shares the day's spotlight with a host of honorees at the top of their fields

Campus|

DateMay 26, 2016March 14, 2019

President Drew Faust (center, black robe) sits among those who will be receiving honorary degrees during Harvard's 364th Commencement. Harvard Provost Alan M. Garber (front row, far left) is also pictured.

Ten to receive honorary degrees

The University recognizes former Gov. Deval Patrick as well as pioneers in the arts and sciences

Campus|

DateMay 28, 2015April 2, 2019

Michael R. Bloomberg was born and raised in Massachusetts, growing up in Medford before attending Johns Hopkins University and then Harvard Business School.

Eight to receive honorary degrees

University recognizes leaders in politics, arts, science, and more

Campus|

DateMay 29, 2014

At Morning Exercises, chairs in Tercentenary Theatre filled quickly as the graduates readied for Harvard's 362nd Commencement.

Joy by the Yard

Scenes from a sun-splashed Commencement, filled with rituals, reflections, memories, and laughter

Campus|

DateMay 30, 2013February 13, 2018

Oprah Winfrey, the principal speaker
for the Afternoon Program, will be joined
by a musician, author, chemist, mayor,
and others onstage.

Harvard awards 9 honorary degrees

University recognizes leaders in medicine, media, politics, and more

Campus|

DateMay 30, 2013April 15, 2019

Doctor of Laws recipient Fareed Zakaria is one of the best-known and well-respected journalists of our time. In a career that has included prominent roles at Newsweek, Time, CNN, and The Washington Post, Zakaria has interviewed world leaders ranging from Barack Obama to the Dalai Lama, from Moammar Gadhafi to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. He has tackled issues including globalization, the Middle East, international relations, and America’s role in the world.

Eight receive honorary degrees

Recipients recognized by Harvard for their outstanding contributions

Campus|

DateMay 24, 2012July 24, 2019

Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian brings events to order at the start of Harvard's 360th Commencement.

Moments that make Commencement

Tales of centenarian alumni, tuxedoed guides, playful students, and angry squirrels

Campus|

DateMay 26, 2011July 26, 2019

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became president of Liberia in 2006, the culmination of a career of public service in Liberia that has seen her endure death threats, incarceration, and exile, and an achievement that made her the first woman head of state ever elected in an African country.

Harvard awards 9 honorary degrees

President Faust to present degrees during Morning Exercises

Campus|

DateMay 26, 2011June 26, 2019

Graduates Cary Lin (from left), Paige Holtzman, Cindy Cheng, and Diane Choi pause for a photograph while processing into Tercentenary Theatre during the Morning Exercises.

Morning glories

Harvard confers degrees on its departing Class of 2010

Campus|

DateMay 27, 2010July 11, 2019

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin received the first honorary degree in 1753? Or that more than 2,000 honorary degrees were conferred before one was granted to a woman? Harvard's Commencement is rich with tradition, age-old conventions, and little-known facts.

Commence wonderment

A breakdown on Harvard’s Commencement rituals, and how they came to be

Campus|

DateMay 26, 2010July 11, 2019

Honorary degrees awarded at Commencement

Campus|

DateJune 5, 2008

Commencement marked by solemnity, joy … sunshine!

News|

DateJune 14, 2007