Academic Degrees

In General

  • No punctuation for academic degrees: BA, BIS, BMus, BS, MA, PhD, MFA
  • Spell out lesser-known degree titles at first mention, use acronym after
  • Do not capitalize spelled-out names for a degree (bachelor of arts degree, bachelor of interdisciplinary studies, master’s degree, the doctorate)
  • Do not use a comma between the degree and class year (BA '48)

Listing Alum Classes and Degrees

  • List alums' classes and degrees along with their major(s) whenever available. Classes and degrees may be found in the Donor Management System.
  • List classes and degrees within parenthesis after the first instance of the person's name. No need to repeat.
    • Examples: Allen Chen (BA '22, political science), Ruby Jones (MFA '15, theatre arts)
  • To list classes and degrees of alums who have earned more than one degree from the University of Minnesota, list degrees from most recent to least recent. Separate degrees using semicolons.
    • Example: Lilliana Gomez (PhD '21, economics; MS '18, data science; BA '15, computer science)
  • Do not include degrees that were earned from other non-University of Minnesota institutions. If it is important to note a particular degree, incorporate it into the text. Example: "Serena Hattar (BA '02, art history) has been working in her chosen field for over two decades. After earning her doctorate at UCLA, she went on to..."
  • Do not list an alum's classes and degrees within article titles. Example: Alum Jan Goldman is a Maven of Maroon (and Gold)

Reminder

Majors and fields of study are lower-case unless they include a proper name, e.g., English, American Indian studies, etc.