Universities and their academic programs present all kinds of writing challenges. Here are some guidelines pertaining to academic programs and titles:

academic degrees.  Lowercase, except when using abbreviations. The preferred form is to avoid abbreviation and instead use a phrase such as: “the student was awarded a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering” or “John Jones, who has a doctorate in civil engineering.”

Use an apostrophe in “bachelor’s degree,” “master’s degree,” etc.

• For news releases, use such abbreviations as B.S., M.S., Ph.D. and D.Eng. only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome. Use these abbreviations only after a full name – never after just a last name.
• For Missouri S&T Magazine and departmental newsletters, the preferred form for academic degrees is to list the abbreviation of the department (see abbreviations, below) followed by an apostrophe and the two-digit abbreviation of the year of graduation. For example, write: The Havener Center is named for Texas businessman Gary Havener, Math’62.

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: “Daniel Moynihan, Ph.D., spoke.”

To avoid redundancy, do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference: 

• Incorrect: “Dr. Sam Jones, Ph.D.”
• Correct: “Dr. Sam Jones, a chemist.” 

Also, do not precede the name of a professor with both the title “Dr.” and “professor.” Use one or the other, but not both. 

• Incorrect: “Speakers included Missouri S&T history Professor Dr. Larry Gragg.”
• Correct: “Speakers included Missouri S&T history Professor Larry Gragg.”
• Correct: “Dr. Larry Gragg, professor of history.” 

When in doubt about the proper abbreviation for a degree, follow the first listing in Webster’s New World College Dictionary. 

academic degrees, abbreviations. For Missouri S&T Magazine, the following abbreviations of academic degrees are used when degree identification is needed for an alumna or alumnus:

Academic degree abbreviations

academic departments. Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives: “the department of history,” “the history department,” “the department of English and technical communication,” “the English and technical communication department.”

It is more concise to drop the “of” and flip-flop a department’s name; thus the “department of electrical and computer engineering” becomes the “electrical and computer engineering department,” or the “department of mechanical and aerospace engineering” becomes the “mechanical and aerospace engineering department.”

Do not abbreviate “department” in any usage. For most non-academic departments, also use lowercase.

academic divisions. Capitalize all divisions, centers, laboratories, institutes and ROTC programs when using the full, proper name. “The center,” “the division,” “the institute,” etc., is acceptable on second reference. In news releases, the informal departmental or divisional name (“electrical and computer engineering department” instead of “department of electrical and computer engineering,” or “student affairs division” instead of “Division of Student Affairs”) is the preferred use on second reference. Usually, offices are lowercase (“chancellor’s office” instead of “Chancellor’s Office” or “Office of the Chancellor”). Centers and institutes are capitalized when the full name is used (“Center for Infrastructure Engineering Studies,” “Graduate Center for Materials Research,” etc.). Also, “Air Force ROTC” and “Army ROTC” are the preferred references for these academic programs.

Missouri S&T divisions are as follows:

• Division of Administrative Services
• Division of Student Affairs
• Division of University Advancement

academic and administrative titles. Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as “professor,” “chancellor,” “chair,” etc. when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere.

advisor.  This spelling differs from AP style, which recommends adviser. In keeping with common academic usage, however, use advisor.

alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae. Use “alumnus” (“alumni” in the plural) when referring to a man who has graduated from the university. Use “alumna” (“alumnae” in the plural) when referring to a woman who has graduated from the university. Use “alumni” when referring to a group of both men and women.

The term “alum” may be used in informal writing but is best avoided. If you must use the term, make sure your audience knows you’re writing about a person, not the chemical compound of the same name.

chairman, chairwoman, chair. “Chair” is preferred over “chairman” or “chairwoman.” Do not use “chairperson.” Capitalize as a formal title before a name: “mechanical and aerospace engineering Chair Ashok Midha,” “history department Chair Larry Gragg.” But after a name, the title is lowercase: “Dr. Ashok Midha, chair of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department.” Do not capitalize as a casual, temporary position: “meeting chair Robert Jones.”

course numbers and courses. Use Arabic numerals and capitalize the subject when used with a numeral: “English 160,” “Chemistry 1,” etc. When writing about specific courses, write the formal names and capitalize: “Technical Writing,” “Introduction to Chemistry,” etc.

Curators’ Professor, Curators’ Teaching Professor. Always capitalize, including when preceding or following the name of any Missouri S&T (or other University of Missouri campus) faculty member holding the title. Examples: “Dr. Walter Eversman, Curators’ Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.” “Dr. Delbert E. Day is a Curators’ Professor emeritus of ceramic engineering.” “Curators’ Teaching Professor Dee Haemmerlie Montgomery.”

doctor. For faculty members who hold doctoral degrees, the courtesy title “Dr.” may be used in first reference on news releases, but not for Missouri S&T Magazine or department newsletter copy. On second reference, use the last name only. Do not, however, change the use of courtesy titles in direct quotes. For example, if someone is quoted as saying, “Dr. Bogan’s film class taught me valuable lessons about the meaning of life,” do not alter the quote.

emeritus. Place “emeritus” after a formal title and follow the guidelines for academic and administrative titles. “Curators’ Teaching Professor Emeritus Lawrence Christensen” or “Doug Mattox, professor emeritus of ceramic engineering.”

endowed chairs and professorships. Capitalize full names of endowed chairs or professorships. For example: “Dr. J. David Rogers, Karl F. Hasselmann Missouri Endowed Chair of Geological and Petroleum Engineering,” or “Dr. Craig Adams, John and Susan Mathes Missouri Distinguished Chair of Civil Engineering.” Note that the academic specialty is capitalized because it is part of the formal title.

fellow. Capitalize if part of a formal title, such as “American Society for Engineering Education Fellow.” Lowercase elsewhere.

students. Avoid such terms as engineers, lawyers, scientists and teachers when referring to students of various disciplines. Use “engineering students” or “engineering majors.”