Honorary Academic Titles

Date: 12^th May 2025

Press Release

Clarification on the Use of Honorary Doctorates and Academic Titles

In line with its mandate to ensure quality and uphold standards in The Gambia’s tertiary higher education sector, the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) wishes to provide clarification regarding the proper use of honorary doctorates and academic titles in the country.

Honorary Doctorates:

An honorary degree (honoris causa) is a ceremonial award and does not equate to an academic qualification.  As such, it must not be used for academic, professional, or work-related purposes.

Honorary doctorates may only be conferred by recognized public or private universities and typically fall under three categories:

• Doctor of Laws (LLD)
• Doctor of Letters (DLitt)
• Doctor of Science (DSc)

Importantly, the nomenclature for honorary degrees must clearly state the category and must not include the term “PhD”.  Recipients must explicitly indicate that the award is honorary, for example: Tom Harry, DSc (honoris causa).

It is incorrect and misleading to present such titles as: Tom Harry, PhD, or to use the prefix “Dr.”.

All honorary degrees obtained from foreign institutions must meet NAQAA’s standards before they can be recognized in The Gambia.  We urge our stakeholders and the general public to refrain from referring to honorary degree holders as “Doctor”, whether in writing or speech.

Use of Academic Titles:

NAQAA further clarifies that the title of Associate Professor is not equivalent to that of Professor.  The rank of Professor is the highest academic designation and must not be used interchangeably with Associate Professor or Reader.  Individuals holding the title of Associate Professor should instead be addressed by their academic title, such as Dr., where applicable.

This clarification is issued to uphold the integrity of academic titles and ensure consistency in their use within The Gambia’s higher education system.

Issued by:

The Management, National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA)