Honorary degrees have been a tradition in American higher education for over 300 years. Harvard bestowed its first Harvard degree on Increase Mather, the Puritan clergyman, in 1692. In 1938, Harvard bestowed an honorary degree on Walt Disney. 

Honorary degrees are conferred honoris causa, "for the sake of honor." Honorary degrees are awarded as one of three types: Doctor of Laws, honoris causa; Doctor of Letters, honoris causa; or Doctor of Science, honoris causa. The PhD is granted only as an earned degree.

Honorary degrees are generally awarded for one of three reasons: To recognize extraordinary intellectual or artistic achievement; to honor service to the University and to the wider society; and to recognize men and women who might serve as examples to the institution's student body. An honorary degree, it is said, honors both the grantee and the spirit of the institution.

Honorary degrees are generally not awarded to any of the following: current faculty or staff (some institutions extend the ban to retired faculty members from that institution); current Trustees or members of the Board of Regents; and current holders of political office (some institutions extend the ban for five years or more).

On some campuses, only the Board of Trustees chooses the honorees. On many campuses, however, the "committee on honorary degrees" is composed of a broader representation of segments of the community, often including a mix of the following: The President of the institution; the Chair of the Academic Senate; the President of the Alumni Association; the President of the student body; the chair of the staff assembly; and representatives from the Board and from the community.

The number of honorary degrees presented each year at any one institution can range from two to ten. Often the President's office assigns a "host" or "shepherd" for each honorary degree recipient during his or her stay on campus. One of the honorary degree recipients usually presents the Commencement address. Humorist Art Buchwald presented one of the most memorable ones. In it, he admonished the graduates: "We've given you a perfect world. Don't louse it up!"

The tradition of granting honorary degrees at the University of Alberta dates back to the first Convocation in 1908. The complete listing of honorary degrees granted is published in the annual academic calendar and Senate website.

Additional information regarding Honorary Degrees and the University Senate can be found at honorary degree information.