An honorary degree is an academic degree for which the university has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases honoris causa or ad honorem. The degree is typically a doctorate or, less commonly, a master's degree, and may be awarded to someone who has no prior connection with the academic institution or no previous postsecondary education.
RECIPIENTS OF HONORARY DEGREE
YEAR | NAME | FIELD |
|---|---|---|
1950 | Alexander Morris Carr-Saunders | Doctor of Letters |
1950 | Raymond Edward Priestly | Doctor of Letters |
1950 | Ronald Braddel | Doctor of Letters |
1950 | Edgar Kingsley Tratman | Doctor of Medicine |
1950 | Morris Jamieson | Doctor of Science |
1951 | Malcolm MacDonald | Doctor of Letters |
1951 | Robert Gordon Scott MacGregor | Doctor of Medicine |
1951 | Han Hoe Lim | Doctor of Laws |
1951 | Kwa Siew Tee | Doctor of Laws |
1951 | Mohamed Eusoff bin Mohamed Yusoff | Doctor of Laws |
1951 | Richard Olaf Winstedt | Doctor of Laws |
1951 | Brian Baurice Johns | Master of Surgery |
1951 | Charles Aubrey Hamilton Franklyn | Master of Arts |
1952 | Christopher Joseph Oliverio | Doctor of Medicine |
1952 | Norman Stanley Alexander | Doctor of Science |
1952 | Chen Su Lan | Doctor of Laws |
1952 | Franklin Charles Gimson | Doctor of Laws |
1952 | George Alle | Doctor of Laws |
1952 | Onn bin Ja' afar | Doctor of Laws |
1953 | Federic Charles Courtenay Benham | Doctor of Letters |
1953 | John Lionel Simonsen | Doctor of Science |
1953 | Ernest Emmanuel Clough Thuraisingham | Doctor of Laws |
1953 | Wilfred Edward Gros Clark | Doctor of Laws |
1954 | Richard Brunel Hawes | Doctor of Medicine |
1954 | Richard Eric Holtum | Doctor of Science |
1954 | Baratham Ramaswamy Sreenivasan | Doctor of Laws |
1955 | Graham Hough | Doctor of Letters |
1955 | Adolphus Josiah Thumboo | Doctor of Medicine |
1955 | Cecil Vernon Jumeaux | Doctor of Medicine |
1955 | Philip Manson | Doctor of Medicine |
1955 | Alfred William Frisby | Doctor of Laws |
1955 | Nik Ahmad Kamil | Doctor of Laws |
1955 | Tay Teck Eng | Doctor of Laws |
1956 | Desmond William George Faris | Doctor of Laws |
1956 | Ho Seng Ong | Doctor of Laws |
1956 | Sydney Caine | Doctor of Laws |
1957 | Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah | Doctor of Laws |
1957 | Lim Yew Hock | Doctor of Laws |
1958 | Lee Kong Chian | Doctor of Laws |
1958 | Tunku Ya’acob | Doctor of Laws |
1959 | Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad | Doctor of Letters |
1959 | Karuppiah Vellasamy | Doctor of Medicine |
1959 | John William Field | Doctor of Science |
1959 | Megat Khas bin Megat Omar | Doctor of Laws |
1960 | Arthur Anatharaj Sandosham | Doctor of Medicine |
1960 | Muttiah Doraisingham | Doctor of Medicine |
1960 | Fredric Mason | Doctor of Laws |
1961 | Abdul Razak Hussain | Doctor of Laws |
1961 | Foo Yin Chew | Doctor of Laws |
1961 | Mustapha Albakri | Doctor of Laws |
1961 | Thio Chan Bee | Doctor of Laws |
1961 | Yap Pheng Geck | Doctor of Laws |
1962 | Soo Kim Lan | Doctor of Medicine |
1962 | Abdul Rahman bin Haji Talib | Doctor of Laws |
1963 | Tuanku Syed Putra Ibni Al-Marhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail | Doctor of Letters |
1963 | Sattanda Ganesan Rajahram | Doctor of Medicine |
1963 | Hussien Hassanally Abdoolcader | Doctor of Laws |
1963 | Tom Eames Hughes | Doctor of Laws |
1964 | Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Majid | Doctor of Laws |
1964 | George Maxwell Davies | Doctor of Laws |
1964 | Ismail bin Dato' Abdul Rahman | Doctor of Laws |
1965 | Alexander Oppenheim | Doctor of Letters |
1965 | II Kwon Chung | Doctor of Laws |
1965 | Tan Siew Sin | Doctor of Laws |
1966 | Mohamed Khir Johari | Doctor of Laws |
1966 | Zakir Hussain | Doctor of Laws |
1968 | His Imperial Majesty Muhammad Reza Pahlavi Shahan, Shah of Iran | Doctor of Letters |
1968 | L.C. Bateman | Doctor of Science |
1968 | Abdul Jamil bin Abdul Rais | Doctor of Laws |
1968 | Ferdinand E. Marcos | Doctor of Laws |
1969 | Radhakrisha Ramani | Doctor of Letters |
1971 | Muhammad Ghazali Shafie | Doctor of Letters |
1971 | Lee Boon Chim | Doctor of Laws |
1971 | Veerasamy Thirugnana Sambanthan | Doctor of Laws |
1972 | Mohd. Suffian bin Hashim | Doctor of Letters |
1972 | Mohamad Din bin Ahmed | Doctor of Medicine |
1972 | Tan Chee Khoon | Doctor of Laws |
1973 | Ishak bin Haji Muhammad | Doctor of Letters |
1973 | Ismail bin Mohamed Ali | Doctor of Laws |
1974 | Yaacob bin Abdul Latiff | Doctor of Laws |
1975 | Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohd. Hashim | Doctor of Science |
1975 | Fatimah binti Haji Hashim | Doctor of Laws |
1975 | Lee Yan Lian | Doctor of Laws |
1976 | Muhamed Said bin Mohamed | Doctor of Letters |
1976 | Hamdan bin Sheikh Tahir | Doctor of Laws |
1977 | Amadou-Mantar M’Bow | Doctor of Letters |
1978 | Arthur Beedle | Doctor of Letters |
1978 | Syed Mohamed Alwi Alhady | Doctor of Laws |
1978 | Hamzah bin Dolmat | Master of Arts |
1979 | Tuanku Hajjah Bahiyah binti Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman | Doctor of Education |
1979 | Raja Azlan Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah | Doctor of Letters |
1979 | Rafeal Montinola Sales | Doctor of Laws |
1979 | Ishak bin Tadin | Master of Economics |
1980 | Dato’ Philip Kuok Hock Khee | Doctor of Economics |
1980 | Tunku Tan Sri Mohamed bin Tunku Besar Burhanuddin | Doctor of Science |
1980 | Richard Cerdin Griffiths | Doctor of Laws |
1980 | Abdul Samad Ahmad | Master of Arts |
1981 | Omar Yoke Lin Ong | Doctor of Philosophy |
1981 | Syed Mahmood bin Syed Hussain Jamalullail | Doctor of Science (Engineering) |
1981 | Zenko Suzuki, Prime Minister of Japan | Doctor of Laws |
1982 | Exxedin Ibrahim Mustafa | Doctor of Economics |
1982 | Khurshid Ahmad | Doctor of Education |
1982 | Ibrahim bin Haji Mohd Yassin | Doctor of Medicine |
1982 | Harun bin Hj Mohd Amin | Master of Arts |
1982 | Zakaria bin Hitam | Master of Arts |
1983 | Puteri Maha Chakri Sirindhorn | Doctor of Letters |
1983 | Usman Awang | Doctor of Letters |
1984 | Ahmad Noordin bin Hj. Zakaria | Doctor of Laws |
1985 | Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al Musta’in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’adzam Shah | Doctor of Letters |
1987 | Mohamed Salleh bin Abas | Doctor of Letters |
1989 | Eusoffe Abdoolcader | Doctor of Letters |
1989 | Teh Hong Piow | Doctor of Laws |
1990 | Nelson Mandela | Doctor of Letters |
1991 | Abdullah bin Ayub | Doctor of Laws |
1992 | Ainuddin bin Abdul Wahid | Doctor of Education |
1992 | Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien | Doctor of Laws |
1995 | Siti Hasmah binti Haji Mohd Ali | Doctor of Education |
1996 | Julio Maria Sanguinetti, President of the Republic of Uruguay | Doctor of Letters |
1997 | Sulaiman bin Haji Daud | Doctor of Dental Science |
1998 | Raja Muhammad Alias Raja Muhammad Ali | Doctor of Economics |
1999 | Abu Bakar Apong | Doctor of Education |
1999 | Awang Had Salleh | Doctor of Letters |
1999 | Malcolm Harris | Doctor of Science |
2000 | Abdullah Sanusi Ahmad | Doctor of Economics |
2000 | Othman Mohd Noor | Doctor of Education |
2001 | Just Faaland | Doctor of Economics |
2001 | Mohd Hassan Marican | Doctor of Engineering |
2001 | Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen bin Tengku Ibrahim | Doctor of Science |
2001 | Harussani Zakaria | Doctor of Syariah |
2002 | Johari bin Mat | Doctor of Education |
2003 | Basir bin Ismail | Doctor of Economics |
2003 | Chan Ah Chye | Doctor of Engineering |
2003 | Syed Zahiruddin Syed Hassan | Doctor of Laws |
2004 | Mahathir bin Mohamad | Doctor of Islamic Thought |
2005 | Ungku Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid | Doctor of Economics |
2005 | Arshad Ayub | Doctor of Education |
2005 | Abdul Majid Ismail | Doctor of Administration |
2005 | Halim Mohammad | Doktor of Business |
2005 | S.D. Putchucheary | Doctor of Medicine |
2005 | T.K. Mukherjee | Doctor of Science |
2005 | Ling Liong Sik | Doctor of Political Science |
2005 | Aishah Ghani | Doctor of Social Sciences |
2005 | Hijjas Kasturi | Doctor of Architecture |
2005 | P. Ramlee | Doctor of Performing Arts |
2005 | P. Balan | Doctor of Laws |
2005 | The Rt. Honourable Lord Woolf of Barnes (Harry Kenneth Woolf) | Doctor of Laws |
2006 | Razali Ismail | Doctor of International Relations |
2006 | Abdul Rahman Arshad | Doctor of Education |
2007 | Muhammad Jusuf Kalla | Doctor of Economics |
2007 | Ahmed Zewail | Doctor of Science |
2007 | Musa Hitam | Doctor of Political Science |
2007 | Justice P.N. Bhagwati | Doctor of Laws |
2008 | Permaisuri Rania Al Abdullah, Queen of Jordan | Doctor of International Relations |
2008 | Kim Dae-jung | Doctor of Humanities |
2008 | Asiah Abu Samah | Doctor of Education |
2009 | Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi | Doctor of Humanities |
2010 | Daisaku Ikeda | Doctor of Humanities |
2011 | Wu Zongyu | Doctor of Letters |
2012 | Zeti Akhtar Aziz | Doctor of Economics |
2012 | Yohei Sasakawa | Doctor of Humanities |
2012 | Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid | Doctor of Education |
2012 | N.S. Selvaman | Doctor of Education |
2013 | Surin Abdul Halim Ismail Pitsuwan | Doctor of International Relations |
2013 | Irina Georgieva Bokova | Doctor of Humanities |
2013 | Azman bin Hashim | Doctor of Management |
2013 | Kenneth Yeang King Mun | Doctor of Architecture |
2014 | Ahmad Kamil bin Jaafar | Doctor of International Relation |
2014 | Rasammah Noami Bhupalan Rajendram nee Navarednam | Doctor of Education |
2015 | Andrew Sheng Len Tao | Doctor of Economics |
2015 | Rafidah Aziz | Doctor of Economics |
2016 | Jeffrey Cheah Fook Ling | Doctor of Education |
2016 | Abdullah Haji Salleh | Doctor of Islamic Studies |
2016 | David Chua Kok Tee | Doctor of Business |
2017 | Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud | Doctor of Letters |
2017 | Anthony Crothers Milner | Doctor of Humanities |
2017 | Lee Shin Cheng | Doctor of Science |
2018 | Mahmood Osman Merican | Doctor of Medicine |
2018 | Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman | Doctor of Real Estate |
2019 | Rafiah Salim | Doctor of Laws |
2022 | Wang Gungwu | Doctor of Letters |
2023 | Tan Eng Chye | Doctor of Management |
2023 | Sulaiman Mahbob | Doctor of Public Policy |
2024 | Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa | Doctor of Political Science |
2025 | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | Doctor of International Relations |
Last Update: 22/08/2025