Recognising individuals who make significant, ongoing contributions
What are honorific titles?
Honorific titles with our Faculty and University are highly-esteemed titles awarded on a fixed-term, honorary basis to individuals from industry, government, professions, communities and the academy.
Honorific titles represent a significant honour to individuals and are awarded with the same level of rigour applied to salaried academic staff at the equivalent rank.
Individuals awarded honorific titles are not by law necessarily employees of the University.
| Equivalent academic level | Academic | Clinical | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Honorary Clinical Tutor | ||
| B | Honorary Fellow | Honorary Clinical Fellow Honorary Clinical Lecturer | |
| C | Honorary Senior Fellow | Honorary Clinical Senior Fellow Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer | Honorary Melbourne Enterprise Fellow |
| D | Honorary Principal Fellow | Honorary Clinical Associate Professor | Honorary Melbourne Enterprise Fellow |
| E | Honorary Professorial Fellow Emeritus Professor Emeritus Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor Emeritus Melbourne Laureate Professor | Honorary Clinical Professor | Honorary Melbourne Enterprise Professor |
Why are honorific titles awarded?
Honorific titles are awarded to recognise individuals who make significant ongoing contributions to our Faculty through world-class, values-based teaching, research, research training, engagement, enterprise, leadership and service.
Honorific titles may also be awarded to retiring or resigning Professors who have demonstrated exceptional and sustained service to our University. These individuals are recognised with the award of the distinguished titles of Emeritus Professor, Emeritus Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Emeritus Melbourne Laureate Professor.
How are honorific titles awarded?
Current salaried staff of the University may submit a recommendation to award an honorific title, making a case for the award on the basis of an individual's significant ongoing contributions to the Faculty.
Recommendations for honorary clinical titles are assessed against the Criteria for Honorary Clinical Titles. Recommendations for honorary enterprise titles are assessed against the Criteria for Honorary Enterprise Titles. Recommendations for all other titles are assessed against the University's Academic Careers Benchmarks and Indicators.
The recommendation process varies for different titles, and further information is available to current salaried staff on the process for both the recommendation for award and renewal of existing titles equivalent to:
Individuals who are being recommended for the award of an honorific title may direct any questions in the first instance to the Executive Assistant for the relevant Head of Department or Head of School.
Conditions of award
Individuals awarded honorific titles are expected to comply with University of Melbourne statutes, regulations and policies relevant to the activities they undertake in their honorary capacity.
Breaches of University statutes, regulations and policies may result in the withdrawal of an honorary title. An honorary title may also be withdrawn before the term of award, if the individual ceases to contribute to the activities of the University.