Highlights of the academic year, ceremonies for the title of Doctor honoris causa are the opportunity for the representatives and professors of ULiège to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of distinguished public figures.

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ach year, the University of Liège awards the title of Doctor honoris causa to several distinguished public figures. This honorary distinction allows the academic community to recognise outstanding scientists, who are awarded for the remarkable quality of their work and their fundamental contribution to the progress of society, as well as eminent public figures from the political, economic, social and cultural spheres. This diverse panel is a reflection of ULiège's openness to the outside world and to citizen involvement.

This prestigious diploma expresses the recognition of ULiège or allows the institution to provide moral and symbolic support to certain causes that respect its fundamental values.

Candidates for the diploma honoris causa are nominated either by faculty professors or by university authorities. In both cases, it is then the Academic Council, i.e. all the professors, who must approve these proposals by vote. Since 2020, faculty proposals must ensure gender equality over two years.

The public figures chosen on the proposal of the Faculties receive their insignia during a ceremony in the spring, coupled with the PhD degree with thesis. The public figures chosen on the proposal of the authorities are highlighted during the start of the academic year, generally around a common theme.

In turn, professors from the University of Liège receive the Doctor honoris causa awards granted by other institutions around the world.

More than 550 public figures

Since its foundation in 1817, the University of Liège has awarded the award of Doctor honoris causa to more than 550 public figures. Among these luminaries, we can cite Louis Pasteur, Ilya Prigogine, Umberto Eco, King Baudouin, Frederico Mayor, François Mitterrand, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres, Helmut Kohl, Robert Badinter, SM King Albert II, Nancy Huston, Pierre Alechinsky, Agnès Varda, Abdou Diouf, Frank De Winne, Matthieu Ricard, Pierre Rabhi or still yet Erik Orsenna. The title was also awarded to the associations Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), World Wide Fund for Nature, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists et Cartooning for Peace.

Discover the doctors honoris causa from previous years

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