Rules for Capitalization, Abbreviation, Referencing Formal Names for Degrees and Partner Programs
Undergraduate
- Bachelor of Arts (BA)
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
- Bachelor of Science (BS)
Graduate
- Master of Accounting (MACT)
- Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC)
- Master of Arts in College Student Development (MACSD)
- Master of Accounting (MACT)
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Master of Science in Leadership and Change (MSLC)
When abbreviating degrees offered by St. Edward’s, omit periods between the letters:
- BA
- MAC
- MBA
- BBA
- MACSD
- MSLC
- BS
- MACT
With informal references to degrees, use an apostrophe in bachelor’s and master’s.
- She earned a bachelor’s degree at St. Edward’s.
- Their master’s degrees proved beneficial.
- Students can choose from two degrees: a bachelor’s in Digital Media Management or a master’s in Business Management.
Spell out the first reference to a degree, followed by its abbreviation if used in subsequent references.
- Lauren is interested in the MA in College Student Development program.
- Jorge is pursuing a Master of Accounting, like his mentor, Justin Taylor MACT ’10. Taylor’s MACT degree has enabled him to ...
Do not spell out first reference to a degree when it is used with a graduation year.
- Justin Taylor MACT ’10 will participate on the alumni panel.
Use these same rules when referring to degrees earned at other universities.
To avoid style inconsistencies, follow these guidelines for capitalizing the university’s degrees, academic programs, majors, co-curricular programs and course titles. St. Edward’s has many unique degree names (i.e. Accounting Information Technology, Digital Media Management, Writing and Rhetoric) that are best understood when capped. They set the standard for capitalizing all majors, including the more general ones (i.e. Chemistry, History, Psychology).
Note the following examples and use editorial judgment to determine when the “official” capped style or the “general areas of study” lowercase style applies based on the context of the copy.
Capitalize
Capitalize official names of the university’s degrees, academic programs, majors, co-curricular programs and course titles.
The Master of Accounting program/degree ...
The Writing and Rhetoric program/degree/major ...
Courses offered in Freshman Studies include ...
Our Psychology program/degree/major is one of the most popular ...
Business Communication is taken in the first semester of ...
She earned a Master of Arts in Counseling at St. Edward’s.
In the BA in Philosophy program, students are required to take Ethics and Public Policy.
Courses in Self and Society, General Psychology, American National Government, and State and Local Government are required in his chosen major.
When using the term “major,” “graduate” or “student” directly following an official degree name, capitalize the degree name.
- BA in Criminal Justice majors complete supporting courses in ...
- Work by several Photography and Media Arts students was included in the exhibit.
- Many of our Biology graduates continue their studies in graduate school.
Do Not Capitalize
Do not capitalize when referring to general areas of study, even when the area of study matches an official name. To better understand these examples, the editorial context is given in brackets.
He is interested in computer science [general area of study] but plans to major in Accounting Information Technology [official degree].
He wants to take computer science [general area of study] courses but plans to major in Accounting Information Technology [official degree].
He wants to take courses in the Computer Science [official degree] program but plans to major in Accounting Information Technology [official degree].
In the Criminal Justice program [official degree], students study psychology, government, crime analysis and American history [general area of study].
She wants to study French and creative writing [general area of study] but plans to major in Theater Arts [official degree].
Along with teaching high school, chemistry graduates [not referring specifically to St. Edward’s University graduates] may work in research or ...
She is a graduate in international business [general area of study].
She is interested in international studies [general area of study] but plans to pursue a degree in political science [general area of study].
He wants to earn a master’s in kinesiology [general area of study].
Students are required to take courses in biology, mathematics and chemistry [general area of study].
You’ll research a topic within chemistry [general area of study] and present your findings.
The philosophy professors [general work title] are traveling to a conference next week.
When using the term “major,” “graduate” or “student” directly following an official degree name, capitalize the degree name.
- BA in Criminal Justice majors complete supporting courses in ...
- Work by several Photography and Media Arts students was included in the exhibit.
- Many of our Biology graduates continue their studies in graduate school.
When abbreviating academic degrees, omitting the periods is our preferred style. This applies to religious order classifications as well.
- BBA, MBA, PhD, LLD, etc.
Plural Abbreviations
To form the plural of a degree abbreviation with our style of no periods, add “s” after the abbreviation.
- BAs, MLAs, PhDs, LLDs, etc. To avoid odd-looking plural constructions, rewrite or add the word “degrees” after the abbreviation.
- MACSD degrees, MAC degrees
- They earned BS degrees in Computer Information Technology.
St. Edward’s University in France
- The partnership program the university has established with Université Catholique de l’Ouest (UCO) in Angers, France, should be referred to in these ways:
- the university’s flagship study abroad program in Angers, France
- our partner university in Angers, France
- Do not refer to UCO as the St. Edward’s University:
- portal campus in Angers, France
- campus in Angers, France
International Partner Universities
The university has established international educational partnerships with the following universities:
- Université Catholique de l’Ouest (UCO) in Angers, France
- Paris L’Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris, France
- Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland
- Fachhochschule Koblenz in Koblenz, Germany
- Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Eichstätt, Germany
- Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid, Spain
- Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid, Spain
- Universitat Jaume I in Castello de la Plana, Spain
- Asia Pacific University in Beppu, Japan
- Catholic University of Korea in Seoul, South Korea
- Tecnológico de Monterrey, with programs throughout Mexico
- Universidad Argentina de la Empresa in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- University of Roehampton in London, England
- Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) in Costa Rica
- Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Viña del Mar, Chile
- Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Valparaíso, Chile
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Wu Yee Sun College (CUHK) in Hong Kong, China
- University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, Australia
- Fu Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- James Cook University in Queensland, Australia
- University of Technology Sydney in Sydney, Australia
- Management Center Innsbruck in Innsbruck, Austria
- The Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy
- Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland
- University of Roehampton in London, England
- Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) in Costa Rica
The Fulbright Program is a highly selective scholarship/grant program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. The program offers grants for graduating college seniors, graduate students, teachers, young professionals and artists to study, conduct research and/or teach abroad.
Graduating college seniors in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program may be referred to as “Fulbright Students,” “Fulbright U.S. Students” or “Fulbrighters.” For consistency, we use “Fulbright Students” as the common description.
The Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship grant is one of several Fulbright U.S. Student Programs. This program places recent college graduates and young professionals as English Teaching Assistants in schools or universities overseas to help teach English language while serving as ambassadors for U.S. culture. English Teaching Assistants may also pursue individual study/research plans in addition to their teaching responsibilities.