A honorary college degree is a one that is conferred upon someone who has not fulfilled the traditional requirements for graduation. Honorary degrees are primarily used to recognize a person’s extraordinary contributions to the academic institution granting the degree. Some colleges present honorary degrees during their annual commencement ceremonies, but others conduct special ceremonies for honorary degree recipients. The one receiving the degree normally makes a speech.
Dating back to the Middle Ages, the tradition of the honoris causa degree has always existed to award very special people in a community who have done a great service for their fellow men, often at their own expense or with brave sacrifice. But sometimes the degree was used as a reward for wealthy people who grant large funds or real estate to the community. Honorary degrees have also been bestowed on certain people after their deaths, to honor some great accomplishment made during their lifetime, or perhaps an act of final heroism.
While an honorary doctoral degree are the highest level of such recognition, this designation does not imply that the person has merited an actual PhD in a field of study or knowledge.
Here is a video clip of Apple, Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak, receiving an honorary doctorate from Concordia University:
