Individuals honored by the University with an honorary degree for their outstanding lifetime accomplishments. An alphabetical list of recipients and links to biographical information are available at the University Awards and Honors site.
Honorary Degrees 2010-Present
| Honorary | Discipline | Year of Award |
| Jan Malcolm |
Doctor of Laws |
2020 |
| Brian Kobilka |
Doctor of Science |
2019 |
| Laysha Ward |
Doctor of Laws |
2019 |
| Anne O. Krueger |
Doctor of Science |
2018 |
| Prince Rogers Nelson |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
2018 |
| Daniel L. McFadden |
Doctor of Science |
2017 |
| Sauli Vainamo Niinisto |
Doctor of Laws |
2017 |
| John W. Paulson |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
2017 |
| Yohei Sasakawa |
Doctor of Laws |
2017 |
| Warren MacKenzie |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
2015 |
| Patricia D. Horoho |
Doctor of Laws |
2014 |
| Kate Millett |
Doctor of Science |
2014 |
| Monkombu S. Swaminathan |
Doctor of Science |
2014 |
| Susan M. Watkins |
Doctor of Science |
2014 |
| Jean Illsley Clarke |
Doctor of Laws |
2013 |
| Thomas J. Sargent |
Doctor of Science |
2013 |
| Christopher A. Sims |
Doctor of Science |
2013 |
| Joe Dowling |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
2012 |
| Maria Schneider |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
2012 |
| Chen Zhu |
Doctor of Science |
2012 |
| Chunli Bai |
Doctor of Science |
2011 |
| Philip C. Brunelle |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
2011 |
| Ertharin Cousin |
Doctor of Laws |
2011 |
| His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
2011 |
| Richard M. Schulze |
Doctor of Laws |
2011 |
| Phillip A. Sharp |
Doctor of Science |
2011 |
| Devi Prashad Shetty |
Doctor of Laws |
2011 |
| Michael S. Berman |
Doctor of Laws |
2010 |
| Jacques Diouf |
Doctor of Laws |
2010 |
| Richard P. Teske |
Doctor of Laws |
2010 |
| Chandra M. Varma |
Doctor of Science |
2010 |
| Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson |
Doctor of Science |
2010 |
Honorary Degrees 2000-2009
| Clara Adams-Ender |
Doctor of Humane Letters School of Nursing |
2009 |
| Marin Alsop |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2009 |
| Sean Carroll |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2009 |
| David L. Dilcher |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2009 |
| Tony Kushner |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2009 |
| Jeno F. Paulucci |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth |
2009 |
| Ellen Johnson Sirleaf |
Doctor of Laws Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
2009 |
| Dominick J. Argento |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2008 |
| Ann Bancroft |
Doctor of Laws UM - Duluth |
2008 |
| James R. Campbell |
Doctor of Laws Carlson School of Management |
2008 |
| Marilyn Carlson Nelson |
Doctor of Laws Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
2008 |
| Richard H. Carmona |
Doctor of Laws School of Public Health |
2008 |
| Jack Dangermond |
Doctor of Science College of Design / College of Food, Agriculture & Natural Resource Sciences / College of Liberal Arts / Institute of Technology / Center for Urban and Regional Affairs |
2008 |
| Tarja K. Halonen |
Doctor of Laws UM - Duluth |
2008 |
| Florence Knoll Bassett |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Design |
2008 |
| Osmo Vänskä |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2008 |
| John William Vessey Jr. |
Doctor of Laws School of Dentistry |
2008 |
|
Maya Angelou |
Doctor of Humane Letters School of Nursing |
2007 |
|
Mohamed Benaissa |
Doctor of Laws System Academic Administration/International Programs |
2007 |
|
Gerald B. Bubis |
Doctor of Laws College of Education and Human Development |
2007 |
|
Luella Gross Goldberg |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Foundation |
2007 |
|
Geir H. Haarde |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts/International Programs |
2007 |
|
Sir Paul M. Nurse |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2007 |
|
Beatrice Luoma Ojakangas |
Doctor of Humane Letters UM-Duluth |
2007 |
|
Norman J. Ornstein |
Doctor of Laws Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
2007 |
|
David Salmela |
Doctor of Humane Letters UM-Duluth |
2007 |
|
Joseph L. White |
Doctor of Laws System Academic Administration |
2007 |
|
Lu Yongxiang |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2007 |
|
James Brandenburg |
Doctor of Humane Letters UM-Duluth |
2006 |
|
Elliot Cook Carter |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2006 |
|
James A. Johnson |
Doctor of Laws HHH Insititute of Public Affairs |
2006 |
|
Gordon C. Marten |
Doctor of Science College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences |
2006 |
|
Harry Oden |
Doctor of Laws UM-Duluth |
2006 |
|
Fai-nan Perng |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
2006 |
|
George Bugliarello |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2005 |
|
Merce Cunningham |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2005 |
|
Bruce B. Dayton |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
2005 |
|
Bruce L. Laingen |
Doctor of Laws Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
2005 |
|
Richard Moe |
Doctor of Humane Letters University of Minnesota Duluth |
2005 |
|
Ismail Serageldin |
Doctor of Laws College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
2005 |
|
Tommy G. Thompson |
Doctor of Laws School of Public Health |
2005 |
|
Hwei-Hsein Cheng |
Doctor of Laws College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences |
2004 |
|
Yanni Chryssomallis |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts/Alumni Association |
2004 |
|
Jorge Manuel Dengo-Obregon |
Doctor of Laws Institute of Technology |
2004 |
|
Stanley S. Hubbard |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Art/General College |
2004 |
|
John R. Jungck |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2004 |
|
Marcia K. McNutt |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2004 |
|
Roger D. Moe |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Crookston |
2004 |
|
Dale R. Olseth |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Foundation |
2004 |
|
Cesar Pelli |
Doctor of Humane Letters University of Minnesota Duluth |
2004 |
|
Doraiswami Ramkrishna |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2004 |
|
Norman E. Shumway |
Doctor of Science Academic Health Center |
2004 |
|
C. A. "Sy" Syvertson |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2004 |
|
Billy Taylor |
Doctor of Humane Letters University of Minnesota Duluth |
2004 |
|
Abdoulaye Wade |
Doctor of Laws College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
2004 |
|
Viviane Wade |
Doctor of Laws Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
2004 |
|
Dale Warland |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2004 |
|
Jiang Zhenghua |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts/China Center |
2004 |
|
Charles J. Arntzen
|
Doctor of Science College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
2003 |
|
Thomas Buergenthal |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
2003 |
|
Elizabeth S. Close |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture |
2003 |
|
Claire M. Fraser |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2003 |
|
Donald A. Henderson |
Doctor of Laws School of Public Health |
2003 |
|
Zenon Mroz |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2003 |
|
Archbishop Desmond Mplio Tutu |
Doctor of Laws College of Continuing Education |
2003 |
|
David F. Zentner |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth |
2003 |
|
William A. Bardeen |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2002 |
|
James I. Brown |
Humane Letters College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
2002 |
|
Margaret B. Davis |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2002 |
|
Rebecca F. Goldburg
|
Doctor of Laws College of Biological Sciences |
2002 |
|
Robert J. Gorlin |
Doctor of Science School of Dentistry |
2002 |
|
Jeffrey A. Harvey |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2002 |
|
Louis J. lgnarro |
Doctor of Science Medical School/Pharmacology |
2002 |
|
Winona LaDuke |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth Chancellor's Office |
2002 |
|
Matthew Little |
Doctor of Laws Office of the Vice President for Campus life |
2002 |
|
J. R. Anthony Pearson |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2002 |
|
James Rosenquist |
Doctor of Humane Letters General College |
2002 |
|
Donna E. Shalala |
Doctor of Laws College of Human Ecology |
2002 |
|
Fred Sherman |
Doctor of Science Medical School |
2002 |
|
August Wilson |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2002 |
|
Heinrich Beck |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2001 |
|
Russell M. Bennett II |
Doctor of Laws Law School |
2001 |
|
Emilie Buchwald |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2001 |
|
A. W. Clausen |
Doctor of Laws Law School |
2001 |
|
Morton M. Denn |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2001 |
| Donald M. Fraser |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
2001 |
|
Thomas L. Friedman |
Doctor of Humane Letters Office of University Relations |
2001 |
|
Theodore V. Galambos |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2001 |
|
Jane Goodall |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2001 |
|
William J. Hadlow |
Doctor of Science College of Veterinary Medicine |
2001 |
|
William D. Hawkland |
Doctor of Laws Law School |
2001 |
|
Gerald W. Heaney |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth |
2001 |
|
Prince Masahito Hitachi |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
2001 |
|
John L. Holland |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts |
2001 |
|
Johan Fjord Jensen |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2001 |
|
Ancel Keys |
Doctor of Science School of Public Health |
2001 |
|
Gerhard Levy |
Doctor of Science College of Pharmacy |
2001 |
|
Ronald L. Libertus |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
2001 |
| Cheng-Hou Lou |
Doctor of Science College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
2001 |
|
Henry Maier |
Doctor of Science Medical School |
2001 |
|
Paul E. Meehl |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts |
2001 |
|
Benjamin S. Pomeroy |
Doctor of Science College of Veterinary Medicine |
2001 |
| Antoine Predock |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture |
2001 |
|
James H. Prestegard |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2001 |
|
W. Harmon Ray |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2001 |
|
Lee R. Raymond |
Doctor of Laws Institute of Technology |
2001 |
|
Andreas Acrivos |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2000 |
|
Norman A. Berg |
Doctor of Laws College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
2000 |
|
Willard L. Boyd |
Doctor of Laws Law School |
2000 |
|
Jane E. Brody |
Doctor of Laws School of Public Health |
2000 |
|
Willard W. Cochrane |
Doctor of Laws College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
2000 |
|
Gerald M. Edelman |
Doctor of Science Medical School/Neuroscience |
2000 |
|
Charles Fairhust |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
2000 |
|
Nelson D. Goldberg |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences/Medical School |
2000 |
|
James L. Oberstar |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth |
2000 |
|
Robert J. Odegard |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
2000 |
|
Carl T. Rowan |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
2000 |
Honorary Degrees 1990-1999
|
John E. Coons |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth |
1999 |
|
Frank O. Gehry
|
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture/Weisman |
1999 |
|
Beverly Goldfine |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth |
1999 |
|
Erwin L. Goldfine |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Duluth |
1999 |
|
Eville Gorham |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
1999 |
|
Marie Manthey |
Doctor of Laws School of Nursing |
1999 |
|
Gangzhi Tu |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
1999 |
|
Madeleine K. Albright |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
1998 |
|
William K. Estes |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts |
1998 |
|
William F. Hueg, Jr. |
Doctor of Laws College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
1998 |
|
Thomas H. Swain |
Doctor of Laws Alumni Association |
1998 |
|
Wei Yu |
Doctor of Laws Institute of Technology |
1998 |
|
Robert M. Berdahl |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts |
1997 |
|
Muriel Humphrey Brown |
Doctor of Laws Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
1997 |
|
Humphrey Doermann |
Doctor of Laws University of Minnesota Morris |
1997 |
|
Marian Wright Edelman |
Doctor of Laws College of Education and Human Development |
1997 |
|
Joan Adams Mondale |
Doctor of Humane Letters University of Minnesota Duluth |
1997 |
|
Walter F. Mondale |
Doctor of Humane Letters University of Minnesota Duluth |
1997 |
|
Paul D. Boyer |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
1996 |
|
Curtis L. Carlson |
Doctor of Laws Carlson School of Management |
1996 |
|
Daniel H. Janzen |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
1996 |
|
Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1996 |
|
Jacob Lawrence |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1996 |
|
Joyce C. Lebra |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1996 |
|
Tang Peisong |
Doctor of Science College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
1996 |
|
Kim Young Sam |
Doctor of Laws Academic Affairs/International Studies |
1996 |
|
Harold W. Stevenson |
Doctor of Science College of Education and Human Development |
1996 |
|
Yien-si Tsiang |
Doctor of Laws College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences |
1996 |
|
Herbert E. Wright, Jr. |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
1996 |
|
Hillary Rodham Clinton |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
1995 |
|
Roland Dille |
Doctor of Humane Letters University of Minnesota Morris |
1995 |
|
Ernst R. G. Ekert |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
1995 |
|
Vernon B. Mountcastle |
Doctor of Science Medical School |
1995 |
|
Winston R. Wallin |
Doctor of Laws Medical School |
1995 |
|
Yoweri Museveni Kaguta |
Doctor of Laws Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs |
1994 |
|
Ruth Meyers |
Doctor of Humane Letters University of Minnesota Duluth |
1994 |
|
Tanya Moiseiwitsch |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1994 |
|
Charles Schulz |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1994 |
|
Frank Thistlewaite |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts |
1994 |
|
David Cox |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts |
1993 |
|
M. Joycelyn Elders |
Doctor of Science Medical School |
1993 |
| Edward Lewis |
Doctor of Science College of Biological Sciences |
1993 |
| Ednor M. Rowe |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
1993 |
|
Michael L. Rutter |
Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts |
1993 |
|
Joseph M. Juran |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
1992 |
|
Meridel LeSueur |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1992 |
|
David Zinman |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1991 |
|
Martin Friedman |
Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts |
1990 |
| Lester C. Krogh |
Doctor of Science Institute of Technology |
1990 |
| Adam Michnik |
Doctor of Laws College of Liberal Arts |
1990 |
Honorary Degrees 1950-1989
| Robert A. Good | Doctor of Science Medical School | 1989 |
| Harold G. Scheie | Doctor of Arts and Letters Medical School | 1989 |
| Lewis Thomas | Doctor of Science Medical School | 1989 |
| Earl E. Bakken | Doctor of Science Medical School | 1988 |
| Lester Breslow | Doctor of Science Medical School/School of Public Health | 1988 |
| Daniel J. Anderson | Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts | 1987 |
| Max M. Kampelman | Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts | 1987 |
| Sandra Day O'Connor | Doctor of Laws Law School | 1987 |
| Robert Penn Warren | Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts | 1987 |
| John B. Carroll | Doctor of Science College of Liberal Arts | 1986 |
| Homer Hagstrum | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1986 |
| Jean Howard Hagstrum | Doctor of Arts and Letters College of Liberal Arts | 1986 |
| Francis Pettijohn | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1986 |
| Neal R. Amundson | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1985 |
| John William Ward | Doctor of Humane Letters Graduate School | 1985 |
| E.W. Ziebarth | Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts | 1985 |
| Joseph Valasek | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1983 |
| Elmer L. Andersen | Doctor of Laws School of Management | 1982 |
| Norman E. Borlaug | Doctor of Science College of Agriculture | 1982 |
| John A. Butler | Doctor of Humane Letters College of Education | 1982 |
| Jay Phillips | Doctor of Humanities Medical School | 1981 |
| Alfred O. C. Nier | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1980 |
| Sigurd Ferdinand Olson | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1979 |
| Stanislaw Skrowaczewski | Doctor of Musical Arts | 1979 |
| Warren E. Burger | Doctor of Laws Law School | 1978 |
| Walter F. Mondale | Doctor of Laws | 1978 |
| Roy Wilkins | Doctor of Laws | 1976 |
| John Bardeen | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1973 |
| Harold E. Stassen | Doctor of Laws | 1972 |
| John H. Van Vleck | Doctor of Science | 1971 |
| Melvin Calvin | Doctor of Science | 1969 |
| Hubert Horatio Humphrey | Doctor of Laws Law School | 1966 |
| Frederick Russell Kappel | Doctor of Engineering Institute of Technology | 1966 |
| James Patrick Shannon | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1966 |
| Robert R. Gilruth | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1962 |
| Laurence M. Gould | Doctor of Laws Institute of Technology | 1962 |
| James Lewis Morrill | Doctor of Law | 1962 |
| Farrington Daniels | Doctor of Science | 1959 |
| Gunnar H. Nordbye | Doctor of Laws | 1959 |
| Walter H. Brattain | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1957 |
| Edward W. Davis | Doctor of Science Institute of Technology | 1956 |
| Frederick L. Hovde | Doctor of Laws | 1956 |
| Russell A. Plimpton | Master of Arts | 1956 |
| Carls F. Hellstrom | Master of Arts | 1955 |
| Solon J. Buck | Doctor of Laws Library | 1954 |
| John E. Dahlquist | Master of Arts | 1954 |
| Stanley Raymond Mickelsen | Master of Arts | 1954 |
| Robert Newton | Doctor of Science | 1954 |
| Elvin C. Stakman | Doctor of Science | 1954 |
| Everett Fraser | Doctor of Laws Law School | 1951 |
| Elmer Edgar Stoll | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1950 |
Honorary Degrees 1925-1949
| Thomas Poe Cooper | Doctor of Science College of Agriculture | 1949 |
| Gregg Manners Sinclair | Doctor of Laws | 1949 |
| Edward F. Waite | Doctor of Science | 1949 |
| Herman Haupt Chapman | Doctor of Science | 1947 |
| Arville Irving Levorsen | Doctor of Science | 1947 |
| Walter C. Coffey | Doctor of Science College of Agriculture | 1946 |
| Guy Stanton Ford | Doctor of Humane Letters College of Liberal Arts | 1946 |
| Andrew Boss | Doctor of Science | 1945 |
| Donald J. Cowling | Doctor of Laws | 1945 |
| Dimitri Mitropoulos | Doctor of Music | 1943 |
| Charles P. Berkey | Doctor of Science | 1940 |
| Thomas S. Roberts | Doctor of Science | 1940 |
| Fred B. Snyder | Doctor of Laws | 1940 |
| Louis B. Wilson | Doctor of Science | 1940 |
| F. Melius Christiansen | Doctor of Music | 1937 |
| Frederick May Eliot | Doctor of Laws | 1937 |
| Henry Johnson | Doctor of Laws | 1937 |
| Ada Comstock | Doctor of Laws | 1936 |
| Sister Antonia McHugh | Doctor of Laws | 1936 |
| Elbert L. Carpenter | Doctor of Music College of Liberal Arts | 1935 |
| Charles Horace Mayo | Doctor of Laws | 1935 |
| William James Mayo | Doctor of Laws | 1935 |
| Gratia Countryman | Master of Arts College of Liberal Arts | 1932 |
| Frank B. Kellogg | Doctor of Laws | 1931 |
| George Edgar Vincent | Doctor of Laws | 1931 |
| William Watts Folwell | Doctor of Laws | 1925 |