Courtesy Titles and the Use of Abbreviated Titles
Because doctors’ degree titles more accurately describe an individual’s expertise, it is preferable to include degree designations after an individual’s name, rather than to precede the name with Dr., in all internal and external publications. For example, “John Smith, MD,” clearly indicates that individual’s academic background, while “Dr. John Smith” fails to indicate whether he is a medical doctor (MD), a doctor of philosophy (PhD), a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD), a doctor of education (EdD) or a doctor of osteopathy (DO), etc.
In a reference following a person’s name, use only the highest academic degree earned. If all earned degrees must be used, list the highest first. Equal-level degrees (such as PhD and MD) should be listed in the order they were earned.
Note: Periods are not needed when using degree abbreviations.
| Example: | John Smith, PhD, CCRN, FAAN However, a comma should come before and after initials. |
| Example: | John Smith, PhD, CCRN, FAAN, stated that the new grant would help in finding a cure for diabetes. |
On the first mention, the name and credentials should be bolded.
Affiliations and Acronyms
When an affiliation is followed by an acronym, the first mention of the affiliation should be hyperlinked but not the acronym. Exceptions are made for affiliations whose acronym appears within the name.
| Correct: | University of Arizona Arthritis Center (UAAC) |
| Correct: | Committment to Underserved People (CUP) Program |
| Incorrect: | University of Arizona Arthritis Center (UAAC) |
Affiliations and Titles
For University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix faculty members who also are members of Banner – University Medical Group and have clinical privileges at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, Banner – University Medical Center South or Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, use academic titles for primary identification. Affiliation with other entities also may be used, as appropriate, in context.
There are exceptions. For example, individuals who are directors of centers at University of Arizona Health Sciences generally are identified by that title.
| Example: | The speaker was C. Kent Kwoh, MD, director of the University of Arizona Arthritis Center. |
Proper titles are lowercase when they follow an individual’s name, uppercase when they precede the name.
| Correct: | The lecturer was Professor John Smith, PhD. |
| Preferred: | John Smith, PhD, professor of anatomy, lectured. |
The title of an administrator of a department or division is “director” or “head,” depending on the entity. The title of an administrator of a section within a department is “chief.”
Arizona Board of Regents Titles
To specify a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, capitalize proper titles before the name, but use lowercase for titles following a name.
| Correct: | One committee member, Regent Sue Black, disagreed. |
| Correct: | Robert Williams, a regent, provided his opinion |
| Incorrect: | Peter Thompson, an Arizona Regent, spoke out. |
Legislative Titles
On first reference in regular text, use “Rep.,” “Reps.,” “Sen.” and/or “Sens.” as formal titles before one or more names. In a direct quotation, spell out and capitalize these titles before one or more names. In other uses, spell out and lowercase “representative” and “senator.”
| Example: | Sen. John Smith was scheduled to speak. |
| Example: | “Senator Smith graduated from the Univeristy of Arizona,” he said. |
| Example: | They were among the nine senators and representatives on the committee. |
On second reference, use legislative titles before a name only if they are part of a direct quotation.
| Example: | “Senator Smith graduated from the University of Arizona,” he said. |
| Example: | He said that Smith is a University of Arizona graduate. |