Documentation:CTLT Writing Style Guide/Noun Usage

This page discusses the different conventions with the most commonly used nouns in university documents.

Academic Subjects

In general usage, subjects should be listed in lower case.

• She is majoring in geography.
• He enjoys his mathematics course.

Exception: when you are describing a subject that is also a language, culture or religion, capitalize it.

• She is an English major.
• He is doing well in his Spanish course.
• UBC is one of the few universities in the country to offer courses in Sikh studies.

When a subject is being described by its official or short form name, course or program title, it should be capitalized.

• She teaches in the Department of Geography at UBC.
• He is taking a course called Introduction to Global Citizenship.
• Atmospheric Science is one of the specialized streams of study within Earth and Ocean Science.

If you are writing about a specific department using the official name, capitalize the name of the department or research centre and use the full title for the first reference. On second and subsequent references, use the short version of the proper name also capitalized or the common noun element lower cased.

• The Department of Sociology received nine significant grants. It was the highest number ever presented to the Sociology Department within a single semester. Additional department information can be found on their Web site.

If, when using the common noun element, e.g. "department" or "centre", and other departments or centres are mentioned leading to possible confusion, capitalize the initial letter.

• The Liu Institute for Global Issues drawss scholars from around the world. The Institute is one of many institutes and research centres at UBC.
• The Department of Psychology is one of the largest in the Faculty of Arts. The department includes cognitive, behavioural and linguistic psychologists.

Courses

Capitalize course names, but don’t use quotation marks around them.

• In May, UBC will pilot three additional MOOCs: Useful Genetics with Rosie Redfield from Zoology, Computer Science Problem Design with Gregor Kiczales, and Climate Literacy: Navigating Climate Conversations with Sarah Burch, UBC Continuing Studies Centre for Sustainability and Sara Harris, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences.

Alumni

Use the word "alumni" to refer to a group of people of both sexes (or where the sex of the group members is unknown) who have graduated from UBC.

• Thousands of alumni from across the country return to UBC for the Class of ’78 reunion.

Alumnus refers to an individual male graduate.

Alumna refers to an individual female graduate.

Alumnae describes a group of graduates known to be comprised entirely of females. It is not commonly used. However, it should be used when the grads are known to be all female.

• The Koerner Library hosted alumnae from the first graduating class in women’s studies.

Alums is used as an informal substitute for "alumni" in spoken English, but should rarely be used in written form.

Degrees

It is acceptable to spell out the degree or to abbreviate it, depending on the context.

When describing and spelling out a degree, use lower case and apostrophes.

• There are many baccalaureate degrees.
• He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics. She is working towards a master’s degree.
• She has a bachelor of arts degree in English.
• The Faculty of Graduate Studies conferred 97 master’s degrees in the Fall convocation.

When abbreviating a degree, omit periods and punctuation marks.

• BA, MA, PhD, LLB, BSc, MES, MSW

Within the body of a text, details of a degree may be written out as follows.

• Dale Smith earned her BA (Honours) in History.
• Judy Shreiber graduated with a master’s degree last year.

Within a graduate profile, shorten as much as possible, including the year of graduation.

• Dale Smith (BA Hons. `79) now works in Guam as a consultant.
• July Shreiber (MA `98) is now pursuing doctoral work at Harvard University.

When using articles with degrees, use the article appropriate when pronouncing the abbreviation.

• an MA in political science (not a MA)
• an MSc in theoretical physics (not a MSc)
• a BA in philosophy

Honours

When one is referring to a title or degree, always capitalize the "H".

• The Specialized Honours program is very attractive to students.
• He earned a BA (Honours) in philosophy.

When referring to someone being honoured with an award, use the lower case.

• Judy Brown, was honoured with a Killiam Faculty Teaching Prize.

Departments and Administrative Units

Words such as department, division, centre and program are only capitalized when they are part of a formal or informal name. Proper names, titles of programs, names of Faculties, colleges, schools and departments and senior administrative bodies always capitalized.

First Reference	Subsequent Reference
Cognitive Science Program	the program
the Department of Psychology or the Psychology Department	the department
Faculty of Arts	the Faculty
the University Board of Governors or UBC Board of Governors	the Board or University Board of Governors
University Senate	the Senate

Lower case should be used when the context is general, or in the second and subsequent references to a department, college, or body whose full name has already been given.

• The humanities courses are popular among undergraduate students.
• All departments must submit their budget projections next week.
• The Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory (upper case on first reference) is part of the Faculty of Fine Arts.
• The Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory is unique in Canada. The department offers a wide range of courses related to different visual media. (lower case in all subsequent references, where it is clear which department is being discussed, and where no other departments are mentioned in the same context.)
• School of Music is located at the west end of the campus. (upper case on first reference) The college’s mandate is technology and the arts. (lower case on second and subsequent references)
• The UBC Board of Governors held its first annual meeting. The board meeting ended at 7pm.

In plural usage, when more than one department or division is being described, use lower case for the common noun.

• The departments of History and Political Science both offer ...

Faculty

In the case of the word “Faculty”, where there are two meanings, use the upper case “Faculty” when you mean the “academic division.” When you mean a group of professors, use the lower case: the faculty.

• The Faculty of Arts is the largest at UBC. The Faculty offers a wide range of courses in many subject areas.
• UBC faculty can get job information from the University website.

University

When referring to any specific university, including UBC, the "U" is always capitalized, even in subsequent references.

• The University is located in Vancouver.
• Stanford University is located in Palo Alto, California. The University is well-known all over the world.

The "u" is lower case when referring to universities in general.

• The university today faces the challenge of declining government funds and escalating costs. (referring to universities in general)

The "u" is always lower case in the plural, when more than one university is mentioned including UBC.

• UBC, Yale and York universities were well represented at the conference.

When a phrase refers to an administrative unit it should be capitalized. When it refers to an individual’s title it should be written in lower case.

• The Vice-President Students produces the annual PBA document.
• The vice-president students chaired the meeting.

Emeritus

• emeritus (masculine)
• emerita (feminine)
• emeriti (plural)

Government

Capitalize specific international, national and provincial government departments, ministries, agencies, boards etc., including short forms of the proper name.

• B.C. Ministry of Education
• B.C. Highways Ministry
• Canada Post Corp. (on first reference), Canada Post (on subsequent references)
• Liquor Control Board of Ontario

Capitalize cabinet portfolios only as part of a title directly preceding a name.

• Health Minister Georgia Pape

but

• Georgia Pape, federal minister of health

Lower case the cabinet member’s title in subsequent reference and when it stands alone.

• Finance Minister Bernard Hannon addressed the House of Commons yesterday. The finance minister spoke again about the budget he released last week.

Capitalize descriptions of the department or ministry that refer to their proper name, even when they stand alone.

• The cuts will affect Justice and Communications.
• Over 25 years, she worked in Archives, Housing and Natural Resources.

Lower case common nouns related to government ministries standing alone and in a group (plural references), and in subsequent references.

• the department, a ministry spokesperson, board members, the authority
• the departments of Justice and Defence

Job Titles

When the title comes before the name, it should be in capital letters.

• UBC President Stephen Toope
• Vice-President Academic and Provost George Mackie
• Faculty of Arts Dean Nancy Gallini

When the title comes after the name, it should be in lower case (with the exception of the title "Chair").

• Stephen Toope, president of UBC
• George Mackie, vice-president academic and provost
• Nancy Gallini, dean of the Faculty of Arts
• James Tayor, Chair of Landscape and Liveable Environments

When the title is written without the name, it should be lower case (with the exception of the title "Chair").

• The president made a speech to the senate.
• The dean spoke to the new students for the first time.

When combining a job title with an academic subject, the subject or program should not be capitalized.

• Adrienne Jones, professor of physics, led the seminar.

After the full name and title have been given once, use only the surname in subsequent references.

• UBC President Stephen Toope addressed the Canadian Club last week. In his speech, Toope described his university sector experience, both as an administrator and as a former student.

Chair

Always capitalize Chair when you are referring to someone’s title to distinguish it from other meanings.

• The Chair of the board of governors officially opens the meetings.
• A new Chair of the Philosophy Department was appointed.

But lower case it when you are using it as a verb.

• He chaired the meeting.
• He will chair this important meeting

When a phrase refers to an administrative unit it should be capitalized. When it refers to an individual’s title is should be written in lower case.

• The Associate Vice-President Campus and Community Planning produces the annual PBA document.
• The associate vice-president campus and community planning chaired the meeting.

When introducing a faculty member in an article or event, use their proper ranks as follows:

• Instructor for Instructor 1 or Instructor 2 positions
• Senior Instructor
• Professor of Teaching
• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor

More information is available at UBC Tenure and Promotions

Fellow

Capitalize Fellow when referring to academic titles.

• She is the Senior Fellow in the residence.

Names

Capitalize the first letter of a name that is not usually capitalized (e.g. edX) if it is the first word in the sentence.

• EdX is organized as a confederation…