The (honorary) doctor is in! Every year, colleges around the country award celebrities honorary degrees for their accomplishments in the art or business world.
In May 2014, John Legend returned to his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, adding an honorary doctorate of music to the bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in African-American literature and culture he earned at the school to his wall. “The reason I’ve had a wonderful journey so far, is because I’ve found love,” the singer said during his commencement address at U Penn’s graduation ceremony. “The key to success is opening up your mind and your heart to love and spending your time doing things you love with people you love.”
He added: “We’re taught when we’re young that the opposite of love is hate, but it’s not. Hate is a byproduct, hate is a result. Being a hater isn’t cool — nobody wants that. But hate comes from one thing: fear. Fear is the opposite of love.”
Legend received a second honorary degree when he spoke at Duke University’s commencement ceremony in May 2021. “Your class lost a lot: some lost job offers, some lost loved ones, and all of you last a whole year those little moments that make college so special,” the “All of Me” singer told the Class of 2021. “I feel your pain. You’ve lost something that you won’t get back. I won’t sugarcoat that. It sucks.” Legend went on to suggest that the coronavirus pandemic helped the graduates learn the importance of taking time to pause and reflect on what they wanted out of life.
“But over the past year, you were forced to pause, to see yourselves not just in competition with one another, but in community with each other. … We all had to slow down, social distance, cover our faces, stop filling our days with maximum productivity and simply keep each other safe, keep each other alive, care for one another,” he said at the time. “And this perspective you gained will serve us all, because while that competitive drive that got you here can be an incredible gift, it can get in the way, too.”
Honorary doctorates also offer some celebrities the chance to live out a piece of the college experience that they may have missed out on. In May 2014, Diddy spoke to graduates of Howard University in Washington D.C., which he attended for two years before dropping out to pursue a career in the music business. “If I didn’t leave school early, I would have been more prepared,” the rapper, 52, said during his commencement speech.
Despite leaving the school after his sophomore year, Diddy confessed that he still values the time he did spend at Howard and often looked back on it fondly. After being fired from his first job at Uptown Records in 1993, the “Bad Boys For Life” performer was in a bad place, while all of his friends were graduating and their lives were just beginning. “I had to decide to be my own light [in the darkness],” he told students. “One day, you’re going to be sitting in the dark like I was, thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ In that moment, I want you to remember the power in you.”
Keep scrolling to see even more stars who have received honorary degrees:
The 9-1-1 star earned an honorary doctorate from Old Dominion University in Virginia during their May 2022 commencement ceremony.
Courtesy of Angela Bassett/Instagram
In March 2022, New York University announced that Swift would receive an honorary doctorate of fine arts and speak at the 2022 commencement ceremony. While the singer did not attend college herself, her career and music were the subject of a course at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute beginning in January 2022. “This course proposes to deconstruct both the appeal and aversions to Taylor Swift through close readings of her music and public discourse as it relates to her own growth as an artist and a celebrity. … We’ll also consider topics like copyright and ownership, American nationalism and the ongoing impact of social media on the pop music industry,” the course description reads.
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The “Man of the Woods” singer received an honorary doctoral degree from the Berklee School of Music in May 2019. “No Dream is too big!!! Keep chasing!!! Trust me… I’m a DOCTOR!!” Timberlake captioned an Instagram picture of himself holding up his diploma at the time. “But, for real… THANK YOU to @berkleecollege for this incredible honor—I’m very humbled and grateful.”
Paul Marotta/Getty Images for Berklee
The TV mogul received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree during Harvard’s 362nd commencement in Cambridge, Mass., on May 30, 2013. “Oprah’s journey from her grandmother’s Mississippi farm to becoming one of the world’s most admired women is one of the great American success stories,” university president Drew Faust said.
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The Argo director received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 26, 2013. “Now I surpass Matt Damon!” the actor joked.
Mike Cohea/Brown University via Getty Images
The Scandal star gave the May 19 address at her alma matter George Washington University in Washington, D.C., on May 19, 2013. She also received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.
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True Blood’s main man tipped his hat to the crowd after being given an honorary arts degree from Leeds Metropolitan University in Leeds, England in July 2011.
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Say cheese, Kylie! In 2011, the Aussie singer proudly displayed her doctorate from Angela Ruskin University in England.
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The As Good as it Gets actor took home an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island’s Brown University in 2011.
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Meryl’s gone to Harvard! The award winning actress received her honorary degree from the Cambridge, Mass., university in 2010.
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Star Trek’s Shatner was given an honorary degree from Montreal’s McGill University in June 2011.
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Washington — whose son Malcolm attends the University of Pennsylvania — looked dapper when speaking at the school in May 2011.
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Honoring the Queen of Soul! Franklin received several degrees, including Doctor of Music from the Berklee College of Music in 2006, University of Pennsylvania in 2007 and Yale in 2010.
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Miranda Kerr’s husband was lauded in 2010 by the University of Kent at Canterbury Cathedral in the U.K.
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Mrs. Obama was honored for her commitment to public service by George Washington University in 2010.
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James Bond’s star gestured with his Napier University degree in 2009.
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Dion was overcome during a 2008 ceremony at Laval University in Quebec.
Jean-Philippe DUMAS/PONOPRESSE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
The former Beatle — who wed Nancy Shevell in 2011 — donned a traditional black robe to accept his 2008 Doctor of Music Award from Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
AP Photo/Bob Child
The talk show legend was feted by Howard University in 2007, as well as Duke University in 2009.
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Rock on! American Idol’s Tyler sported a skull necklace with his robe while being awarded his first honorary degree by the Berklee College of Music in 2003.
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