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Published 5 March 2021
A fortnight ago, the news broke that Distinguished Humanities Scholar of the University of Texas, Austin, Prof. Toyin Falola, has been awarded a Doctor of Letters degree by the Postgraduate School of the University of Ibadan. Were the latest academic memento an honorary degree, it would have caused little or no stir, especially as the recipient is already bedecked with laurels of recognition from across the globe. However, the statement posted online made clear that this is an earned degree being awarded by the University of Ibadan for the first time.
A Doctor of Letters can be described simply, as a Higher Doctorate degree, patterned in the Anglophone University tradition on the Oxford University, England’s prototype. Initially called the ‘Doctor of Literature’ at Oxford, the degree became known by the broader and more significant ‘Doctor of Letters’; some countries apply the name, ‘Doctor of Humane Letters’ to empha