I studied Physics at Manchester University. I was awarded a Bachelor's Degree (BSc) in Physics in 1968. The German Ministry of Education gave me written permission to use my British BSc title in Germany in 1979.

Zaporozhye University, Ukraine, where I was a part-time lecturer from 1996 -2000 as part of an EU project, awarded me an honorary doctorate (Dr. honoris causa) in April 1999.

According to a regulation from the German Ministry of Education in Lower Saxony, if  the honorary doctor title was awarded by a former Eastern Block country it is necessary to state the awarding country (here Ukraine). You are not required to state the awarding country if the title was awarded in the USA or Nigeria, for example.

Other countries such as England do not require you to state the awarding country of Dr. h.c titles.

Regardless of which country you live in, it is clearly an offense to use a title which is not authentic.

Regarding my Dr. h.c. title, the German Ministry of Education confirmed to me in writing that "Die Echtheit der Verleihungsurkunde wird nicht bestritten" ("We do not question the authenticity of the Dr. h.c. certificate").

For more details of the project in the Ukraine, see www.davidlong.de/interests

I am a member of the German professional institute for technical authors (TEKOM) and the German Translators Association (see BDÜ Bremen & Niedersachsen and BDÜ). For many years I was an associate member of the English IEE (now the Institution of Engineering and Technology).

David Long, Hannover * Technical Translator, Author, IT Consultant * Home