This style guide was developed to assist those who write on behalf of the University. It includes some commonly used AP style rules as well as style guidelines specific to Southwestern University. Other style guidelines may be more appropriate for special types of publications and audiences.
Please also refer to the University’s brand guidelines for more information on our voice, tone, and writing tactics at southwestern.edu/brandguidelines .
For questions about style guidelines, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at sucommunications@southwestern.edu .
A
academic degrees
Several variations are acceptable, but we should lean toward the simplest in most cases: bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctorate. The apostrophe goes in the same place for the plural: master’s degrees, not masters’ degrees. When using the formal degree name, lowercase the degree and the major unless the major is a proper noun: bachelor of science in biology and master of fine arts in theatre but bachelor of arts in French.
Avoid using baccalaureate as a substitute for bachelor’s degree, but if you must, do not couple it with the word degree because baccalaureate means “bachelor’s degree.” Similarly, it’s doctorate or doctoral degree but never doctorate degree.
Note that AP discourages using degree abbreviations. Do not list more than two degrees for an individual named in a press release.
bachelor of arts (B.A.)
bachelor of divinity (B.D.)
bachelor of laws (LL.B)
bachelor of science (B.S.)
bachelor of science in education (B.S.Ed.)
doctor of education (Ed.D.)
doctor of law (J.D.)
doctor of laws (L.L.D.)
doctor of medicine (M.D.)
doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.)
doctor of public health (Dr.P.H.)
master of arts (M.A.)
master of business administration (M.B.A.)
master of public health (M.P.H.)
master of public policy (M.P.P.)
master of science (M.S.)
Southwestern offers five degrees: B.A., bachelor of arts; B.F.A., bachelor of fine arts; B.M., bachelor of music; B.S., bachelor of science; B.S.Ed., bachelor of science in education.
academic departments
Use title case for the department name. The name of the field or subject should be listed before the word department: the Theatre Department, not the Department of Theatre.
academic honors
Distinctions such as cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude should be lowercase and in italics. When used with the verb to graduate, do not set the expression off with commas: She graduated summa cum laude from Southwestern. When accompanying a degree, do set it off with commas: He earned a bachelor of arts in Spanish, cum laude, in 1995.
addresses
Be consistent in spelling out avenue, boulevard, and street or abbreviating to Ave., Blvd., or St. in any single document.
admission
The Office of Admission (singular, not Admissions) when referring to Southwestern’s recruitment office.
advisor
Not adviser.
ages
In most publications, for ages one through nine, spell out. For ages 10 and older, use figures. For ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun, use hyphens.
Examples: A five-year-old child. The law is eight years old. The race is for 13-year-old students. The woman is in her 30s (no apostrophe).
In press releases, use figures for age in years: The student, 19, has a sister, 6. If the age is in months, include the word months: The child, 2 months.
alma mater
Lowercase, no italics.
alumni
Alumni is used for plural graduates regardless of gender (not alums or alumnis).
Alum is used for a single nongender-specific or nonbinary graduate.
Alumnus is used for a single male graduate.
Alumna is used for a single female graduate.
Alumnae is used for plural female graduates.
An alum is identified as a former student who has completed 24 credits and is not currently enrolled at Southwestern University.
There are several different scenarios in which alumni may be listed. Here are guidelines for those scenarios:
Couples in which both are alumni: The earlier graduate’s full name is listed first, followed by the spouse’s full name. Include surnames used while at Southwestern where applicable. The class year is listed after the full name of each spouse: Hermione Granger ’99 and Ron Weasley ’99; Fitzwilliam Darcy ’05 and Elizabeth Bennet Darcy ’07.
Couples in which only one partner is an alum: List the alum’s full name first, including surnames used while at Southwestern if applicable and the class year, followed by the spouse’s full name: Rachel Green ’05 and Ross Geller; Edward Rochester ’15 and Jane Eyre Rochester.
a.m., p.m.
Lowercase, with periods. Avoid redundancy: 8:00 a.m. this morning.