how to capitalize a college course

Do I capitalize the name of a course?

Also, names of school subjects (math, algebra, geology, psychology) are not capitalized, with the exception of the names of languages (French, English). Names of courses are capitalized (Algebra 201, Math 001). You should capitalize titles of people when used as part of their proper name.

Should college degrees be capitalized?

Academic degrees are capitalized only when the full name of the degree is used, such as Bachelor of Arts or Master of Engineering. General references, such as bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, are not capitalized.

How do you write a College degree?

Use an apostrophe (possessive) with bachelor's degree and master's degree, but not in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. Do not use an apostrophe (possessive) with associate degree or doctoral degree.

Do you capitalize a career field?

To summarize the capitalization of job titles, you should always capitalize the job title when it comes immediately before the person's name, in a formal context, in a direct address, in a resume heading, or as part of a signature line.

Why are college majors not capitalized?

College majors are not capitalized because they are not proper nouns (a noun – person, place, or thing – that identifies a single entity; e.g. London, Sara, Microsoft). Only proper nouns are capitalized. For instance you’d say, “I majored in physics, but flunked Physics 101.”. In this sentence, the word physics is a generic word but ...

When to capitalize "ecosystem"?

However, if you were to say that your interest in ecosystems led to your career in Biology the capitalization here would be fine.

What does an apostrophe mean in a letter?

An apostrophe is a punctuation mark that is used to indicate possession. When you’re mentioning that something is either a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree you’ll want to use this punctuation mark in your writing. However, when you’re writing out the full name of the degree (e.g. Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts) you don’t need ...

Do you omit periods when a degree is abbreviated?

When you are abbreviating an academic degree you should omit the periods. The only time you shouldn’t do so is when the periods are being used for traditional or consistency’s sake. One example of this is a university bulletin that’s always used periods to abbreviate the degrees that their faculty members hold (e.g. B.A., Ph.D., M.S.). It’s important to note that these abbreviations should only be used in text when you have several people whom you need to identify alongside their academic degree. Doing so while also listing their full names would appear cumbersome here.

Do you capitalize college majors?

It’s also important to note that when you see someone create a bulleted list of college majors they’ll typically be capitalized.

Do you need an apostrophe for a masters degree?

However, when you’re writing out the full name of the degree (e.g. Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts) you don’t need to use an apostrophe. You also should never use an apostrophe when making reference to either an associate or a doctoral degree.

Do you capitalize a masters degree?

When you are simply making a general reference to a degree (master’s, doctoral, bachelor’s), there’s no need to capitalize them. For instance: She earned a bachelor’s degree in 1997. With most types of writing it is preferred to simply use the general terms (e.g. bachelor’s / bachelor’s degree; master’s / master’s degree; doctorate / doctoral degree) instead of writing out the full name of the degree or even just its initials. Only when someone has a MD (medical degree) after their name are they to be referred to as “Dr.” and then you should only refer to them in this manner when you first reference them in your writing.

What is an academic subject?

An academic subject is an area of knowledge that is studied at the school. A course is a specific class taken at the school. Medical biology is one of those tricky terms that could be used as a subject or a specific course title. You have to look at the way it is used in the sentence to identify it.

Is "master of education" capitalized?

The Chicago Manual of Style says, “Capitalize degrees on business cards, on diplomas, or when displayed in a directory or resume.”. Otherwise, academic subjects are not capitalized. The abbreviation for master of education is EdM.

Do you capitalize bachelors and masters?

The Associated Press Stylebook ( AP) recommends no capitals when referring to degrees in general terms ( bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, associate degree) but always capitalizing specific degrees ( Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science ). AP is in agreement with CMOS that the field of study be written in lower case except when it contains a proper noun.

Do you capitalize degrees?

The Chicago Manual of Style ( CMOS) recommends that names of degrees, fellowships, and the like are lowercased when referred to generically, but to capitalize the name of a degree when it is displayed on a resume, business card, diploma, alumni directory, or anywhere it looks like a title rather than a description. Proper nouns, of course, should still be capitalized.

Do you capitalize degrees on business cards?

As the post indicates, there are exceptions. Degrees are often capitalized on business cards, on diplomas, in promotional material, or when displayed in a directory or resume. If you are following the rules of the Associated Press Stylebook, the degree is capitalized.

Do you capitalize a course title?

Names of specific course titles should be capitalized, but general academic subjects are not. In your first example “liberal arts and sciences, chemical technology and computer science” are referred to generically, therefore do not capitalize. Names of academic degrees are not capitalized, however, specific program names are generally capitalized. Therefore, we recommend writing “bachelor of science degree in Applied Mathematics” and “The Applied Math and Computer Science degree programs.”

Do you capitalize a bachelor's degree in criminal history?

The answer to your first question is “I received a bachelor of arts in criminal history.” I agree that course or program names should be capitalized.

How to capitalize a college?

The more words you capitalize, the more you complicate your text. 2. Capitalize the formal (complete) names of university colleges and departments: College of Arts and Letters. Comptroller’s Office.

When to capitalize a title?

1. Capitalize when the title is part of the name and directly precedes it: 2. Use lowercase when the title is a descriptive tag: 3. Use lowercase when the title follows the name: These rules also apply to titles such as president, provost, director, dean, chair, and other academic titles.

What is a sentence case?

Sentence case capitalizes the first letter of the first word and proper nouns in a title—just like in a regular sentence. Use sentence case for marketing materials. Title case uses capital letters for the principal words. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions do not get capital letters unless they start the title.

What is title case?

Title case uses capital letters for the principal words. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions do not get capital letters unless they start the title. Use title case for reports and documents.

When to use lowercase for incomplete building names?

2. Use lowercase for incomplete building names unless the word begins a sentence or is a formal name:

Do you capitalize full titles of institutions?

3. In running text, capitalize full titles of institutions and departments. Use lowercase for partial titles:

Do you capitalize unofficial scholarship names?

2. Do not capitalize unofficial scholarship names unless they are proper nouns.

What is capitalized in academics?

Academic and Nonacademic Units and Bodies. Capitalize only the official and complete names of colleges, schools, departments, divisions, offices and official bodies.

When referring to official course titles, do you use initial caps?

When referring to official course titles, use initial caps. Do not use quotation marks, italics or any other formatting with course titles. Example: She was required to take Fundamentals of Nursing during her first year. When referring to a course using the course title and course number, use commas to set off the course title.

Why was CMMU 4760 placed on a waiting list?

Example: Six students who registered for CMMU 4760, Computer Mediated Communication, were placed on a waiting list because the course was full.

Do you capitalize the name of a building?

Capitalize the full, official names of buildings and places on campus. Examples: Old Main, North Classroom, University Center

Do you capitalize informal references?

Do not capitalize informal or general references.

Do you capitalize long standing committees?

Capitalize the official, proper names of long-standing committees and groups and formally developed programs and initiatives.

Do you capitalize "schools"?

Do not capitalize informal and shortened versions of schools, colleges, departments, divisions, offices and official bodies.

Capitalization Rules

Writers often refer to geographic locations, company names, temperature scales, and processes or apparatuses named after people: you must learn how to capitalize these items. There are ten fundamental rules for capitalization:

Common Capitalization Errors

Just as important as knowing when to capitalize is knowing when not to. Below, I set forth a few instances where capital letters are commonly used when they should not be. Please review this advice carefully, in that we all have made such capitalization errors. When in doubt, simply consult a print dictionary.

When to use AP style abbreviations?

When it is necessary to establish an individual’s academic credentials, AP style guidelines advise that you use a phrase instead of an abbreviation. When noting the credentials for several individuals , however, use AP style rules for abbreviations if writing out phrases for each person would render the text cumbersome. These abbreviations should be used only with full names, and they should be set off with commas.

When to use "Dr" as a title?

Use Dr. as a formal title on first reference to individuals with degrees in medicine, optometry, dental surgery, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine or veterinary medicine. For individuals with doctoral degrees in other disciplines, you may use Dr. on first reference as necessary to establish credentials.

Do formal names of degrees contain apostrophes?

Note that these are possessives and should contain apostrophes, whereas formal names of specific degrees are never possessive.

Do you capitalize masters degrees in AP?

The following formal names of specific degrees should always be capitalized in AP style: As you can see , master’s degrees are capitalized when abbreviated. However, the forms bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s, master’s degree and master’s are acceptable as general terms. In case it’s not obvious, I have a bachelor’s in writing.

Do you need a masters degree to capitalize AP?

You don’t need a master’s degree to know the proper names for credentials. If you still have questions about capitalizing academic degrees in AP style (i.e. Should master’s degree be capitalized? Is bachelor’s degree capitalized?), ask away via the comments below! Click here if you’d like to freshen up on some more AP Style rules.

Does MBA include periods?

Note that the abbreviations M.A. and M.S. include periods, but MBA does not. If possession of an academic degree grants the title Dr. to an individual, do not use both the title and the abbreviation in the same reference. Incorrect: Dr. Janet Chang, Ph.D. Correct: Janet Chang, Ph.D. Correct: Dr. Janet Chang.

Do you capitalize academic degrees?

As a firm believer in the value of higher education, I can appreciate people taking pride in their academic degrees. These credentials are hard-earned, representing significant investments of time, money and effort. It’s understandable for people to want to show them off in capital letters. As a writer following the Associated Press Stylebook, however, I capitalize according to the rules and not people’s egos. There are clear guidelines for capitalizing academic degrees in AP style.

Rules for Capitalizing School Subjects

School subjects are common nouns and when writing them, follow the English rule of writing common nouns. If you are not familiar with the rule, it states that common nouns are not given any special consideration when writing English words, and that is why there is no need to capitalize them.

Rules-Based On Types of School Subjects

You also need to adhere to the sentence writing rule when writing school subjects. That means if the subject you are discussing comes at the beginning of a sentence, then you should capitalize it.

Exceptions for Capitalizing School Subjects

School subjects can sometimes be proper nouns depending on how you use them in a sentence. In such instances, then you will have to capitalize them.

More Alternative Rules When Capitalizing School Subjects

The other alternative rule when capitalizing the school subjects is talking about a particular subject as an academic degree.

10 Examples of Correct School Subjects Word Use In Sentences

Reading different sentences with the school subjects and keenly looking at how they are used will help you better understand capitalization rules. Practicing is the key to learning and understanding the rules of capitalization. Here are examples of sentences to help you learn more about capitalization rules.

Conclusion

The rules of English writing are numerous, especially when it comes to capitalization. In fact, if you dig deeper into these rules, it might seem like a new language you are learning. However, when you understand the rules, you will notice that everything is not very difficult.

By Shawn Manaher

Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. He's one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. You don't even want to know what he calls pancakes.

General Rules

See more on nau.edu

Academic and Administrative Titles

Academic Departments

Building and Room Names

Course Titles

Government References

Grades

Regional References

Seasons

Scholarships and Fellowships