General guidelines   Institutions, places and units   Titles and job functions   Academic subjects and degrees   Titles of books, articles etc.   Headings   Words of wisdom from The Economist’s style guide
   

General guidelines

More examples of situations in which we don’t capitalise

 The dean announced a new initiative.
 The department offers a variety of degree programmes.
 A new centre has been established.
 The university was founded in 1930.
 The head of department at AU Herning attended the meeting.

More examples of situations in which we do capitalise

 After finishing their cinnamon buns, Rector Brian Bech Nielsen and Pro-Rector Berit Eika announced a new initiative.
 In 1930, Aarhus University was founded.
 Only Department Head Johannes Mortensen attended the meeting.

Institutions, places and units

Proper names

Capitalise the names of institutions and places, including academic departments and centres.

 The Centre for Economic and Business Research at the Department of Culture and Society, Aarhus University

Generic references

Only capitalise words like university, department and centre when used as part of the title of a unit. Do not capitalise them when making generic references or when referring to a unit without using its full name.

 The university has approved several new initiatives.
 The University has approved several new initiatives.

 The Department of Capitalisation is expanding. Three new degree programmes have been established at the department.
 The Department of Capitalisation is expanding. Three new degree programmes have been established at the Department.

Titles and job functions

When to capitalise

Capitalise people’s titles in running text and when displayed on a resume, business card, diploma or alumni directory, or in other official/formal contexts.

 Rector Jens Jensen
 Deputy Director Signe Signesen

When not to capitalise

Do not capitalise job descriptions or generic references to job functions in running text or when referring to a person by his/her title only.

 On Wednesday, the rector will visit the employer panel. (description)
 On Wednesday, the Rector will visit the employer panel. 

 On Wednesday, Rector Jens Jensen visited the employer panel. (title)
 On Wednesday, rector Jens Jensen visited the employer panel.

 On Wednesday, Jens Jensen, rector of Capitalisation University, will visit the employer panel. (description)
 On Wednesday, Jens Jensen, Rector of Capitalisation University, will visit the employer panel.

 Professor MSO John Smith of the Department of Capitalisation will speak today. (title)
 John Smith is a professor with special responsibilities (MSO) at the Department of … (description)

Academic subjects and degrees

Names of degrees

Capitalise the important words in the names of degrees in AU texts.

 Master’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, PhD degree
 master’s degree, bachelor’s degree, ph.d. degree
 Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Bachelor of Science

Note

The official English names of the degrees awarded to graduates of Danish Master’s degree programmes (candidatus) are laid down in an appendix to the University Programme Order (Uddannelsesbekendtgørelsen), where they are capitalised. Consult the University Programme Order (Uddannelsesbekendtgørelsen). See also AU Studies Administration’s page Sprog, gradsbetegnelser og uddannelsesnavne (in Danish).

Example

Kandidatuddannelsen giver ret til betegnelsen cand.comm. (candidatus/candidata communicationis). På engelsk: Master of Arts (MA) in Communication Studies.

Names of degree programmes 

Capitalise the names of specific degree programmes, for example when names of degree programmes are displayed on a resume, business card, diploma or alumni directory, or in other official/formal contexts.

 The Master’s Degree Programme in Political Science
 The Erasmus Mundus Master in Lifelong Learning

Do not capitalise generic references to degree programmes or subjects.

 Aarhus University offers a Master’s degree programme in political science.
 Aarhus University offers a Master’s Degree Programme in Political Science.

Do not capitalise the names of academic subjects unless (of course) the name of the subject is a language or country.

 I’m studying English.
 I’m applying to the Brazilian studies programme.
 I’m applying to the Brazilian Studies Programme.

 He studied nanotechnology at Aarhus University.
 He studied Nanotechnology at Aarhus University.

Exception

In internal communication, it is acceptable to use the names of subjects and degree programmes as shorthand proper names. Ex: He’s a professor at Musicology. This exception also applies to the names of the main academic areas (He’s studying at Business and Social Sciences).

Titles of books, articles etc.

Capitalise

• the names of newspapers and magazines (using title case for works in English)
• the titles of books, plays, songs, games, films etc. (using title case for works in English)

Follow these guidelines when using title case capitalisation of book and journal titles

• Verbs are always capitalised, even if fewer than five letters.
• Nouns are always capitalised, even if fewer than five letters.
• Unless they are the first or last words of a title, these are never capitalised:  
  • articles: a, an, the
  • conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, as
  • prepositions that are fewer than five letters long: at, by, for, from, in, into, of, off, on, onto, out, over, up, with
  • infinitives: to

Note that English book titles and the names of journals (Nature, The Lancet, The Journal of Early Modern History) are normally also italicised. 

 The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (book title)
 The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

Headings

Only capitalise the first word of headlines and headings in texts published on au.dk and in other AU publications (sentence case capitalisation). However, do remember to capitalise any elements in the headline that should be capitalised under any circumstances (people’s titles, etc.)

Exception: lists of titles and degree programmes

Titles of published articles

When capitalising journal articles, follow the format used by the author (the journal you are citing).          

Words of wisdom from The Economist’s style guide

A balance has to be struck between so many capitals that the eyes dance and so few that the reader is diverted more by our style than by our substance. The general rule is to dignify with capital letters organisations and institutions, but not people…If in doubt use lower case unless it looks absurd. And remember that “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)