Post-nominal letters , also called post-nominal initials , post-nominal titles , designatory letters , or simply post-nominals , are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation, an office, a military decoration, or honour, or is a member of a religious institute or fraternity. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters, but in some contexts it may be customary to limit the number of sets to one or just a few. The order in which post-nominals are listed after a name is based on rules of precedence and what is appropriate for a given situation. Post-nominal letters are one of the main types of name suffix . In contrast, pre-nominal letters precede the name rather than following it, such as addressing a physician or professor as "Dr. Smith".
35-532: The Guy Medals are awarded by the Royal Statistical Society in three categories; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Silver and Bronze medals are awarded annually. The Gold Medal was awarded every three years between 1987 and 2011, but is awarded biennially as of 2019. They are named after William Guy . Source: Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society ( RSS ) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles:
70-542: A British learned society for statistics , a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. The society was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London, though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824. At that time there were many provincial statistics societies throughout Britain, but most have not survived. The Manchester Statistical Society (which
105-485: A Cambridge Master of Arts. Graduates from British and Irish universities sometimes add the name of the university that awarded their degree after the post-nominals for their degree, either in parentheses or not, depending on preferred style. University names are often abbreviated and sometimes given in Latin, e.g."BA, MA (Dunelm), PhD (Ebor)"; a list of abbreviations used for university names can be found at Universities in
140-477: A single item, and omits membership of the armed forces. Loughborough University gives a very similar ordering, but with "Appointments (e.g MP, KC)" replacing item 3 (KC) and "Higher Education awards (in ascending order, commencing with undergraduate)" replacing items 4–6 (degrees, diplomas and certificates). This restores the Appointments section from the civil list omitted by Oxford and Nottingham, although
175-724: A team from the Bodleian Library , Oxford . The society publishes the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society , which currently consists of three separate series of journals whose contents include papers presented at ordinary meetings of the society, namely Series A ( Statistics in Society ), Series B ( Statistical Methodology ) and Series C ( Applied Statistics ), as well as a general audience magazine called Significance published in conjunction with
210-738: Is dictated by standard practice, which may vary by region and context. Various University Style Guides, such as: the University of Sydney Style Guide and the Australian Government Style Manual and that of the various State Governments. Outside of any specific academic or State or Federal Government requirement, then in the following order: The Canadian government's The Canadian Style specifies that no more than two sets of post-nominal letters should normally be given, unless all are to be given either for information or for reasons of protocol, and that these should be
245-432: Is normal to only list those relevant to the circumstance. For example, if Jane Doe had a BS, MS, and PhD in computer science as well as an MBA, then if working in management in a retail company she would write "Jane Doe, MBA", but if working in an IT company she might write "Jane Doe, PhD", and if working in academia she could write "Jane Doe, BS, MS, MBA, PhD". The Gregg Reference Manual recommends placing periods between
280-497: Is older than the LSS) is a notable exception. The associations were formed with the object of gathering information about society. The idea of statistics referred more to political knowledge rather than a series of methods. The members called themselves " statists " and the original aim was "...procuring, arranging and publishing facts to illustrate the condition and prospects of society" and the idea of interpreting data, or having opinions,
315-446: Is to give all higher education qualifications, starting from undergraduate, ordered by their level rather than their title. In this style, one might list a Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education first, then foundation degrees , first degrees at bachelor level, first degrees at master level (integrated master's degrees and first degrees in medicine), postgraduate degrees at master level (including postgraduate bachelor's degrees such
350-448: Is usual to list those most relevant to a person's profession first, or those most relevant to the particular circumstances. It is common to omit fellowships (except honorific fellowships) and memberships that are not relevant in a given situation. Debrett's notes that although Royal Academicians are listed after fellows of learned societies (and before members of professional bodies), they do not yield to them in precedence, "In practice
385-553: The American Statistical Association . In September 2013, the society established StatsLife , an online magazine website that featured news, interviews and opinion from the world of statistics and data. Post-nominal letters Different awards and post-nominal letters are in use in the English-speaking countries. The order in which post-nominal letters are listed after a person's name
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#1732779947061420-427: The condition of England question . By the 1840s it changed focus to the sanitary movement . It was many decades before mathematics was regarded as part of the statistical project. Fellowship of the Royal Statistical Society is open to anyone with an interest in statistics. It is not restricted to only those with high achievement within the discipline. This distinguishes it from other learned societies, where usually
455-684: The 1993 merger with the Institute of Statisticians , Fellows often used the post-nominal letters FSS. Before the merger, Fellows were required to have a statistical qualification. The alternative route was to be proposed by two Fellows. The nomination paper then had to be approved by the Council . After the merger these requirements were dropped and all the previous members of the Institute of Statisticians became Fellows as well. Since then, use by new members of their unearned post-nominal FSS qualification
490-618: The Oxford BCL), and doctorates. In this style, postgraduate certificates and diplomas could be shown either before postgraduate degrees at master's level (as in the table given by Loughborough University) or before first degrees at master's level (reflecting their position in the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies ). Strictly speaking, both the Debrett's and Ministry of Justice lists only allow for
525-478: The RSS (Royal Statistical Society) by Royal Charter in 1887, and merged with the Institute of Statisticians in 1993. The merger enabled the society to take on the role of a professional body as well as that of a learned society. As of 2019, the society claims more than 10,000 members around the world, of whom some 1,500 are professionally qualified , with the status of Chartered Statistician (CStat). In January 2009,
560-486: The RSS received Licensed Body status from the UK Science Council to award Chartered Scientist status. Since February 2009 the society has awarded Chartered Scientist status to suitably qualified members. Unusually among professional societies , all members of the RSS are known as " Fellows ". Fellowship is nowadays not usually used by post-merger members as a post-nominal mark of distinction. However, before
595-453: The UK there is, according to Debrett's , no defined order of precedence for placing designatory letters for fellowships of learned societies and memberships of professional bodies within their respective groups. Debrett's suggests that "In practice, where one society is indisputably of greater importance than another the letters are usually placed in that order. Alternatively, the fellowship of
630-552: The UK, it is usual to list only doctorates, degrees in medicine, and degrees in divinity. In particular, when a person has letters indicating Crown honours or decorations, only the principal degree would normally be given. The University of Oxford Style Guide advises writers: "Remember that you do not need to list all awards, degrees, memberships etc held by an individual – only those items relevant to your writing." In an academic context, or in formal lists, all degrees may be listed in ascending order of academic status, which may not be
665-508: The United Kingdom#Post-nominal abbreviations . Where the same degree has been granted by more than one university, this can be shown by placing the names or abbreviations in a single bracket after the degree name, e.g. " Sir Edward Elgar , Mus.D. (Oxon., Cantab., Dunelm. et Yale, U.S.A.), LL.D. (Leeds, Aberdeen, and W. University, Pennsylvania.)". Honorary degrees , if shown, can be indicated either by "Hon" before
700-562: The case of a BA from Oxford, Cambridge or Dublin who proceeds to be an MA of those universities (which is taken without further study), the MA replaces the BA and thus only the MA should be listed. Oxford has said that there is no risk of confusion between their MA and "earned" MAs as the Oxford MA is denoted "MA (Oxon)" rather than simply MA. However, Debrett's has advised using just "MA" to describe
735-590: The fellow grade is the highest grade in that discipline. Instrumental in founding the Statistical Society of London were Richard Jones , Charles Babbage , Adolphe Quetelet , William Whewell , Thomas Malthus , and William Henry Sykes . Among its famous members was Florence Nightingale , who was the society's first female member in 1858. Stella Cunliffe was the first female president. Other notable RSS presidents have included William Beveridge , Ronald Fisher , Harold Wilson , and David Cox . Honorary Secretaries include Gerald Goodhardt (1982–88). The LSS became
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#1732779947061770-431: The inclusion of degrees, not non-degree academic awards. For someone with a substantive doctorate, it is usual either to give "Dr" as the title (without a stop per normal British usage) or to list their degrees post-nominally, e.g. "Dr John Smith" or "John Smith, PhD" but not "Dr John Smith, PhD". Postnominals may be used with other titles, e.g. "Mr John Smith, PhD", "Sir John Smith, PhD", or "The Rev John Smith, PhD". In
805-499: The junior society may be omitted. If such precedence cannot be determined, the letters may be placed in order of conferment. Where this is not known, they may be placed in alphabetical order." Earlier guidance that "Strictly speaking, they should be arranged according to date of foundation or incorporation of the societies concerned" has now been removed. Only postnominals indicating honorific fellowships (e.g., FRS , FBA , FREng ) are normally used socially. For professional bodies it
840-901: The letters of post-nominals (e.g., B.S. , Ph.D. ); however, The Chicago Manual of Style recommends writing degrees without periods (e.g., BS , PhD ). If post-nominals are given, the full name should be used, without Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Miss. Other prefixes (e.g., Professor ) may be used. In contrast to the style for academic qualifications, medical qualifications are listed in descending order, i.e.: doctorates, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and qualifying diplomas. Letters indicating doctorates, master's degrees and fellowships of royal colleges are always given, while bachelor's degrees, memberships and qualifying diplomas are only shown for people with no higher qualifications. In all but formal lists, only three medical qualifications are normally given. Where someone holds qualifications in multiple fields, they are normally given in
875-662: The order: medicine, surgery (except for MRCS, which is considered a qualifying diploma), obstetrics, gynaecology and other specialities. These are followed by qualifying diplomas and other diplomas. The academic style guides do not have a separate section for medical qualifications, so if following one of these guides, medical degrees should be listed with other degrees, medical diplomas with other diplomas, and fellowships and memberships of royal colleges with other fellowships and memberships of professional bodies. In Africa , learned societies and professional bodies use designatory letters for their members and fellowships. For example: In
910-509: The ordering of styles and titles for British citizens, including the Ministry of Justice, Debrett's and A & C Black 's Titles and Forms of Address ; these are generally in close agreement, with the exception of the position of MP, etc., in the listing: In addition, British citizens who have received honours from Commonwealth countries are usually given permission from the King to use
945-613: The other differences remain. Nottingham Trent University gives essentially the same ordering as Oxford and Nottingham, but without specifying the order in which degrees should be given. Nottingham Trent, Oxford and Loughborough recommend degree abbreviations be given in mixed case without stops between the letters (e.g. BA, not B.A.; PhD, not Ph.D.), as does Cambridge . Imperial College London , however, uses all small caps for post-nominals (e.g. phd , not PhD). Where all degrees are shown, as in university calendars, most universities will give these in ascending order. However, advice on
980-455: The post-nominals for the degree or "hc" (for honoris causa ) after the post-nominals, e.g. "Professor Evelyn Algernon Valentine Ebsworth CBE, PhD, MA, ScD, DCL hc , FRSC, FRSE " (emphasis added); "Professor Stephen Hawking Hon.ScD , CH, CBE, FRS" (emphasis added). The Oxford University Calendar Style Guide recommends not giving honorary degrees in post-nominals. In academia and research, all degrees may be listed. In general, however, it
1015-423: The postnominals for that honour. The Oxford University Style Guide and the University of Nottingham Style Guide give the alternative ordering: This differs from the civil ordering in that it omits appointments except for KC, includes diplomas and certificates in addition to degrees, merges medical qualifications, fellowships of learned societies, royal academicians, and membership of professional bodies into
1050-478: The precise ordering varies: In the United States, standard protocol is to list post-nominal letters in the following order: Active duty services personnel do not use any post-nominals other than, if applicable, Staff Corps affiliation (Navy only) followed by a comma and then their branch of service. Names are bracketed by the appropriate pre-nominal and post-nominal, e.g. LCDR John Q Public, MC, USN. In
1085-512: The same as the order in which they were obtained (although see notes on medical qualifications, below). The Oxford style is to list qualifications by their title starting with bachelor's degrees, then master's degrees, then doctorates. Postgraduate Certificates and Diplomas are listed after doctorates, but before professional qualifications, with a similar ordering being used by other universities. In this style, foundation degrees and other sub-bachelor qualifications are not shown. An alternative style
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1120-555: The two highest of different types. The types and the order in which they are given are: Going back to the mid 17th century, today's classical European fraternities such as the German Student Corps have used post-nominal symbols and letters to allow their members to indicate their fraternity membership and honorary positions held in their signature. In the United Kingdom various sources have issued guidance on
1155-522: Was explicitly excluded. The original seal had the motto Aliis Exterendum (for others to thresh out, i.e. interpret) but this separation was found to be a hindrance and the motto was dropped in later logos. During its founding time, political economy as understood back then was concerned with the principles (causal models) of economy formulated in words, while statistics was concerned with collecting and tabulating quantitative data of economy, without additional interpretation. During 1830s, it concentrated on
1190-532: Was particularly engaged with the passage of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 , having long argued for legislation on statistics. The RSS organises an annual conference. Among the society's awards are the Guy Medals in gold, silver and bronze, in honour of William Guy . The RSS team reached the finals of University Challenge : The Professionals 2006 , where they were beaten 230 to 125 by
1225-705: Was viewed as inappropriate and strongly discouraged, and it became less common. The RSS has premises (including offices and meeting rooms) in Errol Street, EC1, in the London Borough of Islington close to the boundary with the City of London , between Old Street and Barbican stations . The society has various local groups in the UK, together with a wide range of topic-related sections and special interest groups. Each of these sections and groups organises lectures and seminars on statistical topics. The society
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