Taylor Swift to Receive Honorary Doctorate Degree From New York University

Taylor Swift will be receiving an honorary doctorate from New York University (NYU) today, May 18 in fine arts. She will get the degree at the Yankee Stadium in New York along with the class of 2022. The official title that will be bestowed on the singer is Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, reported Variety.

A total of three graduating classes will be honored in the morning of which Swift will be part of. Described as a “traditional” ceremony, the university will also be holding a “double-header” commencement for the classes of 2020 and 2021. That is, students, who were not able to have a traditional ceremony earlier due to the pandemic will now have the same in the evening.

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It must be noted that Swift has never went to college and was homeschooled in both her junior and senior years.

NYU already offers a course on the All Too Well singer, although she has no direct role in the curriculum of the programme. The varsity’s Clive Davis Institute has a course on the singer’s music career, the legacy of pop songwriters, her controversies, youth and the politics in contemporary pop music. The curriculum includes her growth as an artist and how she impacted social media and the music industry.

Apart from Swift, other honorary degree recipients include Lonnie Bunch III, Susan Hockfield, Jill Lepore, and Félix Matos Rodríguez. Disability rights activist Judith Heumann will be addressing the graduates at the Yankee Stadium at the evening ceremony.

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“I cannot overstate how thrilled I am to be coming together in person with graduates, parents, faculty and honorees for NYU’s commencement,” said NYU President Andrew Hamilton in a statement.

He further added that since 2019, there has no graduating or welcoming ceremony at the varsity, the absence of which has been “keenly felt”. The classes of 2022, 2021, and 2020 will be honored today. They “have distinguished themselves with their grit, grace, and forbearance. We reconvene at Yankee Stadium with a renewed sense of appreciation for the act of celebrating together in person, a recognition of our graduates’ enormous achievements, and a respect for their character and perseverance,” Hamilton said.

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