{"id":49,"date":"2020-11-17T04:52:15","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T12:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/?page_id=49"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T19:07:11","slug":"capitalization-names-and-titles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/capitalization-names-and-titles\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitalization, names, and titles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\t

<\/h1>\n\t\t
\n\t\tWSU Editorial Style Guide\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/header>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tReferring to the University\t<\/h2>\n\n\n
  • When describing the university, use Washington State University as the first reference in the text. Subsequent references should be the university, WSU, Washington State.<\/li>
  • When describing a WSU campus, use the full name on first reference: Washington State University Tri-Cities.<\/li>
  • Subsequent references should be WSU plus campus. Note that there is no hyphen between WSU and the campus name.
    • WSU Tri-Cities, WSU Health Sciences Spokane, WSU Global Campus, WSU Vancouver, WSU Pullman, WSU Everett<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
      \n\n\n

      \n\t\t\tUnit names\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

      Capitalize the first reference and lowercase the second if not using the proper noun.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • College of Veterinary Medicine; the college<\/li>
      • Department of Biology; the department, the biology department<\/li>
      • Holland Library; the library<\/li>
      • Bohler Gym; the gym<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        For named colleges and units, the following short forms are accepted: Murrow College, Carson College, Voiland College<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        • Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine (not a school of medicine or medical school)<\/li>
        • WSU Athletics (not Cougar Athletics)<\/li>
        • Paul G. Allen School for Global Health (\u201cfor\u201d rather than \u201cof\u201d)
          <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
          \n\n\n

          \n\t\t\tTitles\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

          Use lowercase except when preceding a name or when used in a mailing address.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          • WSU System President Elizabeth Cantwell; Elizabeth Cantwell, president of Washington State University system; the system president
            • Note: Use \u201cWSU system president\u201d in most cases, unless the context clearly indicates that it refers to the president of the WSU system and not just a specific campus.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
            • Dean Mary Koithan; Mary Koithan, dean of the College of Nursing; the dean<\/li>
            • Assistant Professor John Dahl; John Dahl, assistant professor of molecular biosciences; the assistant professor<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Capitalize for endowed chairs and professors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              • Regents Professor Jill McCluskey, the Regents Professor<\/li>
              • The Taco Bell Distinguished Professor<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                Do not use \u201cDr.\u201d to precede the name of a faculty member with a doctoral degree.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

                \n\n\n

                \n\t\t\tAcademic year and class standings\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

                Lowercase all references.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                • fall semester, spring semester, summer session, freshman, sophomore, junior, senior<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
                  \n\n\n

                  \n\t\t\tAcademic degrees\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

                  Lowercase when spelled out.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  • baccalaureate degree, bachelor\u2019s degree, bachelor of arts; master\u2019s degree, master of science; doctoral degree, doctorate, doctor of philosophy, etc.
                    • Note the plural forms: bachelor\u2019s degrees; master\u2019s degrees; doctoral degrees.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      Abbreviations should be avoided.<\/strong> It is better to spell out the degree, as above, except if following a name in a signature (President Elizabeth Cantwell, PhD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      • If a degree is abbreviated, the proper forms without periods are:<\/li>
                      • BA, BS, MA, MS, PhD, DEd, MD, MBA, DVM, etc.<\/li>
                      • Plural forms: BAs, BSs, MAs, MSs, PhDs, DEds<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
                        \n\n\n

                        \n\t\t\tMajors, minors, concentrations, and programs\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

                        Names are lowercase, unless it contains a proper noun or begins a sentence.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        • veterinary medicine (\u201cVeterinary medicine is a popular program. I took veterinary medicine classes.\u201d)<\/li>
                        • Asian studies (\u201cMy second degree is in Asian studies.\u201d)<\/li>
                        • education (\u201cHer major is education.\u201d)<\/li>
                        • fermentation studies (\u201cI took a class in fermentation studies.\u201d)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
                          \n\n\n

                          \u201cEmail\u201d and \u201cfax\u201d in text: In listings, lowercase when the word follows the number; uppercase it when it precedes the address or number.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          • Email: jonesm@wsu.edu; send email to jonesm@wsu.edu<\/li>
                          • Fax: 509-335-8568; 509-335-8568 is the fax number<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
                            \n\n\n

                            \n\t\t\tWebsite addresses\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

                            Unless it\u2019s necessary, the \u201chttp:\/\/\u201d or \u201chttps:\/\/\u201d should be left off a URL\/website address in text.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            Typically, \u201cwww.\u201d can be left off the address as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            • wsu.edu<\/li>
                            • medicine.wsu.edu<\/li>
                            • seattletimes.com<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
                              \n\n\n

                              \n\t\t\tState names\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

                              Capitalize \u201cstate\u201d if it follows the name, but lowercase if it precedes the name. It\u2019s best to avoid use of \u201cstate\u201d if possible.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              • Idaho State; the state of Idaho<\/li>
                              • EXCEPTION:<\/strong> To avoid confusion with WSU, use Washington state<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
                                \n\n\n

                                \n\t\t\tCompass directions and regions\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

                                Lowercase compass directions when they are not part of a proper name.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                Capitalize in reference to a proper name or region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                • north, south, east, and west, northern, southern, eastern, western<\/li>
                                • The Pacific Northwest, but northwestern. The West Coast, but western Washington.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
                                  \n\n\n

                                  \n\t\t\tTrademark and copyright notations\t<\/h2>\n\n\n

                                  Include the appropriate registration, trademark, and copyright notations in all written material: \u00ae \u00a0\u2122 \u00a0\u00a9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Add correct notations to WSU registered products:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  • Cosmic Crisp\u00ae<\/sup><\/li>
                                  • Sunflare Apples\u2122<\/li>
                                  • Sunrise Magic\u00ae<\/sup><\/li>
                                  • MATS\u00ae<\/sup> (WSU research on Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilization)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                    When describing the university, use Washington State University as the first reference in the text. Subsequent references should be the university, WSU, Washington State. When describing a WSU campus, use the full name on first reference: Washington State University Tri-Cities. Subsequent references should be WSU plus campus. Note that there is no hyphen between WSU […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1342,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_category":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1342"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions\/233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_category?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucomm.wsu.edu\/editorial-style-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}