Capitalization Standards

Navigating the Capitalization Page

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• Words you should capitalize
• Words you should not capitalize

Understanding Capitalization Standards

Rules regarding the capitalization of certain words (such as school and department, for instance) are driven by our desire to maintain readability, clarity and consistency, both within our own published pieces and when compared to most outside pieces from highly reputable sources.

• When in doubt, do not capitalize.

Words You Should Capitalize

Proper nouns, months, days of the week, but not the seasons.

All words, except articles (the, a, an), conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet, if, as) and short prepositions (of, in, on) in headings and the titles of books, plays, lectures, musical compositions, etc., including A and The if at the beginning of a title.

• “The Sound and the Fury”
• “Examining the Factor Structure of Measures of ADHD in a University Sample”
• “Spectroscopic Study of Secondary Structures of DNA”

The official names of the college, schools and departments when used in text; do not capitalize the informal name.

• College of Liberal Arts, Patterson School of Accountancy, School of Applied Sciences, School of Business Administration, School of Education, School of Engineering, School of Journalism and New Media, School of Law, School of Pharmacy, Graduate School
• He enrolled in the Department of Civil Engineering within the School of Engineering.

but

• He enrolled in the civil engineering department within the engineering school.

Exceptions:

• The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College may be referred to as the Honors College.
• When denoting the administrative unit of the university’s libraries, the term University Libraries
  should be used. (This distinguishes the administrative unit versus the physical location, e.g.,
  the J.D. Williams Library.)

All formal titles when used specifically in front of the name are capitalized; do not capitalize these titles when they follow the name. (Whenever possible, put titles after names, especially long titles.)
Per AP, professor is treated as a job description, not a formal title.

• Chancellor Glenn Boyce
• Glenn Boyce, chancellor
• Viola Acoff is dean of the School of Engineering.
• Mathematics professor Micah Milinovich spoke at a conference.
• She is an associate professor of psychology.

Note: In tabular matter and addresses, these titles may be capitalized regardless of location.

Exception: The word former when used in conjunction with a title and name does not get capitalized, e.g., former Chancellor Dan Jones.

Exceptions: Named and endowed chairs and professorships and Distinguished Professors are
always capitalized.

• Theresa Hilary Levitt, Cook Chair of History; Nancy Wicker is a Distinguished Professor of Art
  History

The words Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, when referring to U.S. armed forces, whether or not preceded by U.S.

The words association, building, center, club, conference, department, division, hall, office, program, senate, street, etc., when used as part of a title; thereafter, do not capitalize the words when used alone to refer to that specific place or group.

• the Faculty Senate; thereafter, the senate
• the Department of History; thereafter, the department
• the Center for the Study of Southern Culture; thereafter, the center
• board of trustees; thereafter, the board.

A specific course or subject.

• ART 102: Color Theory

Geographic names.

• Mississippi River
• Wall Doxey State Park

Geographical regions of the country, but not points of the compass (direction or locality).

• the Midwest, but middle western
• East Coast, Gulf Coast
• in the Southeast or Northern Hemisphere, but northern Atlantic
• the Mid-South
• north Mississippi

The word Southern when referring to a cultural or area distinction.

• Southern cooking
• Southern hospitality

Names of athletics clubs and teams.

• the Rebels
• the New Orleans Saints

Figure or Table, and their abbreviations, when used in text to designate a specific insert.

• Figure 1 shows the flotation process.
• The flotation process (Fig. 1) removes the fish wastes.

Names of all races and nationalities. Do not capitalize white when referring to the groups of people.

• African American, Caucasian, Irish, Chinese

The word room when used to designate a particular room.

• Ventress Hall, Room 206

Official college degrees when spelled out.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts, but bachelor’s degree
• Master of Science, but master’s degree
• Juris Doctor (never Juris Doctorate)

The major when it is part of the degree.

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
• However, lowercase the major when it is not part of the degree name, e.g., Bachelor of Arts in
  history.
• Also, lowercase the major when it follows the word degree.
• She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

In headlines, subheads and publication titles, when one part of a hyphenated compound adjective is capitalized, both parts should be capitalized. However, compounds containing a prefix and fractions are exceptions.

• The Two-Headed Monster of Chaos Theory
• When Older Students Re-enter College
• How to Earn One-half Your Tuition in One Summer

Commencement: Capitalize when referring to the University of Mississippi event. Lowercase general references.

Locations: the Grove, the Circle, the Quad, the Quadrangle, the Square, the Oxford Square.

Award: Capitalize when part of the official name of the award.

Historical periods and events: Capitalize the names of widely recognized epochs in anthropology, archaeology, geology and history, e.g., the Bronze Age, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Pliocene Epoch.

• Capitalize also widely recognized popular names for periods and events: the Atomic Age, the Great Depression, Prohibition.
• Capitalize only the proper nouns in general descriptions of a period: ancient Greece, classical
  Rome, the Victorian era, the fall of Rome, the fall of Saigon.

Words You Should Not Capitalize

Words such as college, school, department, office, division, association and conference when they stand alone, even if they refer to a specific, previously identified entity

Titles standing alone or in apposition.

• The dean of the School of Business Administration must approve all research papers.
• Contact the budget director for further information.
• Aimee Nezhukumatathil, professor of English, will speak at the symposium.

Names of school or college studies, fields of study, emphases, curricula, major areas or major subjects, except languages, unless a specific course is being referred to.

• He is studying philosophy and English.
• Each student must meet core requirements in biological sciences and liberal arts.
• The university offers a curriculum in nutrition and hospitality management.

The unofficial or informal names of departments when used in text.

• He enrolled in the mechanical engineering department.

The words offices, colleges and departments, when referring to more than one individual office, college or department.

• departments of English and Modern Languages

Organized groups or classes of students, or the words freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate.

• John Smith is a junior in the College of Liberal Arts.
• The senior class will pick up yearbooks tomorrow.

• The program was made possible by a gift from the Class of 1988.

Unofficial and occupational titles preceding a name: comedian Richard Pryor, professor John Bruce.

Coach, head coach: Follow the rule for academic titles.

• coach Mike Bianco; Mike Bianco, head baseball coach

The words or abbreviations a.m., p.m., baccalaureate, federal, fellow, state, government, honors, page and paragraph.

Common names of plants and animals except proper nouns and adjectives:

• Queen Anne’s lace, Canadian geese, platypus

Names of seasons, including references to semesters.

• fall semester, spring 2025

Plural words that refer to multiple preceding terms that individually would be capitalized:

• Tallahatchie and Lafayette counties

Note: Grammatical rules regarding capitalization are sometimes bent for the sake of visual appeal in graphically designed publications.