abbreviations and acronyms — Unless the acronym is familiar to most readers (e.g., NCAA, PTA, SAT, STEM, GRE), the full name should be used in the first reference. Do not follow the full name of an entity with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes. If it is necessary to use an acronym, capitalize all the letters and spell without periods. Use periods in most two-letter abbreviations: U.S., U.K., B.A., M.A.

If possible, use a shortened form of the phrase rather than an abbreviation or acronym. For example, on a second reference to the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, refer to it as “the college” rather than “CLASS.”

Avoid abbreviations and most acronyms in headlines, except those that are widely recognizable (NCAA, NSF, PTA, SAT, STEM, GRE, NATO, COVID, for example.)

The article preceding the acronym depends on whether the acronym is read as a series of letters or as a coined word. If the acronym is treated as a series of letters, the article used is based on the pronunciation of the first letter.

an NCAA position (contrast: a National Collegiate Athletic Association position)

a NASA grant

An acronym, when read as a single word and not used as a modifier, is rarely preceded by “a,” “an” or “the.”

NATO, AIDS, NAFTA

An article often precedes the acronym when read as a series of letters.

the FBI, an HMO, a UFO, a NATO member, an NBA coach

If an acronym has no periods, the plural is constructed by simply adding an “s.”

Many YMCAs, the three Rs

four Ph.D.s and M.A.s – Whenever practical, recast the phrase to avoid ambiguity.

academic colleges, schools, departments, centers and institutes — The University of Houston has 16 academic colleges and schools, and the interdisciplinary Honors College. In 2021-22, UH offered 276 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees.

Use the full name of the college on first reference. If possible, use a shortened form of the phrase rather than an abbreviation or acronym. For example, on a second reference to the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, refer to it as “the college” rather than “CLASS.”

Using the University of Houston in Conjunction with the College Name: Communications (print or electronic) should clearly reflect the relationship of each college to the University of Houston through a first reference to University of Houston or visual representation (use of a wordmark).

Yes: Medical students at the University of Houston are consistently exposed to primary care settings and practice. The household-center care program is part of innovative new curriculum at the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.

Yes: The program is part of innovative new curriculum at the University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.

Note: University of Houston does not need to be used in text/copy if the communication or collateral includes a visual representation of UH, such as use of a Primary Brand Extension wordmark.

See the full list of colleges, schools and departments.

academic degrees — Use only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome. Use these abbreviations only after a full name and offset the academic abbreviation by commas. The following is a list of academic degrees awarded at the University of Houston.

It is a doctoral degree or doctorate but not doctorate degree. Academic degrees are not capitalized when written out.

A master’s degree in psychology

A doctorate in chemistry

A Bachelor of Arts in English

An associate degree (no possessive)

Do not add the word “degree” after an abbreviation of the degree.

Yes: She’ll receive her Ph.D. this fall.

Yes: Joe Smith, Ph.D.

Yes: Yes, they hold a doctorate in exercise physiology.

Yes: He has a B.A. in English.

Yes: He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Yes: She has a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering.

No: She’ll receive her Ph.D. degree this fall

No: He has a B.A. degree in English.

bachelor’s degree and master’s degree are lowercase and possessive, never Bachelors degree or Masters degree. Formal degree names are uppercase and there is no possessive: Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: Alisha Rai, Ph.D., spoke.

academic departments/offices — Capitalize the name of the department and the words “department,” “college” and “school” only when they appear as part of the official name. Lowercase when used alone.

Department of Anthropology, anthropology department, the department

Office of Marketing, marketing office, marketing, the office

The Center for Economic Development, the economic development center, the center

The College of Pharmacy, the pharmacy college, the college

academic honors — Do not italicize summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude.

She graduated summa cum laude from the College of Technology.

academic titles — Capitalize an official academic or administrative title only when it precedes the person’s name. The exception is a named professorship or chair which is capitalized when it appears before or after the name of the individual. Titles after a name are offset by a comma. On second reference, use only the subject’s last name.

see professor

University President Renu Khator or Renu Khator, university president

Pradeep Sharma, M.D. Anderson Chair Professor or M.D. Anderson Chair

computer science professor Victoria Marr or Associate Professor of Computer Science Victoria Marr

In print, do not address individuals who hold a doctorate (or others without medical degrees) as “Dr.” Per AP Style, that title is reserved for people with medical degrees.

see doctor

Also, do not capitalize freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student.

academic year — Do not capitalize the names of seasons and semesters

spring semester, fall semester, summer session, fall 2021, spring 2022

addresses — Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with numbered addresses. Spell out when the address does not include a number.

Yes: The president lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

No: The president lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

adviser — Not advisor, except when it is a person’s official job title

age— Always use figures.

All America— Refers to a team

All American— Refers to an individual

All-American— Hyphenate when used as an adjective

all right— Not alright

alma mater

alumna, alumnae, alumnus, alumni— The terms are alumnus (s.) and alumni (pl.) for men and alumna (s.) and alumnae (pl.) for women. Alumni can also refer to a mixed group of people who attended a college. If a gender-neutral term is desired, alum or alums is acceptable.

alumni designations— Identify a UH alumnus whose name appears in UH publications by placing the UH year(s) of graduation inside parentheses and behind an apostrophe.

John Johnson (’99)

If the individual did his or her undergraduate work elsewhere but earned a graduate degree at UH, use an abbreviation to show the graduate degree that was earned. There should be one space after the period and before the apostrophe.

Harper Santiago (M.A. ’84)

If the individual earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at UH, note the undergraduate degree first, followed by the graduate degree.

Jyotsna Rama (’88, M.S. ’92)

a.m. and p.m. —Divisions of the day are set in lowercase with periods. Numbers are used with these abbreviations, but never with o’clock. If the clarification of a time zone is needed, the abbreviations EST, CDT, etc., are acceptable on first reference for zones used within the continental United States only if the abbreviation is linked with a clock reading: noon EST, 9 a.m. PST.

Yes: She had an 8 a.m. class.

No: She had an 8 o’clock class.

When using a numeral, do not follow the number with a colon (:) and two zeros to show times on the hour.

Yes: The movie starts at 7 p.m.

No: The movie starts at 7:00 p.m.

ampersand — Only use “&” when it is part of a proper name, a company’s official name or proper abbreviation. In other instances, spell out the word and.

AT&T, M&Ms, Johnson & Johnson

and — Do not use a comma before and in a series.

She has rehearsal on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

annual — An event must take place two years in a row before it can be called annual. Never use first annual.

association, associated or associates — Do not abbreviate.

Athletics Director — Not Athletic Director

awards — Only capitalize the word “award” when it is part of the name of the award.

Yes: The professor won the Esther Farfel Award.

Yes: She won an NSF CAREER award.

No: She won an Oscar Award.

Back to Top