Honorary degrees

An ad honorem is an honorary degree awarded to those who have contributed significantly to research, art, or entrepreneurship. The University of Padua confers that the awarded individual have met the requirements under the academic qualifications meriting such distinction. The degree is usually related to the discipline most relevant to the area in which the person operates.

An honorary degree is granted to those whose scientific, cultural, or social merits are specifically relative to the proposing university department. The proposing department confirms that the candidate is of undoubted importance and recognized in their respective community. In particular, if the contribution concerns a candidate operating in the field of scientific research, the candidate must have achieved results stemming from the relative study or through research activity as well as those whose value is recognized nationally and/or internationally. Candidates in the field of cultural, art, economic-social, or technical-scientific value must of achieved exceptionally high profiles, particularly with regard to innovation, the candidate must have achieved results stemming from the relative study or body of work.

  List of honorary graduates (from 2007 – current)

  • 06/09/2024 - Michael Stanley Whittingham, in Chemical and Process Engineering
  • 13/0372024 - Carlo Messina, in Economics and Finance
  • 10/05/2023 - Christopher D.M. Fletcher, in Medicine and Surgery 
  • 12/04/2023 - Volker Walter Feierabend, in History of Art
  • 12/04/2023 - Egidio Trainito, in Marine biology
  • 21/06/2022 - Douglas Cecil Wallace, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 18/03/2022 - Matthew W. Finkin, in Law
  • 19/07/2021 - Klaus Fischer, in Civil and Industrial Safety Engineering
  • 28/11/2019 - Patti Smith, in European and American Languages and Literatures
  • 14/05/2019  - Ernesto Olivero, in Human Rights and Multi-level Governance
  • 10/04/2019 - Francesco Canella, in Italian Food and Wine
  • 26/01/2018 - Charles S. Maier, in European studies
  • 22/11/2017 - Manuel Alegre, in European and Euro-American languages and literature
  • 10/11/2017 - Chris Wickham, in Historical sciences 
  • 26/05/2017 - Raul Anselmo Randon (Brasilian manager), in Management engineering
  • 25/09/2017 - Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, in Chimica
  • 09/09/2016 - Takaaki Kajita, in Physics
  • 28/04/2016 - Hiroshi Amano, in Electronic Engineering 
  • 04/09/2015 - Silvano Pedrollo, in Product Innovation Engineering
  • 24/11/2014 - Tim de Zeeuw, in Astronomy
  • 04/09/2014 - Fabio Franceschi (Italian manager), in Mechanical Engineering
  • 09/06/2013 - Sidney G. Tarrow, in Law, Institutions and Politics of the European Integration
  • 09/06/2013 - Ermanno Olmi (Italian film director and screenwriter), in Human and Pedagogical Sciences
  • 10/01/2013 - Marco Paolini, in Theatre, Film, Television and Media Studies
  • 15/06/2012 - Andrew Hamilton, in Chemistry
  • 17/04/2012 - Claudio Scimone, in Law
  • 09/11/2010 - Don Luigi Mazzuccato,  in Institutions and Politics of Human Rights and Peace
  • 06/04/2010 - John Skehel, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 18/12/2009 - Anthony C. Davison, in Statistics
  • 18/12/2009 - Mario Draghi (Italian economist), in Statistics
  • 15/09/2009 - Antonio Carpené (Italian manager), in Vituculture, Enology and Wine Market
  • 15/12/2008 - Tom Ryan DeMeester, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 21/05/2008 - Aldo Castañeda, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 21/04/2008 - Roberto Ruffino, in Pedagogical Science
  • 20/11/2007 - Theodor Berchem (German Romanist philologist), in Arts
  • 20/11/2007 - Nico Frijda (Dutch psychologist and professor), in Experimental psychology and Neuro-cognitive Behavior Science
  • 20/11/2007 - Daniel Stern, in Clinical Dynamic Psychology
  • 20/11/2007 - Salvatore Settis, in Law
  • 20/11/2007 - Shaul G. Massry, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 20/11/2007 - Thomas Jr. Hughes, in Civil Engineering
  • 20/11/2007 - Valerio Giordano Riello (Italian manager), in "Mechanical Engineering"

  Historical list (2006 - 1970)

  • 12/12/2006 - H Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, in Philosophy
  • 12/12/2006 - Angelo Funes Nova (Italian manager), in Forest and Environmental Sciences
  • 12/12/2006 - Marc H. Bornstein, in Psychology of Development and School Intervention
  • 12/12/2006 - Francisco J. Ayala, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 30/11/2006 - Koichi Tanaka, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 06/06/2006 - Samuel Pisar, in European integration law
  • 12/03/2004 - Carlo Morelli, in Geologic sciences
  • 12/03/2004 - Willem J.M Levelt, in Psychology
  • 27/10/2004 - Arvid Carlsson, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 20/10/2004 - Hans Blix, in Political science
  • 20/10/2004 - Michael Stolleis, in Political science
  • 25/06/2004 - Vittorio Tabacchi (Italian manager), in Mechanical engineering
  • 25/06/2004 - Lelio Orci, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 16/04/2004 - John Prausniz, in Chemical engineering
  • 16/04/2004 - Michael Cole, in Psychology
  • 12/01/2003 - Monsignor Giovanni Nervo, in Education
  • 26/09/2003 - Carlo Veronesi (Italian manager), in Veterinary medicine
  • 15/05/2003 - Eugene Braunwald, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 15/05/2003 - Magdi Habib Yacoub, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 22/11/2002 - Nancy G. Siraisi (American historian of medicine), in Philosophy
  • 24/06/2002 - Nicholas Shackleton, in Geologic sciences
  • 24/06/2002 - Ivan R. King (American astronomer), in Astronomy
  • 22/02/2002 - Manoel Candido Pinto De Oliveira (Portuguese film director and screenwriter), in Arts
  • 14/12/2001 - Surendra Kumat Saxena (American geotechnical engineering educator and professor), in Geologic sciences
  • 14/12/2001 - Charles V. Guidotti (American geologist), in Geologic sciences
  • 26/10/2001 - Joseph Ki Zerbo (African historian, politician and writer), in Education
  • 26/10/2001 - Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, in Political science
  • 26/10/2001 - Ian Brownlie (British lawyer), in Political science
  • 21/05/2001 - Mario Carraro, in Economics
  • 21/05/2001 - René Girard, in Arts
  • 21/05/2001 - Bronislaw Geremek, in History
  • 24/10/2000 - Leonhardt Gustav (Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor), in Arts
  • 06/08/2000 - Eugenio Coseriu (Romanian linguist), in Arts
  • 06/08/2000 - Daniel Saul Goldin, in Mechanical engineering
  • 16/02/2000 - Mario Monti, in Law
  • 28/05/1999 - Albert van Kammen, in Life sciences
  • 11/05/1998 - Michael Ira Posner, in Psychology
  • 11/05/1998 - Guido Vannucchi (Italian Elecrical engineer), in Telecommunications engineering
  • 11/05/1998 - Amartya Sen, in Political science
  • 11/05/1998 - Paul Ricoeur, in Political science
  • 11/05/1998 - Mario Rigoni Stern, in Forest and environmental sciences
  • 24/09/1997 - Roman Herzog (German politician and judge), in Law
  • 04/06/1997 - Philip Nicholas Johnson-Laird, in Psychology
  • 04/06/1997 - Rudolf Arnheim (American psychologidt), in Psychology
  • 07/01/1997 - Torrence Vaino Johnson (merican astronomer), in Astronomy
  • 07/01/1997 - William John O'Neil, in Astronomy
  • 07/01/1997 - Franco P. Preparata (Italian computer scientist), in Computer science engineering
  • 18/10/1996 - K. Charles Kao, in Telecommunications engineering
  • 09/05/1996 - Bohumil Hrabal (Czech writer), in Arts
  • 09/05/1996 - Jorge Amado, in Arts
  • 02/02/1996 - Sherloch Sherloch, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 02/02/1996 - Lewis P. Rowland, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 02/02/1996 - Francesco Rosi  (Italian film director), in Arts
  • 01/03/1995 - Donald A. Norman, in Psychology
  • 27/09/1994 - Per Ingvar Branemark (Swedish orthopaedic surgeon), in Dentistry and dental prosthesis
  • 27/09/1994 - Angiolino Grillini (Italian politician and lawyer), in Mechanical engineering
  • 25/10/1993 - Michel J. Petit, in Agricultural sciences
  • 25/10/1993 - Guido M. Rey  (Italian economist), in Statistics and economic sciences
  • 25/10/1993 - Karl G. Joreskog (Karl G. Joreskog), in Statistics and economic sciences
  • 25/10/1993 - David R. Cox (British statistician), in Statistics and demographic sciences
  • 25/10/1993 - Thomas R. Sinclair, in Agricultural sciences
  • 17/05/1993 - Jorge Barrera Graf, in Political science
  • 16/02/1993 - Vaclav Havel (Czech statesman, writer), in Political science
  • 07/12/1992 - James Serrin, in Mathematics
  • 07/12/1992 - Thomas S. Kuhn, in Philosophy
  • 07/12/1992 - Steven Weinberg, in Physics
  • 07/12/1992 - Carlo Rubbia, in Physics
  • 07/12/1992 - Stillman Drake, in Physics
  • 07/12/1992 - Bruno Rossi ( Italian experimental physicis), in Astronomy
  • 07/12/1992 - George Coyne, in Astronomy
  • 24/06/1992 - Thomas Earl Starzl, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 15/06/1992 - Olgierd C. Zienkiewicz (British mathematician), in Civil engineering
  • 15/06/1992 - Senichi Masuda, in Electronic engineering
  • 15/06/1992 - Alexiu Stilianos (Greek archaeologist), in Arts
  • 15/06/1992 - Pierre Leveque (French historian), in Arts
  • 15/01/1990 - Evelio Verdera y Tuells, in Political science
  • 15/01/1990 - John Schellman, in Chemistry
  • 15/01/1990 - Jack Peisach, in Life sciences
  • 15/01/1990 - Guido Calabresi, in Political science
  • 29/09/1988 - Edwin M. Southern, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 29/09/1988 - Raymond Latarjet (French biologist), in Pharmacy
  • 29/09/1988 - Osamu Hayaishi (Japanese biochemist), in Pharmacy
  • 29/09/1988 - Francesco Della Valle, in Pharmacy
  • 30/05/1986 - Otto Skutsch (German classical philologist), in Arts
  • 30/05/1986 - Stanley Miles Partridge, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 30/05/1986 - Otto Demus (n Austrian art historian), in Arts
  • 30/05/1986 - Marie Therese D'Alverny (French historian), in Philosophy
  • 08/02/1986 - Goffredo Parise, in Arts
  • 08/02/1986 - Abel Lajtha, in Medicine and Surgery
  • 10/11/1984 - Wu Chien-Shiung, in Physics
  • 10/11/1984 - Allan Bromley, in Physics
  • 08/02/1984 - Lars Ernster (Hungarian professor of biochemistry), in Medicine and Surgery
  • 08/02/1984 - Riccardo Giacconi in Astronomy
  • 05/07/1983 - Bora Laskin (Canadian lawyer), in Political science
  • 21/03/1983 - Gotthard Schettler (German physician), in Medicine and Surgery
  • 08/02/1983 - Bogdan Suchodolski (Polish philosopher), in Education
  • 27/05/1982 - Altiero Spinelli (Italian politician), in Political Science
  • 27/05/1982 - Denis King Britton (Brtish Professor of Agricultural Economics), in Economics
  • 10/01/1977 - Leopold Sedar Senghor, in Arts
  • 10/01/1977 - Gottfried Eisermann (German economist), in Political science
  • 03/04/1970 - Pierre Gourou (French geographer), in "Economics"
  • 03/04/1970 - Giuseppe Gatti in "Economics"
  • 03/04/1970 - Fernand Paul Braudel (French historian), in Economics