Can Harvard revoke a college degree after it's been awarded?
I was recently having a debate with my friend about how secure a degree really is after you graduate. Is it actually possible for Harvard to take back your degree once they've given it to you? I’m curious if anyone knows of real situations where this happened, or if it's just a thing people worry about for no reason.
I’m mostly just trying to understand how often this has happened, and what kind of reasons they might have. Is it limited to academic dishonesty, or are there other cases? Not that I’m planning on getting my degree revoked or anything, but it seemed like an interesting topic and now I really want to know.
I’m mostly just trying to understand how often this has happened, and what kind of reasons they might have. Is it limited to academic dishonesty, or are there other cases? Not that I’m planning on getting my degree revoked or anything, but it seemed like an interesting topic and now I really want to know.
3 weeks ago
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Luis Nario-Malberg
• 3 weeks ago
Advisor
Yes, Harvard (and most other universities) do have the authority to revoke a degree even after it’s been awarded, though it happens rarely and only in specific circumstances. The most common reason is academic dishonesty, like if someone is discovered to have plagiarized extensively or committed severe fraud in their admissions application or while earning their degree. For example, if a student’s plagiarized dissertation was uncovered after graduation, Harvard could launch an investigation, and if the claims were substantiated, could revoke the degree.
There are documented cases where Harvard has exercised this power. One high-profile example involved a student in the 2010s whose degree was revoked years after graduation when it was found that substantial parts of their thesis work had been plagiarized. Another area where revocations can occur is falsification of credentials (like forging transcripts during application, or lying about academic achievements). If that comes to light later, even decades down the road, Harvard can and has taken back degrees.
Non-academic causes are much less common and controversial. For instance, if someone committed a felony unrelated to their academic work, it’s unlikely the degree would be rescinded unless the crime was directly tied to their coursework or the university’s reputation.
There are documented cases where Harvard has exercised this power. One high-profile example involved a student in the 2010s whose degree was revoked years after graduation when it was found that substantial parts of their thesis work had been plagiarized. Another area where revocations can occur is falsification of credentials (like forging transcripts during application, or lying about academic achievements). If that comes to light later, even decades down the road, Harvard can and has taken back degrees.
Non-academic causes are much less common and controversial. For instance, if someone committed a felony unrelated to their academic work, it’s unlikely the degree would be rescinded unless the crime was directly tied to their coursework or the university’s reputation.
Luis Nario-Malberg
Mooresville, North Carolina
Harvard College, Class of 2018, A.B. in Philosophy
Experience
5 years