Legally Receive an Honorary Doctorate When You Make a Donation

Honorary degrees can be legally awarded in exchange for a donation, as done by many universities throughout the world.  Our institute was founded as a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California, with the mission of establishing a spiritual community that empowers people to learn, grow, and serve. With articles of incorporation dutifully submitted, LADC Institute has the right to bestow ecclesiastical honors on its members, in exchange for a small donation.    

This is in contrast to an academic degree.  To earn an academic doctorate title, in most countries you will need to complete several years of postgraduate education, followed by a doctoral dissertation, after which you will be awarded a Ph.D. In the United States and the UK, for example, only universities can grant academic doctoral degrees.

The ecclesiastical honorary doctorate, or Dr. Honoris Causa, can legally be added to your name in the U.S., in Europe, and in many other countries. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has established that the guiding principle is the legal right of the awarding institution to issue such a degree in its country of origin. As such, the honorary doctoral degrees awarded by our institute can be used and displayed worldwide, as long as you follow the guidelines given here. We must also ask that if you are conferred such an award, that you live up to the standards that such a title presumes, such as upholding the values of integrity, morality, and respect and compassion for others.

European Laws: 

In April 2000, the German Ministry for Cultural Affairs established that ecclesiastical degrees may be legally awarded. The Ministry of Science agreed with this resolution in August 2004, further elaborating that ecclesiastical degrees may be used and displayed as long as they are not mistaken for academic degrees. Identifying the name of the issuing organization and the country in which it is based eliminates the need for nostrificating the degree.