Editorial Style Guide

Use abbreviations and acronyms in moderation. When using uncommon abbreviations or acronyms, on first reference spell out the full name and follow it by the abbreviation or acronym in parentheses. 

• If said abbreviation or acronym is not used after the first mention, do not abbreviate it.

EXAMPLE:
The School of Medicine (SOM) is hosting a lecture series next month on orthopedics. This SOM event will be free and open to the public. 

Academic degrees
Do not use periods when abbreviating academic degrees: BS, PhD, MD, DNP, etc.

Articles (a, an, the) with acronyms and abbreviations
Use the article that you would use when speaking. Sometimes, no article is necessary.

Dates
Per AP style, spell out month names that stand alone. Abbreviate month names when used with a specific date: 

• December 2019
• Dec. 14, 2019

Street names
Per AP style, spell out street names with a number and abbreviate street names in a complete address: 

• 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO 80045
• 12348 East Montview Blvd., Aurora, CO 80045

Do not capitalize the names of degrees. Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, master’s, etc. Do not use an apostrophe in bachelor of arts, bachelor of science or master of science. 

Areas of study (e.g., genetics, physical therapy, pharmacy) are not capitalized unless used as part of a proper name.

EXAMPLES: 

• He is working toward a master of science degree in biostatistics. 
• She received a PhD in biology last year. 
• They all had master’s degrees in clinical pharmacy. 

NOTE:
The University of Colorado does not award associate degrees; however, employees may still need to reference this level of education. Associate degree is never plural (associates) or possessive (associate's).

For academic degree abbreviations, see ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS.

After alumni names, list the degree and class year. Omit periods from abbreviations of academic degrees, and place the abbreviated degree after the name, separated by commas, List the two-digit graduation year with an apostrophe on the left, facing left. Include comma after the name. Add a comma after the class year if it is part of a running sentence, as in the second set of examples below.

If the graduate has earned more than one degree, list them starting with the highest degree. Put commas in between degrees and their class years. For listing completed residency years, see the section “Residents” below. 

• John Smith, MD ’74, PhD ’67
• Jane Doe, PhD ’73 
  

The following constructions are also acceptable:

• Jane Doe is a 1973 College of Nursing alumna. 
• John Smith, MD, is a 1991 CU School of Medicine alumnus.

Bachelor’s or Associate’s Degrees 

Do not use degree abbreviations for bachelor’s or associate’s degrees earned at CU. In these cases, only list the years that the degrees were earned. See the example below.

John Smith has many ties to the University of Colorado, including earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology and neuroscience in 1985, and a medical degree in 1990. 

• John Smith, ’85, MD ’90
• Smith, ’85, MD ’90, is now a major benefactor supporting the CU School of Medicine.

Class of __

When referring to a class as a whole, capitalize the name of the class and write out the full graduation year (Class of 1967).

Degrees Earned in the Early 20th Century and Before 

If the alumna/us earned their degree in the early 1900s or before, do not abbreviate the class year. This avoids confusion with the early 2000s.

• Ex. Sarah Smith, MD 1917, not Sarah Smith, MD ’17

Doctoral Degrees

In the first instance that an individual with a doctorate degree is referenced, include their degree abbreviation (John Thomas, PhD). For later references, do NOT use a courtesy title. Use last name only (Thomas).

Non-Doctoral Degrees

In the first instance that an individual with a non-doctoral degree is referenced, include their degree abbreviation (Sarah Smith, RN).  For later references, use the last name (Foot-Lucero).

Honorary Degrees

When referring to someone who holds an honorary degree, spell this out in the text, as in first example below. Do not use Dr. before the name of an individual whose only doctorate is honorary. Avoid using abbreviations such as Hon. PhD.

EXAMPLE

• Henry Strauss was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Colorado.

Other Listing Types:  

Below are a number of listing types using the example Jane Doe, PhD ’61, MD ’59, ’55. 

• If she had a non-CU-alum spouse:
  • Jane Doe, PhD ’61, MD ’59, ’55, and John Doe 
• If John were also a CU alum: 
  • Jane Doe, PhD ’61, MD ’59, ’55, and John Doe MD ’60, ’55 
• If John, the CU alum, were listed alone: 
  • John Doe, MD ’60, ’55 
• If Jane was being listed on an event program with a fellow CU alum whose only CU degree is a bachelor’s: 
  • Jane Doe, PhD ’61, MD ’59, ’55, and Henry Strauss ’51 
• If Jane only had an MD from CU and was being listed on an event program with a fellow CU alum whose only CU degree is a bachelor’s:
  • Jane Doe, MD '59, and Henry Strauss '51
• If Jane had an alumni colleague, but their undergrad was not from CU: 
  • Robert Smith, PhD '61, MD '59

Board of Regents is capitalized on first reference. On second reference, regents is lowercase. Regent is capitalized before the full name of a regent. When using a regent’s full title, place the district after the name, separated by commas. Second reference to the regent is last name only.

EXAMPLES:

• The next Board of Regents meeting is May 25. 
• The regents will discuss new degree programs for three years. 
• Regent Jane Smith, First Congressional District, will chair the discussion. Smith has been a regent since 2017.

Per AP style, do not use a serial/Oxford comma in a series or list, unless it is needed for clarity or understanding.

Use an em dash ( — ) with a character space on either side to mark a break in thought or to indicate a range, replacing the words “through” or “to.” 

EXAMPLES:

• He will travel to Europe this summer — if he passes all of his classes. 
• They rated the course on a scale of 1 — 10.

When preceding a name, job titles should be capitalized. When they do not precede a name, use lowercase. Longer titles should be placed after the name. Use degrees instead of courtesy titles. In most instances, an individual’s first and last name followed by degree. Subsequent references of the specific individual should use last name. 

EXAMPLES:

• Chancellor Don Elliman 
• Jane Smith, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences. 

For more on academic degrees, see ACADEMIC DEGREES.

Addendum: In certain instances, some job titles can be abbreviated with all caps on second reference. 

EXAMPLE: 

• Jane Smith has been in her practice as a physical therapist since 2007. In her work as a PT, she has dealt with a wide variety of patients.

Per AP style, spell out numbers one through nine; use figures for numbers 10 and up. 

For percentages, use numerals and USE PERCENT SYMBOL (%). 

For times, denote a.m. or p.m. with lower-case letters with periods, no spaces between: 10 a.m., 4:30 p.m.

• advisor (not adviser)
• alum (singular), alumni (plural) 
• campuswide (no hyphen)
• campus’s (possessive, apostrophe and “s”)
• fundraising (no hyphen or space)
• healthcare (one word)
• OK (not okay)
• post-baccalaureate (hyphenated)
• pre-health (hyphenated)
• semester hours (not credit hours)
• universitywide (no hyphen or space) 
• Alzheimer’s disease 
• Down syndrome 

Web and electronic references

• e-commerce, e-book, e-newsletter (all compound e-words, other than email, are hyphenated)
• email (lowercase, no hyphen)
• email addresses all lowercase (first.last@cuanschutz.edu)
• login (noun); log in (verb)
• internet (lowercase)
• online (one word)
• X (uppercase), tweet (lowercase), retweet (lowercase, no hyphen)
• website, webcam, webcast, webmaster (single word, lowercase, no space or hyphen)