Words for the titles and ranks of people are lowercased when they are used in a general sense or refer to the position held rather than the person.
They are capitalized when they are used directly before a name, as a form of address or as a substitute for the name of the holder of the title.
When titles are used in apposition to a name, they do not form part of the name and are, therefore, lowercased.
The general guideline, then, is that if the title or rank is a reference to a specific person and the person’s name could be used instead without affecting factual or grammatical accuracy, then a capital letter should be used.
In titles that are hyphenated compounds it used to be standard practice to capitalize only the first part of the compound. Nowadays, however, the tendency is to capitalize both parts if the compound refers to a specific person.
But note that when the reference is to the position of vice-rector, not to a particular person, the title should be lowercased.
 | The principal academic and administrative officer of a university in this country is the rector. |
They are capitalized when they are used directly before a name, as a form of address or as a substitute for the name of the holder of the title.
| In 2022, Rector Alabart was re-elected for a second four-year term of office. |
| Only last week, Rector, you stated that there would be no further cuts in the departmental budget. |
| Last week the Rector gave a speech to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. |
When titles are used in apposition to a name, they do not form part of the name and are, therefore, lowercased.
| Dr Alabart, rector of the University, was first elected in 2018. |
The general guideline, then, is that if the title or rank is a reference to a specific person and the person’s name could be used instead without affecting factual or grammatical accuracy, then a capital letter should be used.
In titles that are hyphenated compounds it used to be standard practice to capitalize only the first part of the compound. Nowadays, however, the tendency is to capitalize both parts if the compound refers to a specific person.
| The Vice-Rector for Academic Policy described the new reforms to the Governing Council. |
But note that when the reference is to the position of vice-rector, not to a particular person, the title should be lowercased.
| The vice-rector for academic policy is responsible for making large-scale changes to degree programmes. |
Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics
Darrera actualització: 7-9-2023
Recommended citation:
«Titles and ranks» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2340> [consulta: 19 abril 2024].
