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Acronyms and abbreviations

1. In general, spell out the word on first reference followed by their acronyms in closed parentheses, then use acronyms on succeeding reference.

E.g., This is according to a recent study by Western’s newest Canada Research Chair (CRC) Kaitlynn Mendes. A sociology professor at Western, Mendes has been named the new CRC in Inequality and Gender.

When a word is referenced only once in the whole story, acronyms are not necessary.

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2. Use full name on first reference and short form on succeeding reference for affiliated university colleges.

• Brescia University College (Brescia)
• Huron University College (Huron)
• King’s University College (King’s)  

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3. Official building names are capitalized. Write full name on first reference, then the abbreviation or acronym on succeeding reference. For a list of Western’s buildings and their acronyms, refer to this building list (PDF) from the Office of Institutional Planning and Budgeting. 

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4. Spell out days of the week.

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5. It is acceptable to spell out or abbreviate academic degrees, depending on the context. University degrees are lowercase except when abbreviated. When abbreviating a degree, omit periods and punctuation marks.

E.g., bachelor of arts, master’s degree, doctor of philosophy, MA, PhD 

When referencing a Western graduate, include degree and year of graduation, following the last name separated by a comma.

E.g., Jane Smith, MA’10, is now pursuing doctoral work at Harvard University. 

Undergraduate Degrees

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Graduate Degrees

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Honorary Degrees

• doctor of laws (LLD)
• doctor of science (DSc)
• doctor of letters (DLitt) 
• doctor of music (DMus)
• doctor of civil law (DCL)
• doctor of divinity (DD) 

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6. Use full name of faculties on first reference, and short form on succeeding references.

• Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Arts and Humanities)
  • Use ampersand (&) for web and social purposes but write out ‘and’ in paragraph form.
• Don Wright Faculty of Music (Music)
• Faculty of Education (Education)
• Faculty of Engineering (Engineering)
• School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS)
• Faculty of Health Sciences (Health Sciences)
• Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS)
• Faculty of Law (Law)
• Ivey Business School (Ivey)
• Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship
  • Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, Powered by Ivey
  • Morrissette Entrepreneurship
• Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • (Schulich Medicine & Dentistry; Schulich Medicine when referencing the school of medicine alone; Schulich Dentistry (when referencing division of dentistry alone)
  • Do not use ‘Schulich School of Medicine’ or ‘Schulich School of Dentistry.’
• Faculty of Science (Science)
• Faculty of Social Science (Social Science)

See capitalization for more information.

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 7. Use the following short forms for the region’s hospitals:

• Children’s Hospital (no short form)
• London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC)
• University Hospital (University Hospital)
• Victoria Hospital (Victoria)
• St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute (Parkwood)
• St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s)
• Regional Mental Health Care London (RMHC London)
• Regional Mental Health Care St. Thomas (RMHC St. Thomas) 

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8. Use the following acronyms for Western labour groups:

CTA-UWO - Clinical Teachers Association of UWO on first reference. CTA-UWO thereafter. CTA-UWO represents Clinical Academic Faculty with full-time appointments in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

CUPE stands for Canadian Union of Public Employees. Use the acronym in first and succeeding references.

CUPE Local 2361 in all references. CUPE Local 2361 represents employees in Facilities Management who are engaged in the maintenance and service of buildings and grounds at Western.

CUPE Local 2692 in all references. CUPE Local 2692 represents the employees in the Hospitality Services Department at Western.

IUOE - represents the university’s Operating Engineers and those individuals engaged primarily as their helpers in the main Power Plant and other remote plants.

OPSEU Local 102 – represents employees in the Western Special Constable Service.

PMA – Professional Management Association on first reference. PMA thereafter. The PMA represents full-time employees engaged on a permanent basis in managerial and professional roles across the university.

UWOFA – University of Western Ontario Faculty Association on first reference. UWOFA thereafter. UWOFA represents full-time professors of the university (other than clinical faculty) and also parttime faculty with duties equivalent to teaching at least 0.5 degree credit course in each of two of the last three fiscal years.

UWOFA-LA – University of Western Ontario Faculty Association. UWOFA-LA represents those employees of the university performing the work of librarians and archivists. Use Librarians and Archivists on first reference. UWOFA-LA thereafter.

UWOSA - University of Western Ontario Staff Association on first reference. UWOSA thereafter. UWOSA represents employees engaged in administrative and research support roles employed on a continuing or sessional (e.g. academic year) basis.

PSAC Local 610 – represents registered graduate students who are engaged in supervised teaching-related activities across the various faculties and schools.

PSAC Local 610 - Unit 2 – represents postdoctoral associates at the university, who are engaged in research and are employees of the university.

SAGE – Select Administrative Group Employees on first reference. SAGE thereafter. SAGE represents university employees engaged in administrative roles that may require access to confidential employment and labour relations information, necessitating their exclusion from the University of Western Ontario Staff Association bargaining unit. 

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9. Use 2SLGBTQ+ as the inclusive acronym for references to those who identify as two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or queer, and all other gender identities such as intersex, asexual, pansexual, polyamorous.

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10. Write full library name on first reference, then abbreviations and short forms in parentheses in second reference.

• Archives and Research Collections Centre (ARCC)
• C.B. ‘Bud’ Johnston Library (Business Library)
• Education Library (Education Library)
• John & Dotsa Bitove Family Law Library (Law Library)
• Music Library (Music Library)
• Allyn and Betty Taylor Library (Taylor)
• Map and Data Centre (Map and Data)
• The D.B. Weldon Library (Weldon) 

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11. Abbreviate names of months more than five letters when followed by specific date. Otherwise, spell out.

E.g., Jan. 1, Feb. 1, March 1, April 1, May 1, June 1, July 1, Aug. 1, Sept. 1, Oct. 1, Nov. 1 and Dec. 1; January 2020, February 2020 

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12. Use the professional title “Dr.” only in reference to licensed medical practitioners and/or dentists, and then only on the first reference. Do not use Dr. for PhD or doctorate degrees.

E.g., Dr. John Smith performed the first-of-its-kind operation. Smith said it was his crowning achievement.     

 Do not use Dr. for PhD or doctorate degrees.

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13. The names of provinces, territories and districts may be abbreviated when they follow the name of a city, town, village or geographical feature.

Follow CP Style for province abbreviations and short forms: 

 

   

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14. Research. For a list of research centres and institutes at Western, including abbreviations and short forms, visit the Western Research page.

U15 refers to Canada’s leading research-intensive universities. Members include: Western, Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Dalhousie, Laval, Manitoba, McGill, McMaster, Montreal, Ottawa, Queen’s, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Waterloo. Use U15 in all references (although use this reference sparingly in news stories, as it does not have wide recognition beyond academics at research-intensive universities themselves). 

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 15. Sports. U Sports is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Use U Sports in all references.

Ontario University Athletics is Ontario’s governing body of university sport. Use Ontario University Athletics on first reference, and OUA on succeeding references.

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