In addition to the first word in a sentence, the following are generally the only words which should be capitalized.
Proper nouns — a specific individual name
Kalamazoo
Proper adjectives — an adjective derived from a proper noun
Romance languages (derived from the proper noun Roman)
Common nouns only when used as part of a specific name
Kanley Chapel, Waldo Library (otherwise lowercase chapel, library)
Common adjectives only when used as part of a specific name
Brown and Gold Room (otherwise lowercase brown and gold)
It is not unusual within an organization for certain common nouns to be treated as proper nouns. The following are the only common nouns which should be capitalized in publications and correspondence of Western Michigan University.
Alumni Association — Capitalize only when it refers exclusively to the WMU Alumni Association
Board of Trustees — Capitalize only when it refers exclusively to the WMU Board of Trustees
Bronco/Broncos — Capitalize when it refers to the WMU mascot or athletic teams
Colleges, departments, offices — Capitalize only when the complete name is given and only for colleges, departments, offices and programs of Western Michigan University.
University — Capitalize only when it refers exclusively to Western Michigan University
Western — Capitalize when it refers to Western Michigan University (see Western)
Western Michigan — Capitalize when it refers to Western Michigan University (see Western)
Used in text — In text, titles are capitalized only if they precede the name of the individual. A title following the name of an individual or a title by itself is not capitalized.
In text, it is preferable for the title to follow the name and, therefore, the title would not be capitalized. This is especially true of titles consisting of more than one word. For example, it is acceptable to use either “President John M. Dunn” or “John M. Dunn, president.” However, “Richard Carrick, director of alumni services,” should be used in text rather than “Director of Alumni Services Richard Carrick.”
Some words identifying occupations or professions are pseudo titles and should not be capitalized even if they precede the name. Do not capitalize “attorney Amber Ackley,” or “pianist Jennifer Stutz.”
Titles are not capitalized when used in conjunction with the name of an office, department or program. Do not capitalize the title in “Margaret Merrion, dean of the College of Fine Arts,” or “Margaret Merrion, College of Fine Arts dean.”
Used in a list — When used in a directory listing or other similar situations, the title is capitalized whether it precedes the name, follows the name, or appears in tabular form.
Used in an address — When used as part of an address, the title is capitalized, whether it appears in text or block address form.
The names of offices, departments and programs at WMU are capitalized only when the full, official name is used, and only when referring to an office, department or program of WMU.
Note that the word program is part of relatively few official names at the University. The word program is not capitalized simply because it is preceded by a proper noun (“...the Medallion Scholarship program...”).
Some names of offices, departments, scholarships or programs contain proper nouns and are always capitalized when the proper noun is included. The full name of the alumni center at Western Michigan University is the Harold A. and Beulah J. McKee Alumni Center. You should also capitalize McKee Alumni Center, because it contains the proper noun McKee. However, alumni center, by itself, is not capitalized.
Except for languages, such as English, French and Japanese, the names of academic disciplines are not proper nouns and should not be capitalized. This includes references to disciplines in major and minor fields of study.
Academic degrees are capitalized only when the full name of the degree is used, such as Bachelor of Arts or Master of Social Work. General references, such as bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, are not capitalized.
Use an apostrophe (possessive) with bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, but not in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. Do not use an apostrophe (possessive) with associate degree or doctoral degree.
Do not capitalize
When used in text, words such as those listed above are not capitalized even when preceded by a proper name, unless they are a part of that proper name. For example, the word alumni is not capitalized except in proper names such as, “WMU Alumni Association” and “McKee Alumni Center.” It is not capitalized in constructions such as, “WMU alumni” or “Detroit-area alumni.”
Form letters are addressed to groups. The salutation should, therefore, be plural. Capitalize key words, lower case articles and conjunctions, and end with a colon.