Departments

The term “department” refers to the college’s academic departments, such as Department of Psychiatry.

When referring to a department, always capitalize the department name when it stands alone or is written as an official and formal name For example:

The UICOMR Department of Pediatrics received a grant last year.

Subsequent references should be written more simply like this:

The grant enabled the department to build a new lab.

Note that in describing the relationship between a department and its college, the correct phrasing is that the department is in the college, not of the college.

Be clear about whether you are talking about a department or Office, e.g. it is the Office of Student Affairs, not the Student Affairs Department.

Using acronyms for department names

Be sure to understand the guidelines for using acronyms.

Abbreviations and acronyms