Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: Awards and Honors

Honorary Degrees

Between 1974 and 1979 Elisabeth accepted honorary degrees from colleges and universities across the United States.

The degrees were conferred in science, medicine, law, humanities, letters, education and divinity, a measure of how widely her work on dying reached beyond medicine.

Nineteen honorary degrees are documented below. Exact dates are given where the original diploma has been examined, and the list will be updated if further diplomas come to light.

The degrees end in 1979 because Elisabeth decided she had received enough and stopped accepting them, declining the invitations that continued to arrive.

1974

• Doctor of Laws, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, May 19, 1974
• Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, May 23, 1974

1975

• Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, February 26, 1975
• Doctor of Laws, Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota, March 13, 1975
• Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, May 17, 1975
• Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa, Medical College of Pennsylvania (now part of Drexel University College of Medicine), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 24, 1975
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Loyola University (now Loyola University Chicago), Chicago, Illinois, June 14, 1975
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

1976

• Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland, May 15, 1976
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest, Illinois, May 22, 1976
• Doctor of Pedagogy, Keuka College, Keuka Park, New York, May 23, 1976
• Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, Molloy College (now Molloy University), Rockville Centre, New York, May 29, 1976
• Doctor of Humane Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

1977

• Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Regis College, Weston, Massachusetts, May 22, 1977
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

1978

• Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Union College, Schenectady, New York, June 11, 1978
• Honorary Degree, Anna Maria College, Paxton, Massachusetts

1979

• Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris causa, D’Youville College (now D’Youville University), Buffalo, New York, May 19, 1979
• Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Rutherford, New Jersey, May 20, 1979

National and International Recognition

Recognition from national and international bodies, in date order.

• Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement, 1977
• Humanitarian Award, International Association of Cancer Victims and Friends, Solana Beach, California, 1977
• Woman of the Year, Ladies’ Home Journal, 1977
• President’s Cabinet Award, University of Detroit, Michigan, 1979
• Woman of the Decade, Ladies’ Home Journal, 1979
• Teilhard Prize, “Promotion of Human Unity,” August 15, 1981
• Living Legacy Award, Women’s International Center, La Jolla, California, 1984
• Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, Mary Baldwin College (now Mary Baldwin University), Staunton, Virginia, June 2, 1985
• One of twelve women featured in the Library of Congress “Women Who Dare” calendar for 1995, published with Pomegranate, 1994
• GALA honoree, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama, May 4–5, 1995, one of one hundred women from around the world honored for lasting contributions in their fields
• On Death and Dying selected for the New York Public Library’s Books of the Century, exhibition 1995–96; companion book published by Oxford University Press, 1996
• Profiled as one of four “Unsung Heroes” in TIME’s TIME 100: Scientists & Thinkers issue, March 29, 1999
• National Women’s Hall of Fame, inducted 2007
• On Death and Dying named one of Simon & Schuster’s Top 100 Books of the Past 100 Years, 2024

Date unknown

• Honorary Member, Mark Twain Society

Medical, Hospice and Bereavement Awards

Recognizing Dr. Kübler-Ross’s impact on the medical community and her pioneering work in hospice care, palliative care, bereavement and thanatology, the study of death and dying. Many of these honors came from individual hospices across the United States. Awards made after her death in August 2004 are listed separately.

During her lifetime

• Award, Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, Illinois, 1970
• Special Recognition, Gerard B. Lambert Awards, September 1973, for “changing national attitudes toward death”
• Fellow of the College of Human Sciences, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1976
• Backbone of Thanatology Award, Parker Chiropractic Research Foundation, 1977
• Honorary Member, Board of Trustees, Foundation for Hospice and Homecare, 1983
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of San Francisco, California, 1984
• Lifetime Achievement Award, American Society of Hospice Care, 1985
• Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Award, American Society of Hospice Care, Weston, Massachusetts, 1985
• Honorary Member, Christophorus Hospiz Verein, Munich, Germany, 1986
• Recognition for leadership in the international hospice movement, Northern New Mexico Community College, Commencement 1991
• Commemorative medal, “Highlights on Pain and Suffering,” Sintetica, Mendrisio, Switzerland, May 8, 1992
• Founders Award, National Hospice Organization (NHO), 1993
• President’s Award, American College of Health Care Administrators, 1993, for outstanding authorship in the areas of AIDS, death and dying, and dignity for the older adult, and activism on behalf of the elderly and infirm
• Special Board Recognition Award, Emergency Nurses Association, 1994, for her contributions to the understanding of death and dying and its impact on emergency nursing
• George M. and Mary Jane Leader Healthcare Achievement Award, October 6, 1994
• Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Field of Thanatology, Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), April 29, 1995
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of the Bluegrass, Lexington, Kentucky, 1995
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1995
• Special Recognition, American Academy of Bereavement, Tucson, Arizona, January 1998, for her outstanding contribution and lifelong dedication to the field of death and dying
• Jason Award, The Jason Program, Maine, spring 2001
• Platinum Wings Lifetime Achievement Award, MISS Foundation, Phoenix, Arizona, June 29, 2001
• Caring Connections Award, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), 2001
• H.U.G. (“Helping Understand Grief”) Award, OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center, Los Angeles, California, 2002
• Featured in “Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians,” National Library of Medicine, 2003
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of the Chesapeake, Maryland, 2004

1990s (exact year to be confirmed)

• Recognition Award, Caritas Hospice, New York
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of Santa Barbara, California
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley, New York
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of the Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of Tucson, Arizona
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Sacramento Hospice Foundation, California
• Recognition Award, San Diego Hospice, California
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Sutter Hospice, California

Date unknown

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of the Valley, San Jose, California

Posthumous

• William C. Menninger Memorial Award, American College of Physicians, 2005
• The Kübler-Ross Legacy Award, Caring for the Dying Conference, 2005
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, Arizona, 2005
• Medal of Honor, Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), 2006
• Award for Outstanding Contribution, Children’s Hospice International (CHI), 2008
• Photo exhibit at the national headquarters of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Alexandria, Virginia, opened 2009
• Gardner Visionary Award, Pathways Hospice Foundation, Palo Alto, California, 2010
• One From the Heart Award, Pathways Hospice, 2010

Civic and Community Honors

Honors from cities, states and community organizations, in date order.

• • Honorary Citizen, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, 1972
  • Certificate of Appreciation, Cobb County, Georgia Symposium, April 1972
  • Honorary Citizen and Key to the City, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1974
  • Honorary State Senator, Louisiana, 1974
  • Golden Key to the City, Memphis, Tennessee, 1977
  • “Love Is… Elisabeth Kübler-Ross,” Memphis Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Memphis, Tennessee, February 2, 1977
  • Service to Mankind Award, Southwest Sertoma Club, Kansas City, Missouri, 1977
  • Honorary Deputy Sheriff, Shelby County, Tennessee, 1979
  • Honorary Member, Yoga Fellowship of Northern Ireland, 1985
  • Certificate of Appreciation, Children’s Hospice International, for dedication and outstanding support, May 9, 1985
  • Special Recognition, City of Dallas, Texas (1992-1994)
  • Distinguished Woman Award, University of Virginia Women’s Club, Charlottesville, Virginia, March 29, 1994
  • Gubernatorial Lifetime Achievement Award, State of Maryland, presented by Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, spring 1995

Places and Programs Named for Elisabeth

• Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Hospice, Pinellas County, Florida, founded 1977 by Bunny Flarsheim at Elisabeth’s urging, with help from Elisabeth’s own team; later renamed Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, now Suncoast Hospice (Empath Health), one of the largest nonprofit hospices in the United States
• Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Training Program, Northern New Mexico Community College, 1991

Shanti Nilaya Care Centre, Hospice in the West (now West Gauteng Hospice), Krugersdorp, South Africa – dedicated January 23, 1994. The care centre took its name from Elisabeth’s own organization, Shanti Nilaya (“Abode of Eternal Peace”), and the hospice presented her with a Certificate of Gratitude “for being our Inspiration and our Teacher.” Ken Ross accompanied his mother to the opening.

• Kübler-Ross-Strasse, Meilen, Switzerland, the village on Lake Zurich where she grew up
• Butterfly Garden dedicated to her at the Dougy Center, Portland, Oregon, 2005
• Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Library, Pallium India, Kerala, India, 2010–2023
• Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Huis, Nieuwkoop, Netherlands. The first hospice in the Netherlands, renamed in her honor on November 22, 2017
• Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Rossplein, the square in front of the hospice in Nieuwkoop, dedicated November 22, 2017

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Exhibitions, scholarship, broadcasts and popular culture reflecting Dr. Kübler-Ross’s continuing influence. The Kübler-Ross Change Curve® has been widely adopted in organizational, business, healthcare and educational settings worldwide.

Scholarship and conferences

• • American Journal of Bioethics devotes its entire December 2019 issue (Vol. 19, No. 12) to the 50th anniversary of On Death and Dying
  • Stanford University, “Reclaiming the Legacy of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: Insights into the Ethics, Practice, and Science of Caring,” a full-day conference presented by the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (now the Laurie J. Girand Center for Biomedical Ethics) and the Stanford Palliative Care Center of Excellence, marking the 50th anniversary of On Death and Dying and presenting the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Archives held at Stanford. Berg Hall, Li Ka Shing Center, Stanford School of Medicine, December 2, 2019. Stanford’s event page and program

Exhibitions of her life and archives

• • • • Ellis Island, exhibit on famous immigrants including Kübler-Ross, summer 2006
      • Nathan Adelson Hospice, Las Vegas, Nevada, display of her archives including her desk and typewriter, 2011–2014
      • Providence TrinityCare Hospice, California, entrance display from her private archives, 2014–2025
      • Expo216, Wilmington, North Carolina, “Death & Dying” exhibit featuring Kübler-Ross and the Five Stages, 2017
      • Providence Institute for Human Caring, Torrance, California, display of personal archives, 2019–2023
      • VNA Health Serenity House, Santa Barbara, California, exhibit of personal archives, 2023–2026

Film and Broadcast

• • CBC television documentary, To Die Today, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1970
  • WTTW Chicago documentary, Until I Die, 1970?
  • NBC television special, On Death and Dying, produced by Martin Hoade with the U.S. Catholic Conference, featuring an interview with Elisabeth, broadcast November 24, 1974
  • German television portrait, Das Ende der Angst: Ein Porträt der Sterbeforscherin Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (The End of Fear), by Gunter Rolling, broadcast on SWF, 1981
  • Documentary, Nothing Final: The Work of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, by Eric Davidson, 20-20 Films for the BBC, 1981
  • PBS, NOVA, To Live Until You Die: The Work of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, WGBH Boston, 1983
  • BBC, Heart of the Matter, interview with Elisabeth by David Jessel, 1983
  • Hour Magazine, nationally syndicated, hosts Gary Collins and Mariette Hartley interview Elisabeth by satellite about the controversy over her center for babies with AIDS, 1985–87?
  • ABC, Good Morning America, interview with Elisabeth by Joan London, February 9, 1988
  • RTÉ (Ireland), Check Up, “Death & Dying,” including a filmed interview with Elisabeth, 1989
  • The Oprah Winfrey Show, “Elisabeth Kübler-Ross,” including an interview with Elisabeth in her home, October 9, 1997
  • Swiss documentary, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: Facing Death, directed by Stefan Haupt, 2003
  • Documentary, Pioneers of Hospice: Changing the Face of Dying, featuring interviews with Elisabeth, Dame Cicely Saunders, Florence Wald and Balfour Mount, Madison-Deane Initiative, Vermont, 2004. Named NHPCO film of the year, 2004; re-released 2017 and 2026
  • BBC, “Witness History,” program on Kübler-Ross and the Five Stages, 2020
  • RTÉ Radio 1 (Ireland), Documentary on One: “The Life and Living Lady,” forty-one-minute documentary by Chris Nikkel on her years in Ireland and her cottage in County Louth, broadcast July 18, 2021
  • Radiolab (WNYC Studios), “The Queen of Dying,” one-hour episode on her life and the origins of the Five Stages, reported by Rachael Cusick, July 23, 2021
  • NHK (Japan), special national television programming on On Death and Dying and her work, 2026

Popular culture

• • • The Immigrant Learning Center names her one of eleven famous women immigrants to the United States, 2021
    • The band Kübler-Ross nominated for Scottish Album of the Year, 2022
    • Taylor Swift releases Apple Music playlists themed on the five stages of grief, April 2024
    • Music: see the Foundation’s “Kübler-Ross in Music” page for bands, songs and albums

About This List

This list was kept by Dr. Kübler-Ross’s own offices, passing from Ross Medical Associates to Shanti Nilaya to Healing Waters Farm, then to Elisabeth herself, and finally to the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation, which maintains it today. We are verifying each entry against the original diplomas, plaques, and records held by the family, and the list was last reviewed in September 2026. If you can add to this record, help document an entry, or correct an error, please write to .