Paul Simon has an honorary degree from the largest independent college of liberal arts.
 At the universities of Oxford, Dublin and Cambridge, many senior staff are granted the degree of Master of Arts after three years of service, and at Amherst College all tenured professors are awarded a Master of Arts degree at an academic convocation in the autumn, even though the school only offers an earned Bachelor of Arts degree (Amherst awards honorary doctorates at commencement in the spring to notable scholars and other special invitees)
In October 2011, Simon was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

