Professor Pickersgill receives Honorary Doctorate

Professor Martyn Pickersgill is one of three individuals to receive honorary doctorates from Roskilde University, Denmark.

The appointment of the three leading international researchers as honorary doctors marks the university’s recognition of groundbreaking research. 

The honorary doctorates were awarded to:  

  • Mary Daly (Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Oxford)
  • Martyn Pickergill (Professor of the Sociology of Science and Medicine, University of Edinburgh)
  • Sim B. Sitkin (Michael W. Krzyzewski University Distinguished Professor of Leadership, Duke University)

The honours were conferred by Rector Rasmus Antoft at Roskilde University’s annual celebration on September 18, 2026.

Martyn Pickersgill receives honorary doctorate 2026
Professor Sitkin, Professor Pickersgill and Emeritus Professor Daly. [Image credit: Claus Bjørn]

Announcing the news, Roskilde University said:

Professor Pickersgill is internationally recognized for his research in the sociology of science and health, with a particular focus on neurology and the emergence of clinical psychology as a profession. His work demonstrates, among other things, how access to therapy is shaped by political, economic, legal, and social dynamics that define what it means to be a patient and what constitutes professional practice.

Furthermore, his research spans a wide range of current topics—such as mental health, health policy, dementia, pandemics, diagnosis, and digital psychiatry—and is characterized by its interdisciplinary nature.

This interdisciplinary approach, linking biomedicine and the social sciences, serves as a key source of inspiration for the Section for Health and Society and for the ongoing work of uniting Roskilde University’s various academic approaches to health research.

Martyn Pickersgill was nominated by the Department of People and Technology.

Professor Pickersgill with Professor Nete Schwennesen, Head of Health and Society within the Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University
Professor Pickersgill with Professor Nete Schwennesen, Head of Health and Society within the Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University. [Image credit: Claus Bjørn]

[Content translated to English using Google Translate]

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