Top University degrees and football aren’t a frequent combination. Barely professional footballers are seen holding college or university degrees. However, there are certain exceptions, in this case, Marcus Rashford being one.
The Manchester United ace and currently one of the world’s top forwards, Marcus Rashford has been in sensational form this season, scoring 27 goals in 44 games for the Red Devils.
He’s led the United attack brilliantly following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and it looks like the United number 10 is finally living up to the expectations set by the media ever since he made his first-team debut back in 2018.
A product of the Manchester United academy, Rashford is being touted as the present and the future of the England National Team and the Red Devils.
However, despite a dip in his form in the years following his first team debut, the Englishman has always been a headline figure, credited to his generous works off-the-field.
Amidst the dreadful months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rashford was one of the key figures from the footballing world who stood up to support poor children to end child poverty and hunger.
The Wythenshawe-born forward helped create the “In the Box” campaign – an initiative to supply homeless people with much-needed essentials over the Christmas period. He personally delivered over 300 boxes of supplies.
During the initial days of lockdown in the UK, Marcus took to Instagram to show his support towards the Player Together initiative supporting NHS staff who were going through one of their toughest periods dealing with COVID-19. He was among the footballers who donated a sum of € 4 million to help the coronavirus efforts.
Marcus then partnered with charity fund FareShare and helped raise more than €20 million to help the organization provide free meals to struggling families and children across Manchester.
Rashford also wrote an open letter to the MPs of the English parliament, urging the government to reverse its decision to not give free school meal vouchers to children eligible for it. His request was initially turned down by the government but support from celebrities and MPs forced the government to change its policies.
The England international received widespread praise due to his charity works and campaigns. In the month of July 2020, it was announced by the University of Manchester that Marcus Rashford had been awarded an honorary doctorate for his work toward ending child hunger and his outstanding sporting achievements on the football pitch. Marcus was presented with the award in October 2021.
Marcus, then 23, became the youngest recipient of the honorary degree in the history of the University of Manchester.
Rashford joined the elite list of Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton, becoming the third figure associated with Manchester United to receive the highest honor the University can bestow.
Often, however, people seem to confuse Marcus for being a Ph.D. To clear the confusion, an honorary doctorate is not the same as an academic doctorate. Unlike a traditional Ph.D., the recipient of an honorary doctorate does not have to complete a course of study or research. Therefore, no, Marcus Rashford MBE is not a Ph.D.
