Abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms
Lower case
Use periods with abbreviations that appear in lower case.
- e.g., a.k.a., a.m., p.m.
Upper case & small caps
Use no periods with abbreviations that appear in upper case or small caps.
- VP, USA (US), CEO, BCE, CE
Don't use periods with acronyms and initialisms.
Place course codes in upper case.
- FREN 100
Place acronyms in upper case except when they have become common words.
- NAFTA, NATO, NSERC, TRIUMF, scuba, laser
Place initialisms in upper case.
- WTO, BCAA, ICBC
According to Canada Post standards, abbreviations of provinces and territories should appear in upper case without periods.
- AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, NT, NU, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT
Place foreign currency codes in upper case.
- EUR, USD
A complete list of currency codes can be found on the by searching “ISO 4217.”
Mixed upper & lower case
Abbreviations with mixed upper and lower case other than academic degrees should have a period at the end.
- Dr., Prof., Mr., Mrs., Ms.
When abbreviating personal names, use periods and a space between abbreviations.
- P. D. James, W. A. C. Bennett
Academic degrees
Use no periods in academic degrees.
- PhD, BSc, BA
For accepted abbreviations of academic degrees, see Appendix A: UVic academic degrees.
UVic & other universities
Spell out “University of Victoria” in its first reference. Thereafter “UVic” is acceptable except in very formal instances.
The abbreviated form of the University of Victoria does not use a period.
- UVic
In abbreviating the names of degree-granting institutions, the University of Victoria Undergraduate Calendar does not use periods. Other units are urged to follow this treatment.
- BA (Alta), MA (McG), LLB (Tor)