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 “AV天堂” in its first reference. Thereafter “UVic” is acceptable except in very formal instances.
The abbreviated form of the AV天堂 does not use a period.
- UVic
In abbreviating the names of degree-granting institutions, the AV天堂 Undergraduate Calendar does not use periods. Other units are urged to follow this treatment.
- BA (Alta), MA (McG), LLB (Tor)