The Berklee College of Music has presented legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with an honorary doctorate, recognizing his significant influence on modern music and lifelong commitment to creative exploration.

For more than six decades, Dylan has drawn inspiration from a variety of genres, including blues, country, folk, gospel and rock to encapsulate the American story and the inner life of the people living in it, the college explained in a press release.

“Thank you, Berklee College of Music, for bestowing on me this prestigious honor. What a pleasant surprise,” Dylan said in a statement. “Who knows what path my career might have taken if I’d been fortunate enough to learn from some of the great musicians who taught at Berklee. It’s something to think about.”

Dylan joins a roster of several other famous Berklee honorary doctorate recipients, including Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Ringo Starr, Tito Puente, Roberta Flack, Juan Luis Guerra, A.R. Rahman and Loretta Lynn.

This is an incredible moment for this institution," Berklee President Jim Lucchese said in the press release. “Bob Dylan’s music has shaped how the world hears itself. He’s an artist who has never stopped evolving, who keeps chasing truth through sound and language. That’s the spirit we try to cultivate here every day. Honoring him feels like a reaffirmation of the creative impulse that built this place.”