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Award-winning actor Maisie Williams receives Honorary Doctorate of Arts from BSU

Thursday, 23 July, 2026

Bristol-born actor, Maisie Williams, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿’s Summer Graduation Ceremonies, held at the Forum, Bath. Celebrated for her role as Arya Stark of Winterfell in the world phenomenon, Game of Thrones, Maisie’s award-winning career has spanned more than a decade. 

An inspiration to graduating students, Maisie is passionate about developing regional young British talent and is known for bringing underrepresented stories into the limelight through her UK-based production company, RAPT Pictures. 

When she’s not centre stage, she has established herself as a champion for female empowerment, environmentalism and diversity in the arts. She uses her significant social media presence to push for social change and has anchored herself to many worthy causes, including NGO WaterAid, Greenpeace and the Dolphin Project.

Maisie has established herself as a confident creative. She is the founder of Daisie, a social media platform aimed at creative people in the world of arts, fashion, TV, film, photography, music, and literature and is a passionate supporter of Bristol food poverty charity, The MAZI Project. 

Maisie’s award recognises her outstanding achievements and excellence in her field. Her acting and production credits demonstrate her ambition and drive, and she remains passionate about fostering access to the arts for younger generations. 

Accepting her Honorary Doctorate, Maisie gave this advice for graduating students:  

“Whenever I’m doing something that scares me, whether that’s learning a new skill, walking into an audition, or sitting in an important meeting, I always whisper to myself, ‘Just rock it’.”   

She continued:  

“And by that, I mean: let go. Stop worrying about getting it right. Stop wondering if you’re good enough, qualified enough, old enough, young enough. Just get in the zone and ROCK it. There is no one else like you.” 

Each year, the University confers honorary awards to individuals who have made a notable and sustained contribution to their academic fields or profession, to society, or to the University. 

All BSU staff, with input from students, are able to propose potential recipients of honorary awards, and nominees are approved by the University's Board of Governors.