Dr. King was awarded honorary degrees from numerous colleges and universities in the United States and several foreign countries. They include the following:
| 1957 | Doctor of Humane Letters, Morehouse College |
| Doctor of Laws, Howard University | |
| Doctor of Divinity, Chicago Theological Seminary 1958 Doctor of Laws, Morgan State College | |
| Doctor of Humanities, Central State College | |
| 1959 | Doctor of Divinity, Boston University |
| 1961 | Doctor of Laws, Lincoln University |
| Doctor of Laws, University of Bridgeport | |
| 1962 | Doctor of Civil Laws, Bard College |
| 1963 | Doctor of Letters, Keuka College 1964 Doctor of Divinity, Wesleyan College |
| Doctor of Laws, Jewish Theological Seminary | |
| Doctor of Laws, Yale University | |
| Doctor of Divinity, Springfield College | |
| 1965 | Doctor of Laws, Hofstra University |
| Doctor of Human Letters, Oberlin College | |
| Doctor of Social Science, Amsterdam Free University | |
| Doctor of Divinity, St. Peter's College | |
| 1967 | Doctor of Civil Law, University of New Castle Upon Tyne |
| Doctor of Laws, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa |