One of the first six women selected for NASA’s astronaut corps, Dr Sullivan made history in 1984 when she became the first American woman to complete a spacewalk.
During her 15-year career with NASA, she flew on three space shuttle missions.
In 2020, she added another world first by becoming the first woman to reach the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the world’s oceans.
She remains the only person to have both travelled into space and descended to the deepest point on Earth.
Following her NASA career, Dr Sullivan held a number of senior leadership roles in science, including serving as chief scientist and later administrator of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under President Barack Obama.
She has also served as president and chief executive of the Center of Science and Industry.
Dr Sullivan visited the University of Edinburgh in 2025, where she toured the Edinburgh Space Hub at the Bayes Centre, which brings together researchers and industry partners to advance space technology.
She is one of 16 people receiving honorary degrees during the university’s summer graduation ceremonies, which run from July 1 to 14.
Other recipients include authors Christopher Brookmyre and Dr Marisa Haetzman, who write together as Ambrose Parry, reproductive health campaigner Dr Annabel Sowemimo, Bishop of Norwich Graham Usher and Shetland archivist Brian Smith.
Dr Sullivan said: “I am deeply honored to receive this degree from the University of Edinburgh, an institution renowned for its long commitment to inquiry and public service.”