Billy Connolly has received an honorary doctorate from a top university just days after he was awarded a knighthood. 

The Big Yin was recognised for contribution to society by the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, during a ceremony in the city's Barony Hall yesterday (Thurs). 

The comedian, who was included in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, will celebrate his 75th birthday this year. 

After his knighthood was announced, he joked he should be called "Sir Lancelot" because Sir Billy did not have the "same ring to it". 

He was also given a mural tribute when three 50ft-high paintings were installed across Glasgow, where he is from, to mark his milestone birthday. 

Each mural was designed by a different artist and depicted different stages of his life. 

Sir Billy grew up in the Partick area of the Glasgow and worked in the Govan shipyards before pursuing a career as a folk singer in the Humblebums alongside the late Gerry Rafferty. 

There is currently a fundraising campaign underway to have a statue of the comedian, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, built in his hometown. 

Sir Billy joked that the only reason he previously been inside a university -- "was to deliver coal". 

He said: "I never wanted to attend university. The only time I was in one was to deliver coal. 

"I'm a little boy who didn't do his homework. I think if I had got a real degree I would hate me," he added. 

"Sitting there having worked my bum off to see this lout go up and get a degree for nothing. 

"My wife has PhD so she kind of frowns upon these. She makes it easier for me in other ways. But I take it in the mood that it was given to me." 

But he added that it was an "overwhelming" feeling to receive accolades for his lifetime achievements and contributions to society and entertainment. 

He said: "It's become quite overwhelming. 

"I'm starting to wonder if they know something I don't, with all these prizes piling in, especially the lifetime achievement stuff. 

"It's absolutely wonderful. Very hard to describe, actually. 

"When I was first offered these things, I wanted to refuse them, then I thought it was kind of churlish. I think it's lovely." 

The stand-up comic, who has three other honorary degrees, also had a message for the day's other graduates. 

He said: "Work hard and it can happen to you."