The 44-year-old rapper received the honour yesterday during the school's commencement ceremony and was asked to deliver a speech to the students, reported Billboard.
"Ain't no homecoming like a Howard homecoming. Howard University didn't just change my life - it entered my soul, my heart, my being and my spirit," he said as he received his honorary degree.
"Nobody is going to invite you to the front of the line, you got to push your way to the front of the line."
Diddy had attended Howard as a business major for two years before dropping out in 1990.