Is an academic degree an honor, a title, or both?
Depends on the country and education system. 

For example, in English, 'bachelor' doesn't mean anything but that you finished that level of education.  In Spanish, finishing university doesn't mean a person gets recognized as having the degree: there are further methods to achieve that (titulaciòn), after which the government officially recognizes the degree and the title that comes white it like 'ingeniero' (engineer) or 'abogado' (lawyer). That is why in some countries the degree is added as a title at the start of a person's name.