Graduation

Undergraduate students graduate at a ceremony known as General Admission and this usually takes place in late June or early July. For postgraduate students, there is no allocated ceremony, instead students are able to register to attend one of the so-called Ordinary Congregations which take place regularly throughout the academic year. 

A degree may be conferred in person, or if it is more convenient then it can be conferred in absentia, which means that the degree is still conferred but without attending the ceremony. Those graduating in absentia cannot graduate in person to the same degree at a later ceremony.    

Celebrants, students who graduated to their degree in absentia before 29 April 2022, may attend a Senate House ceremony in person to celebrate their degree.    

What are the current arrangements for in person ceremonies?

Each graduand and celebrant may bring up to three guests to the Reception in College on the day of graduation.  Two of these guests will have guest tickets for the Ceremony in the Senate-House - this is the University's automatic allocation for each graduand/celebrant.  You may request a further one Waitlist (or spare) Senate-House ticket for your third guest.  After registration for the ceremony has closed, any unclaimed Senate-House guest tickets will be reallocated through a lottery to those who have requested a Waitlist ticket. Graduands and celebrants will be informed if they have been allocated a Waitlist ticket.  Please note that only one Waitlist ticket can be requested and we expect only a small number of tickets to be available for reallocation through the lottery. Please be advised that all guests attending the Senate-House must have a ticket for fire safety reasons and this includes babies and children.   

Please see the Applying to graduate section below for information on how to register. 

Postgraduate students:

Confirmation of approval for your degree MUST be received by the College from the Board of Graduate Studies. This is particularly important for those graduating in July as many MPhil courses will not be approved in time. Please check with your department when your Degree Committee will approve your degree.

If your Degree Committee has not approved your degree you will not be able to have it awarded at a ceremony.

All students:

Please remember that you need to pay your College and University bills before you will be put forward for a graduation. If you wish to check your account status, please contact the Accounts Assistant.

Books from the Wolfson Library are also required to be returned or replaced before you can be approved to graduate.

Before you are approved to graduate you must return any books loaned from the Wolfson Library.

If you are currently in College you can return them to the drop box inside the foyer of the Library.

If you are not in College you can post the books back to College:

• If you are in the UK, you can request a pre-paid returns label to return your books by freepost. You can post items from the UL, Faculty and Department libraries and colleges using this service.
• Please note the International Returns refund system operated by the University Library does not apply to College books. We therefore kindly ask you to cover the cost of postage or you can purchase replacement copies via Amazon.uk and have them shipped to the Library. Used copies in good condition are acceptable.

Whether you apply to graduate 'in person' or 'in absence', you must apply via CamSIS Self-Service

If your Raven login is no longer valid, please register for the 'Extended Self-Service' to graduate.

The CamSIS Self-Service Guide is available here

Celebrants will not be able to register via CamSIS. Instead, please email the Tutorial Administrator, Helen Waterson. 

For those registering via CamSIS please note that confirmation of registration is not provided. After registering for your chosen ceremony via CamSIS, please wait for confirmation from the Tutorial Administrator that you have registered successfully before making arrangements. We do not recommend that you or your family arrange travel or accommodation before receiving confirmation that your registration has been successful. Please email the Tutorial Administrator if you are in any doubt. 

When signing up, please make sure that you also update your contact details (postal and email address and contact telephone). This is especially important as these details will be used for any correspondence before and after the ceremony.

In Person Graduation

Graduands attending a ceremony in person will be handed their certificate as they leave the Senate-House and the transcript will then follow by post (see below for details). 

In Absence Graduation

Certificates for those graduating in absence are received in College around 10 working days after the ceremony.  Once the transcript is available, both documents will be posted together (see below for details).

Postal Arrangements

The College will send documents to your 'Home address' as listed on CamSIS, notifying you by email (preferred) before posting. Please make sure both your address and your email (preferred) are updated before you graduate. We will send your certificate and transcripts via Royal Mail (First Class for within the UK; Airmail for overseas destinations). Please be advised that Airmail does not include a tracking facility. If you wish to make arrangements for your mail to be sent via special delivery, you must make the necessary bookings and send the details to the Tutorial Administrator. 

Graduates can sign up to the online Digitary allowing them to access and share an electronic copy of their official transcript as well as access an image of their graduation certificate.

All dates are subject to change or cancellation.  

*for those completing in 2023 and receiving these degrees only: BTh, BA, VetMB and BA with MEng or MMath or MSci degrees. Not available for students who have completed these degrees in previous academic years.    

**We expect the number of places for in person graduation at this ceremony to be limited.  Registration for graduation is via CamSIS self service as usual.  Celebrants should register by emailing the Tutorial Administrator.  In the first week of registration, 80% of places will be reserved for students who are currently enrolled on a course and completing in June 2023 and 20% of places will be reserved for former students who became eligible to graduate before Easter Term 2023, and celebrants.  Thereafter, there are no restrictions on applying for the remaining places, with the exception of candidates for the MA who cannot apply to have their degree awarded at this ceremony.   

+Please note that the dates given above confirm when the College will open registration, in accordance with our administrative processes.  This may differ from when the University opens registration, meaning that you may see the date on CamSIS self service but will be unable to register for the ceremony until the College has opened the registration.    

The University sets a limit as to how many students can be presented in person at any one degree ceremony.  Ceremonies are currently in high demand and so in order to avoid disappointment, please have a number of dates in mind when planning your graduation and consider attending ceremonies that are less in demand historically - those in Lent Term for instance. Registration for a ceremony will close once it is full and this may be before the advertised deadline. Please wait for confirmation from the Tutorial Administrator that your registration has been successful before proceeding with your plans. Please ensure that we have your current external email address for you on CamSIS, to be used if and when your @cam email address closes.  

Please do not book accommodation or flights until you have received confirmation that your registration on CamSIS has been successful.  

The programme for graduation with detailed timings will be sent out on the Monday prior to the graduation day, as this information is only available once the final number of students graduating across the University is known. We recommend that graduands keep the whole day free and aim to be in Cambridge from 9.00 am. Livestream information will be sent out to graduands on the day before graduation. 

For those graduating and celebrating in person, here is what to expect on the day of your graduation:

• Dress check and rehearsal - graduands and celebrants only
• Photographs (larger ceremonies only) - graduands, celebrants and guests
• Reception - graduands, celebrants and guests
• Procession to the Senate-House - graduands and celebrants

For most ceremonies, the Reception will take the form of a light buffet lunch held in College before the graduation ceremony.  This is a ticket only event, to be booked in advance.  Graduands and celebrants may attend free of any charge, guests charges are as follows: £10 per adult, £5 per child (aged 3-12 years), no charge for children aged 2 and under.   Payment for guest tickets must be made before graduation.   There are no events in College after the graduation ceremony.  

After the application deadline for the ceremony has passed we will be in contact regularly with information on graduation for you and your guests. If you do not hear from us then please get in contact with the Tutorial Administrator, as it may be that we do not have an up-to-date email address for you.      

Senate House Information

During the ceremony, you will proceed through the Senate-House and you will stand to receive your degree. The Praelector will give the customary speech to present you and your degree will be conferred individually by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (normally your Head of House). Once you have completed your ceremony you may either engage with the Tempest photography series or leave the Yard.  

Graduands will not be able to take a bag or backpack to the Senate-House. These should be left with your guests. All you will need with you is a bank card, if you wish to purchase photographs or certificate frames from Tempest photography, and an umbrella where necessary. 

All guests must have a Senate-House ticket, including babies and children.  

Please let us know if any of your guests have limited mobility or are under the age of 12, and confirm their ages.  

Livestreaming the ceremony

Ceremonies are livestreamed and by attending the ceremony in person, you are giving your consent to being included in the livestream. It will not be possible to take part in the ceremony and not be part of the recording. 

The livestream link will be sent to in person graduands and celebrants on the day before the graduation ceremony.  The livestream is provided to allow those friends and family members unable to attend the Senate-House to view this important event. It is provided on the understanding that it is a private recording, not to be publicly shared on social media or in any public forum. Whilst the University and the contractors will make best efforts to provide the livestream, it is not guaranteed and some circumstances may prevent either a live broadcast or possibly a later showing of any recording.

Photography at the Senate-House

Tempest, the University's official photographers, will offer studio photography and certificate framing services on the day, as well as photographing you inside the Senate-House as your degree is conferred. You will need to have a bank card with you at the Senate-House if you wish to purchase photographs. It will not be possible for graduands to gather in front of Senate-House to take photographs on the day.

For the larger ceremonies, Lafayette Photography will also be available to take your pictures in College, before you process to the Senate-House. 

Following the completion of their degree and award of the BChir, medics have one calendar year in which to graduate in person to their MB degree.  It will then be conferred automatically by the University. This usually means that the last ceremony each year at which the degree can be conferred in person is the May ceremony.  

If you hold a Cambridge BA, you may proceed to the MA not less than six years from the end of your first term of residence, providing that your BA has been conferred.  

Further information is available here

The College will hold its first MA ceremony on Saturday 25 March and will be inviting eligible undergraduates who Matriculated in Michaelmas Term 2013 through to Michaelmas Term 2016 and have not already had their MA conferred, to register for the ceremony.  An invitation will be issued in December.  

Alternatively, eligible students may have their MA conferred at any ceremony detailed above, with the exception of the two ceremonies in July.