Graduation

COVID-19 update

You can now graduate in person at the Senate House (without guests) and join a college celebration (with guests, who can watch a livestream of the Senate House ceremony). The number of guests permitted will depend on the number of graduands attending that day. We do not yet know when guests will be permitted to attend the Senate House. You may opt to defer graduation in person until graduation ceremonies resume as usual.

Alternatively you may graduate in absence, but note that you cannot later graduate in person to the same degree. However, those who graduate in absence in the current circumstances will be given a later opportunity to celebrate your degree in College and at the Senate House.

You cannot obtain a degree certificate without graduating in person or in absence. If you have completed your course requirements but not graduated, you can still claim to have completed your degree and can obtain a transcript to confirm this.

You must graduate in order to obtain your degree officially. You can do this in person or in absence, but in either case Hughes Hall must enter you for a graduation ceremony.

Ceremonies

Cambridge has two types of graduation ceremony:

• Congregation, held on eight dates throughout the year, for all degrees including MA.

• General Admission, held after the Easter Term, only for BA and related courses (MSci, MEng, MMath). Eligible students will be informed directly.

Apart from General Admission, the university does not specify particular dates for particular degrees, and each college is free to make its own arrangements. The President, Fellows and Senior Members of Hughes Hall would like to celebrate the occasion with you and your guests, so we encourage you to graduate in person on one of the seven dates when we offer a reception or refreshments. However, we recognise that this will not be possible for everyone, so these dates and two others are also available for graduation in absence.

• For information about what happens on the day of the graduation ceremony itself, please see Graduation Day
• To find out what you need to do to graduate, see What You Need To Do
• There are strict regulations on clothing and dress at graduation ceremonies, please see What you need to wear
• For information about Certificates and Transcripts, see Certificates and Transcripts
  
• See also the list of Frequently Asked Questions about graduation.

Dates

The ‘normal’ dates and arrangements for 2020-21 have been changed and/or supplemented due to COVID-19. Please contact the Tutorial Office before making any arrangements.

Timings for the day are confirmed at the beginning of the week of the graduation ceremony. If you are making plans in advance then please set aside the whole day for your graduation.

Hughes Hall will follow the same pattern as above on the equivalent dates in future years (except for COVID-related changes), as published on the University website.