Congratulations on completing your degree requirements! Before the degree itself can be awarded, however, you need to go through the process of graduation. These pages will help explain that process; we have also compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help you. If you can’t find the answer to your query then please contact the Praelector’s Secretary, Barbara Tucker.
The College Praelector is Professor Nicholas Marston. He is responsible for presenting graduands at Congregations of the Regent House for the conferment of degrees; these ceremonies take place in the Senate House, and reach back many centuries. Graduands are presented individually by the Praelector to the Vice-Chancellor or his Deputy in the presence of the Proctors, who are the elected representatives of the Regent House. After the Vice-Chancellor has conferred your degree you will be presented with your degree certificate.
We very much hope that you will wish to take your degree in person. If that isn’t possible, you can proceed in absentia (in absence): your name will be included in the list of those graduating and your certificate sent on after the ceremony. You should remember that you do not have your degree until it has been conferred upon you, in person or in absentia, at a Congregation of the Regent House. If you require your degree certificate for employment or further education reasons then you may wish to consider graduating in absentia.
The University provides a detailed description of the ceremony here.
In order to graduate, you must meet the eligibility criteria for the degree that you are about to have conferred. These may include residence requirements, examination results and approval from the Student Registry in the case of postgraduate qualifications. For PhDs you must have submitted your final Hardbound thesis. Please submit this at least 10 working days before your graduation date as it needs to be processed by Student Registry before you are eligible to graduate. Full details of eligibility requirements for all degrees are listed in the University's Ordinances. The University’s degree approval and conferment page can be accessed here.
Please note that any student who expects to have outstanding debts at the point of graduation MUST make early contact with the Financial Tutor to discuss repayment before they are put forward to receive their degree. Failure to do so will result in the College being unable to put you forward for graduation.
For in-person graduations, you will need to be in College from 9am on the day for robing and rehearsal prior to the ceremony at 10am.
Friday, 11 April 2025
Additional date. In Absence only - Doctorates, Masters and MAs only. Applications are closed.
Saturday, 3 May 2025 - Graduation Full
Friday, 23 May 2025
In Person or In Absence. Applications are now open. Please submit the Registration Form here. Closing date Thursday 17 April. (We may have to close applications early if we reach maximum 45 graduands).
Wednesday, 2 July 2025 (General Admission)
Thursday, 24 July 2025
Further information will be added closer to the dates.
2025/26
Friday, 24 October 2025
Saturday, 29 November 2025 (In absence only - tbc)
Friday, 30 January 2026 (In absence only)
Saturday, 28 February 2026
Saturday, 28 March 2026 (MA - Matriculation 2019)
Saturday, 2 May 2026
Friday, 22 May 2026
Wednesday, 1 July 2026 (General Admission)
Thursday, 23 July 2026
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Undergraduates usually proceed to the BA degree, their first degree in most cases, as soon as they are qualified to do so. However, if a student is intending to be a candidate for the MEng, MMath. or MSci. degree they must defer taking the BA. until the end of their fourth year.
In the case of undergraduates, the majority will graduate at General Admission which is held at the end of June each year. This is our main undergraduate Congregation and only BA, BTh, MEng, MMath, MSci and VetMB degrees are conferred on this occasion.
A ‘save the date’ email will be sent to all undergraduates in December with all details and the timetable for the two days of ceremony. Barbara, The Praelector’s Secretary will send you an application form in March which will allow you to state your preferences.
General Admission
This is a two-day celebration for our undergraduates which takes place at the end of June. Full details, including a timetable, are sent out to all undergraduates well in advance of the occasion. In brief, the programme follows the same lines each year: there is a dress rehearsal during Tuesday lunchtime, followed by a group photograph. You and your family and friends are invited to attend Evensong that same afternoon. The graduation dinner is held in Hall and you may obtain tickets for yourself (free of charge) and up to a maximum of two guests (for whom there will be a charge).
The next day (Wednesday), after the option to attend breakfast in College, you meet your cohort to process through the College and on to the Senate House where the degree ceremony takes place. Each graduand may request up to two tickets for guests who wish to attend the ceremony. Afterwards the Provost and Fellows give a lunch party in College for you and up to two guests; there is no charge for this celebration of your undergraduate residence at King’s; once you leave the College later in the afternoon you become a Non-Resident Member (NRM) unless you are returning for further study.
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Graduates can apply to graduate at any of the smaller Congregations held throughout the year. You cannot take your degree until you have received formal approval from the Board of Graduate Studies, although you can ask to be provisionally added to a Congregation and withdrawn if your approval does not come though before the final deadline.
The University’s degree approval and conferment page can be accessed here.
Dress Code
Dress regulations for the ceremony are very strict and must be adhered to exactly; the overall effect must be formal and tidy. If you are inappropriately dressed, the Proctors may refuse to allow your degree to be conferred in person, thus leading to your exclusion from the Congregation. Whilst we will send you a detailed dress code nearer the time, along with details of where to hire your gown and hood, you may wish to consult the University guidelines as well as their useful pictorial diagrams on how to wear your gown and which gown should be worn. There is no need to purchase a gown and hood; we will supply the details of local hire shops nearer the time.
The University Academical Dress page is here.
Rehearsal
If you are graduating in person then you will be required to attend a brief rehearsal prior to the ceremony. The Praelector will guide you through the intricacies of robing and the details of the ceremony. Full details will be sent to you prior to the ceremony.
Praelector's Luncheons
If you are receiving your degree in person, then the Praelector would be delighted if you would join him for lunch as guest of the College. You may bring up to two guests (for whom there will be a charge).
How to register for a Congregation
You apply by completing a webform or google form on this website when the application window opens , typically around eight weeks before the date (see link in FAQ section of this page) - or please contact Barbara, the Praelector’s Secretary, especially if there is a date you are specifically interested in. Please note the deadlines listed by each date. We cannot take applications after the closing date but we can withdraw your application in the case of your results not being received in time, or change your attendance to in absentia.
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Certificates and Transcripts
You may take your degree in person or in absentia, in which case you do not attend the ceremony and your degree certificate will be posted on to you after the event. Academic transcripts are sent to the Tutorial Office about 10 days after the graduation. If you would like to be sent your transcript when it is available, you will be asked to leave a self-addressed (A4, hard backed envelope) envelope with the correct postage at the Porter’s Lodge on graduation day. For information on digital copies, and accessing and sharing them online via Digitary CORE, please visit: Academic Transcripts | Cambridge students.
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Six years after matriculating, a Bachelor of Arts is entitled to take their Master of Arts degree, either in person or in absence. The MA degree denotes a person's standing in the University, and gives admission to membership of the Senate; it does not depend upon further study, or residence, or payment of a fee.
From January 2025 those who matriculated in October 2018 will be eligible. The main MA Congregation is usually held in March; the Praelector’s Secretary will contact the newly eligible graduates late January/early February, inviting them to submit their application. Please keep your email address on CamSIS up to date, which can be done via your CamSIS Self Service account - link here: Self Service Account. This is the only way we will be able to contact you to invite you to graduate with your MA.
Any eligible graduate of King’s who has not yet received their Cambridge MA may graduate in person or in absence at any of the smaller Congregations throughout the year. Please contact the Praelector's secretary for further details.
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