Graduation FAQs

Complete the webform on the website when the application window opens or email the Praelector’s Secretary. Undergraduates will be sent the relevant information by the Praelector's Secretary.   MA candidates will be emailed by the Praelector's secretary once they become eligible, which is six years  after their first term in residence following matriculation .  

Firstly you should speak to your departmental administrator to see if they think the ceremony you have chosen is within a feasible timescale. You can apply to graduate and withdraw your application if your approval procedure is not completed in time. It is easier to put your application form in and withdraw it if necessary, as we cannot accept applications after the closing date.

Once the Faculty Degree Committee have met, the Faculty / Department updates your record on CamSIS with the necessary line ‘Faculty degree approval’. Only when that has happened can you be confirmed as being eligible for the Student Registry to add the degree status ‘Not Yet Conferred’ line onto your record. Once that degree status has been confirmed then we know that your application to graduate is approved. After you have graduated a further line is added to your record which reads 'Degree Conferred'.

Any student who expects to have outstanding debts at the point of graduation must meet with their 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 them forward for graduation.

Please contact Suraj Odedra in Accounts to check for debts and Nicola Wright in the Tutorial Office to check if you have a loan.

We require you to fill in a Caution Money form so that we can return the deposit that you paid when you first came to King’s. This will be returned to you by Accounts at the beginning of the term following your graduation, once the term bills have been drawn up, minus any last minute EPOS expenditure.  A link to the form will be sent to you when you apply to graduate or you can obtain a caution money form from the Praelector's secretary.

Congratulations on receiving your BChir. You can apply to receive your MB in person or in absence at any of the Congregations (except General Admission) within one year of receiving your BChir. If you do not apply to receive it before the year is up then it will be automatically sent to you by mail. The last ceremony you can graduate at is the May ceremony of the following year; after that date your MB will be automatically conferred.

Undergraduate students will receive an email in the November/December of the academic year that you are graduating which will give you all the details for the ceremony, and the dates of the events that your family is invited to.

For graduate students, it would be wise to check with your supervisor that your degree will be completed and that both the Degree Committee and the Board of Graduate Studies will have met before the Congregation date. We strongly advise against booking any travel arrangements until you have had formal approval of your degree from the Board of Graduate Studies and confirmation from the Praelector’s Secretary that you have been accepted into the Congregation of your choice.

n.b. you must submit your hard-bound thesis at least ten days before the graduation date in order to be eligible to graduate.

Yes, this is possible both in person or in absentia. Candidates in this situation are usually receiving some combination of PhD, MA, and MPhil (not usually more than two of these three). Your degrees will be conferred in descending order of seniority; after receiving the highest, you rejoin the line of graduands for the appropriate second conferral. 

If you are eligible to receive your MA but have either missed or cannot make your cohort’s main Congregation date (usually in March), or matriculated some time ago, then you may apply to take your MA at one of our small Congregations. Please contact the Praelector’s Secretary.

You may find the information on the University website useful in finding out more information on what happens on graduation day. You can also find further information in the document Notes on Admission to Degrees which is sent to you by the Praelector's secretary.

No personal photography is allowed in the Senate House. However, a picture is taken of you at the moment your degree is conferred and is available to purchase. Further details can be found on the University website.

There is a very strict dress code for graduands which must be adhered to. You will be given guidance when you apply to graduate and reminded again prior to the event. You can access the University web site on dress code here and also find further information in the notes that are sent to you.

There is no dress code for guests (apart from those who are Cambridge graduates, who should wear the appropriate gown). However, smart dress is preferred.

A graduand cannot carry anything, other than a square cap or ‘mortarboard’ into the Senate House with them, and this must be carried in your left hand. A doctor’s bonnet cannot be worn in the Senate House on graduation day and for this reason it is not appropriate to carry one if you are receiving your PhD.

It is not possible for any guest to take rucksacks, holdalls, shopping bags or bags larger than 35cmx25cm into the Senate House or the surrounding grounds. If your guests bring them to the Degree Ceremony, they will be asked to make alternative arrangements for their storage or may be denied entry to the event. If your guest needs to keep their bag with them, they must seek assistance from a Proctor / Constable who will check contents prior to entry to the Senate House.

Further information for your guests can be found on the University’s website.