Graduation

What is graduating in absence?

Graduating ‘in absence’ or ‘in absentia’ means to have your degree awarded or conferred without attending a ceremony in person.

Candidates who graduate ‘in absence’ are then unable to have their degree conferred ‘in person’ at a subsequent date.

What is a celebratory graduation due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Candidates who opted to graduate ‘in absence’ at earlier ceremonies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are able to return to Cambridge and have their degree celebrated at a future graduation ceremony.

With effect from the ceremony on Friday 29th April '22, graduands are once again able to have their degree conferred In Person with guests in attendance. As such, those who opt to have their degree conferred In Absence on Friday 29th April or at a subsequent ceremony will not be eligible to 'celebrate' the conferral of their degree In Person at the Senate House on a later date.

If you wish to return and celebrate your degree please contact the Graduation Team at least one month prior to the date you wish to attend. Please note that the College does not put forward candidates in person at every ceremony.

What if I cannot attend a ceremony on a Saturday due to religious reasons?

Please contact the Graduation Team as soon as possible and we will work with you to make alternative arrangements for your graduation ceremony.

In order to graduate you must meet the requirements of the degree you wish to have conferred. This may mean residence requirements, examinations results or approval from Student Registry.

Graduate students must have received their approval letter from the Board of Graduate Studies in order to graduate. You are unable to have your degree conferred until you have received that formal approval but you are able to provisionally apply for any of the smaller ceremonies throughout the year and be withdrawn if the approval is not received in time. Further information on degree approval can be found here.

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.

Please note there is not a specific graduation ceremony for postgraduate students. You are able to attend any ceremony (apart from General Admission) following your degree approval.

All students must ensure all University and College bills are settled before being put forward for graduation. Any queries regarding your College account should be directed to the Finance Office.

Library books must be returned to Lucy Cavendish College Library, the UL and departmental libraries before being able to graduate.

If you are not in Cambridge you can make use of the Book Returns Service to return books to the UL, departmental and College libraries.

When registering for a ceremony, please make sure that you also update your contact details in CamSIS including your postal address, preferred email address and phone number.

This is especially important as these details will be used for any correspondence before and after the ceremony.

Note: Those who have graduated in absence due the COVID restrictions may write to the Graduation Team with a date they wish to attend, in person, to celebrate their degree.

CamSIS Self-Service

If you are no longer able to access CamSIS you will need to register for CamSIS Extended Self-Service - more details here

Ceremony Deadlines

The College reserves the right to close applications for ceremonies earlier than the dates advertised above if capacity has been reached.

Academical dress hire

You may hire or buy academical dress from any of the following Cambridge suppliers. They are usually very helpful in advising the correct items to hire but they do sometimes get it wrong. All items must be collected personally despite the supplier’s websites saying that they will be delivered to your College.

Ede & Ravenscroft

70-72 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RJ

www.gownhire.co.uk or 01223 861854

Purchase Enquiries: 01223 350048 (shop) or 01223 861854

Ryder & Amies

22 King’s Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SP

www.ryderamies.co.uk

Email: sales@ryderamies.co.uk

What to wear at graduation

For information about dress code and academic dress please visit the information pages on the University website.

University Dress Code Information

Academic Dress Flowchart

National Dress

The Praelector must request of the Proctors special dispensation if you wish to wear national dress. It must be of a formal nature.

If making a request, please email your request with a photograph (jpg) of the proposed costume to the Student Office at least three weeks prior to the ceremony.

When should I start thinking about what I’m going to wear?

The main advice is to start early when planning what you’re going to wear and to book your graduation gown and hood well in advance from one of the outfitters in town.

What shoes can I wear?

You should wear formal black shoes. There should be no elaborate buckles, for example gold.

No toes or heels should be shown - so no sandals or slingbacks.

No boots.

High heels should be avoided as you have to walk from College to the Senate House!

What colour suit/skirt/dress/trousers can I wear?

Black/very dark grey/very dark blue (not brown).

These must be dark enough not to contrast obviously with a black gown.

If in doubt, the darker (towards black) the better. 

What shirt can I wear?

Shirts must be plain white, long sleeved.

(Those who choose to wear a black dress, this must have long sleeves.)

What do I wear with white bow tie and bands?

All graduands who choose to wear white bow tie and bands, with trousers, must wear a properly collared shirt and a black jacket. (If you do not have a jacket you will be asked to remove your bow ties and bands). Your hood should be positioned under your bow tie and bands. For those graduands opting to wear a skirt with white bow tie and bands no jacket needs to be worn.

Can I have bare legs?

Tights must be worn when wearing dress/skirt – black or sheer.

When wearing trousers black socks or black/sheer pop socks must be worn.

Will my hood be at College to collect?

No - all items of academical dress must be collected personally from Ryder & Amies or Ede & Ravenscroft despite the supplier’s websites saying that they will be delivered to College.

College does not have any spare hoods so please ensure you order one early as you cannot graduate without one.

Can I wear National Dress?

Yes, but The Praelector must request of the Proctors special dispensation if you wish to wear national dress. It must be of a formal nature.

If making a request, please email your request with a photograph (jpg) of the proposed outfit to the Graduation Team (praelector@lucy.cam.ac.uk) at least three weeks prior to the ceremony.

The programme for the day with final timings will be sent out at least a week prior to the ceremony, as this information is only available once the final numbers of students graduating across the University is known.

Lucy Cavendish usually presents at the Senate House around mid-afternoon but we would recommend keeping the whole day free.

For those graduating in person this is what to expect from the day under current circumstances:

• Arrival at College

• Pre-booked individual and group photographs by Lafayette [graduands, celebrants and guests]

• Dress check and rehearsal [graduands and celebrants]

• Formal Graduation Photograph by Lafayette [graduands, celebrants and College Officers]

• Celebratory Reception [graduands, celebrants and guests]

• Procession to the Senate House [graduands, celebrants and College Officers]

• Live streaming of ceremony [guests]

The in person ceremony

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 services 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 need with you is a bank card, if you wish to purchase photographs or certificate frames from Tempest photography, and an umbrella where necessary.

The ceremony wording 

During the ceremony when your name is called, you step forward. The Head of House will recite the Christian Trinitarian Formula "Auctoritate mihi commissa admitto te ad gradum (name of degree), in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti”, translated as "By the authority committed to me, I admit you to the degree of (name of degree) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

You may have the Trinitarian Formula omitted (ie. opt for the non-religious formula) from your part of the ceremony and opt for the IND option – where the Head of House says instead `in nomine Dei’, 'in the name of God' at the end of their little speech.

You may also opt out of the IND Option so that the Head of House instead recites in Latin "By the authority committed to me, I admit you to the degree of (name of degree)” with no religious blurb at the end.

Alternative name

If you wish to have your name read out in the Senate House, in a different way to how it is on CamSIS, for example, if you are normally known by your middle name please do advise the Student Office. Please note your degree certificate will still be printed exactly as your name appears on CamSIS.

Livestreaming the ceremony

To allow your family and friends to view your graduation in the Senate House, the University will provide a livestream of the event. This can be watched from anywhere around the world.  It will also be available to view online for two months following the ceremony, so you, too, can watch yourself on screen. Please note that 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 livestreaming 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 after the ceremony has concluded, 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 or certificate frames.  It will not be possible for graduands to gather in front of Senate-House to take photographs on the day.

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. From January 2025 those who matriculated in October 2018 and took their BA prior to December 2022 will be eligible.

We invite you to attend the ceremony in April to receive this.

Further information can be found here.

Transcripts for degrees awarded based on assessments modified as a result of COVID-19 will include brief wording explaining that the candidate undertook alternative assessments, and provide a link to a fuller explanation of the nature of the assessment, hosted on the CamData website.

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.

Students who defer graduation will also be able to access the Digitary but will not be recorded as having graduated.

Important: unless given out at an in person ceremony, certificates and/or transcripts will be sent to your ‘Home address’ on CamSIS. Please ensure this and your ‘preferred’ email address are updated on CamSIS. If you are having trouble with this please contact the Student Office. Certificates are posted untracked so if you wish to arrange for a tracked mail service please contact the Student Office.

Further information on the Verification of Degrees which may be needed for employment, is available here.