Need more info on what you need to do before graduation day?
When will I graduate?
Future ceremony dates
Summer graduation: 18-21 July 2023 (undergraduate and PhDs).
Winter graduation: 13-14 December 2023 (postgraduate taught and research including PhDs).
Please note that all ceremony dates are subject to change.
The session at which you graduate depends on what type of qualification you will be receiving, and when your results are confirmed. There are different processes for undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research programmes.
Your place at a graduation ceremony is subject to your degree being approved by your department’s exam board and confirmed by the University's Senate. Please note that final confirmation of you passing your degree may not be made until after the deadline to register for graduation.
- Students with outstanding debts to the University will not be eligible to graduate. Please arrange to pay all outstanding debts to the University before the end of your studies to ensure you will be eligible to attend.
- Students who are due to graduate will be invited to register in spring for July graduation ceremonies and early autumn for December graduation ceremonies. If you think you should be graduating, but have not received an invitation to register by the middle of March for July graduations, or the middle of October for December graduations, please contact your department or the Student Registry to check if you are eligible to graduate.
Tab Content: Undergraduates
The next undergraduate ceremonies are planned for 18 - 21 July 2023.
Tab Content: Postgraduate Taught Courses
Postgraduates on taught courses (Master's MA, MRes, MSc, PG Diplomas) are normally invited to attend December graduation ceremonies in the year they complete their degree. The next postgraduate ceremony session is planned to take place Wednesday 13 - Thursday 14 December 2023.
Students are arranged into a ceremony by their faculty, and sometimes faculty ceremonies are also split by the department.
Tab Content: Postgraduate Research Courses
To attend the July 2023 ceremonies, as a PhD student, you must have submitted and completed all steps by 24 February 2023.
To attend the December 2023 ceremonies, as a PhD student, you must have submitted and completed all steps by 31 August 2023.
There are different deadlines and eligibility requirements for Doctoral Candidates, DClinPsy and other research students.
Doctoral candidates (PhD, DSc, DLitt, DMgt, EngD, MD) (excluding DClinPsy)
Doctoral candidates (excluding DClinPsy) are invited to the next available ceremony session. To be invited you must have completed the following steps by the eligibility deadline:
- Have had your viva voce examination;
- Made any required changes from your examiners;
- Have had your changes formally approved by your examiners;
- Have your degree award signed off by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education;
- Have uploaded a copy of your final thesis to the Library’s online repository;
- Have cleared any outstanding debts.
Eligible graduands will be invited in October for the winter graduation and in March for the summer graduation.
Other research degrees (e.g. DClinPsy, MPhil, Master's by Research)
Other research degrees are only invited to postgraduate graduation sessions; the next session is currently scheduled for 13 - 14 December 2023
To be eligible to graduate you must have had your degree confirmed by your department’s exam board (for Master's by Research degrees), had your viva voce examination, and met the same requirements that are set out in the section above before you can graduate.
The eligibility deadline varies depending on your programme but is no later than mid-November. You may receive an invitation to attend graduation while your degree confirmation is still pending.
If you have any questions about which ceremony session to which you are due to be invited, please contact the Graduation team, providing your student ID number.
For queries related to your eligibility to graduate, please contact your department in the first instance
If you need to update aspects of your student records, such as your address, contact Student Registry
When you register for your graduation ceremony, you will be sent a letter confirming your eligibility to attend, which can be used as a supporting document for applying for a visa to attend graduation. For further information on visas, Student-Based services has information on applying for a visa for Graduation.
If you have any questions not covered here, get in touch with the Graduation Team by emailing ceremonies@lancaster.ac.uk.