When will I graduate?

Future ceremony dates

Summer Graduation: Monday 13th- Friday 17th July 2026

(Undergraduate and 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 autumn for December graduation ceremonies. If you think you should be graduating, but have not received any communication please contact your department or the Student Programmes and Administration to check if you are eligible to graduate.

Tab Content: Undergraduates

The next undergraduate ceremonies are planned for 13th-17th July 2026.

Students are arranged into a ceremony by their College, and split by faculty school / department*. There are multiple graduation ceremonies that take place across graduation week for each college.

*Please note this does not apply to MBChB students, or Furness College (Barrow)** students, who graduate as separate cohorts.

** Furness College (Barrow) should not be confused with Furness College, which is one of the Colleges at Lancaster University.

All dates are subject to change.

Tab Content: Postgraduate Taught Courses

Postgraduates on taught courses (Master's LLM, MA, MArch, MRes, MSc, PG Diplomas) are normally invited to attend Winter graduation ceremonies in the year they complete their degree. The next postgraduate ceremony session is planned to take place in Winter 2026.

Students are arranged into a ceremony by their faculty, and sometimes faculty ceremonies are also split by the school / department.

Tab Content: Postgraduate Research Courses

Doctoral candidates (PhD, DSc, DLitt, DMgt, EngD, MD) (excluding DClinPsy)

Doctoral candidates (excluding DClinPsy) are invited to both summer and winter ceremony sessions. To be invited you must have completed the following steps byThursday 30th April for Summer 2026 ceremonies:

  • Have had your viva voce examination;
  • Made any required changes from your examiners;
  • Have had your changes formally approved by your examiners;
  • Have uploaded a copy of your final thesis to the Library’s online repository;
  • Have your degree award signed off by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education;
  • Have cleared any outstanding debts.

Other research degrees (e.g. DClinPsy, MPhil, Master's by Research)

Other research degrees are only invited to postgraduate graduation sessions; the next session will be our Winter 2026 graduation ceremonies.

To be eligible to graduate you must have had your viva voce examination, and met the same requirements that are set out in the section above before you can graduate. You may receive communication regarding winter 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 and Programme Administration 

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. 

Need more info on what you need to do before graduation day?

What do I need to do before Graduation?