Graduation and Congregations

^ You may only attend the General Admission for the year in which you completed your course.  If you graduate later than this, you must attend one of the Postgraduate congregations.

For further detailed information regarding Graduation, Certificates and Transcripts please see the University website, for General information about congregations, contact the College Praelectors' Secretary by e-mail praelectors@homerton.cam.ac.uk.

Postgraduate students should only apply when they have been approved for their Degree. 

Most undergraduate students receive their degrees at General Admission in late June/early July of each year. The Praelectors’ Secretary will contact undergraduate students once they are scheduled to graduate, with a survey providing further information about the ceremony, and details of how to register. If you are unable to attend General Admission, then you can sign up for another ceremony at a later date.

Guests are warmly welcomed, and there will be an opportunity on the survey to indicate how many guest places you would like to request. We are allocated two guest tickets to Senate House per graduand.

We appreciate that making travel and accommodation arrangements can be difficult, but would strongly advise against making any bookings until you have confirmation from the Praelectors’ Secretary of your place in a particular Congregation. Please note that if you have not settled your College and University bills then you will not be entered into a ceremony.

Postgraduate students complete their courses at various times during the year, and there may well be a gap between receiving your degree results and attending a Congregation. Since graduation is organised by the College, the dates on which you are able to graduate are determined by Homerton and not by your Department/Faculty. Even if you receive confirmation of passing your course from your Department/Faculty, it can still take several days to become eligible to be entered for a ceremony.

The appropriate Degree Committee will contact postgraduate students once they become eligible to graduate. Student should then fill out a survey (links for these surveys can be found above) to register your attendance at a Ceremony. 

Homerton postgraduate students cannot apply for place at a Congregation until they have received this email from the Degree Committee informing them they are eligible to graduate: please do not attempt to sign up yourself via CamSIS. 

Guests are warmly welcomed, and there will be an opportunity on the survey to indicate how many guest places you would like to request. We are allocated two guest tickets to Senate House per graduand.

We appreciate that making travel and accommodation arrangements can be difficult, but would strongly advise against making any bookings until you have confirmation from the Praelectors’ Secretary of your place in a particular Congregation. Please note that if you have not settled your College and University bills then you will not be entered into a ceremony.

PGCE students do not graduate via Senate House but will receive information from the Faculty of Education about their own ceremony in June of each year.

You will be contacted by the Development Office when you first become eligible with details of your next available Congregation. Normally, the MA Graduation date is in April. 

If you previously completed your studies, but did not graduate, or are eligible for the MA and have not yet had this degree conferred, please fill out a survey (links for these surveys can be found above) to register your attendance at a Ceremony or contact the Praelector’s Secretary.

On completion of studies, students can only access CamSIS via Extended Self-Service (ESS)

For further more detailed information regarding Graduation, Certificates and Transcripts please see the University website. 

The University’s academic dress consists of a gown and hood, made of a different material or in a different colour to denote either the wearer's existing degree or the degree they are about to receive. It is the responsibility of the graduand to order and collect their own gown and hood as directed by their outfitter. For General Admission only, gowns ordered from Ede & Ravenscroft will be delivered to the College.

Full dress codes can be downloaded from this webpage. Graduands receiving their first Cambridge degree wear the appropriate gown – in the case of undergraduates, their undergraduate gown – with the hood of the degree to be taken. The hoods clearly indicate the degrees sought by graduands. Under no circumstances should a gown of another institution or College be worn.

As graduation is a formal occasion, an appropriate standard of dress is expected. The dress code is strictly enforced at the ceremony and if you do not observe it, you may not be allowed to enter the Senate House and therefore will not permitted to graduate in person. You are also strongly advised not to leave your booking for your hood and gown to the last minute as outfitters may not be able to guarantee stock.

You must place your order no later than three weeks before the ceremony.

Please see Graduation Fit Checker 

The Tutorial Office will email both undergraduate and postgraduate students when they become eligible to graduate. Please ensure your preferred email address is updated on CamSIS so we know how to contact you. Alumni who become eligible to receive their MA will be emailed by the Alumni Office (please contact them directly to update your email address).

The Student Registry or your Degree Committee informs postgraduate students when they have been approved for their degrees. They will ask you to contact the College praelectors@homerton.cam.ac.uk to make the necessary arrangements to have your degree conferred at the next Congregation, or thereafter.

Postgraduate students should then apply for a ceremony, using the a survey linked above. Postgraduate students have three opportunities to graduate per academic year: in late November, early May or late July. 

Senate House can only let Colleges know a week before the ceremony the precise times they are expecting each College to go through. Once we are given these, we will look at our draft programme and adjust the timings (this will usually only be within an hour of our original estimation). At this point we will email out the Final Programme, so please ensure your contact details are kept up to date.

You should wear the appropriate academic dress for your status and degree, as outlined in the College’s dress code. It is the Praelector’s responsibility to ensure their College is presented at Senate House in the correct manner.

Please follow the Homerton dress code only: do not be tempted to copy friends from other Colleges, as there are small but important differences.

It is the responsibility of the graduand to organise their transport to the Senate House.

Different options of travel to the Senate House include:

• by car (allowing time to park, especially on a Saturday)
• buses that run from outside the College
• a taxi that can be booked in advance and pick you up from outside the Porters’ Lodge
• by bike
• by scooter
• by foot

The ceremony is roughly one hour in length, but this can vary depending on the number of people being presented for degrees.

Eligible students for General Admission (in late June/early July) are BA, B.Th., M.Eng., M.Math and M.Sci only.

The Cambridge University Website gives the dates of all upcoming Congregation ceremonies. If you would like to go through in absentia you should email the Praelectors’ Secretary, or register using the surveys above, and your name will be sent through to the Student Registry for your degree to be conferred at your chosen ceremony. 

Your degree certificate and official transcript will be posted from the Tutorial Office or Alumni Office approximately two weeks after the ceremony.

• Academic dress: the formal dress code for the graduation ceremony, which you must wear if you are attending in person.
• Degree certificate: formal acknowledgement of the date on which you are awarded your degree.
• Congregation: a meeting of the Regent House (in the case for the purposes of a graduation ceremony).
• General Admission: the congregation when most undergraduates proceed to their first degree at the end of their final term. Only undergraduates (BA, B.Th., M.Eng., M.Math., and M.Sci) can be presented for their degrees at General Admission.
• Graduand: the person graduating.
• In absentia: ‘in absence’, i.e., receiving your degree without being present at the ceremony.
• Praelector: The College Officer who will present you for your degree (in Latin).
• Praelectors’ Secretary: the member of the Tutorial Office staff who provides administrative support for the Praelectors, and is in charge of all College arrangements related to graduations.
• Regent House: The Governing Body of the University of Cambridge.
• Senate House: the building where congregations take place, near to Great St Mary’s church.
• To process: to walk in formation to the Senate House, usually down King’s Parade.
• Transcript: the official record of your degree results.

It is a complementary formal dinner for undergraduates only, who are graduating at the General Admission, that is held the Friday before the ceremony. 

Postgraduates may be able to attend Formal Hall near the weekend of the ceremony. Please contact the alumni office to make these arrangements. You would be expected to pay for your space. 

You need to book via UPay but it is a complementary dinner.

Postgraduates may be able to attend Formal Hall near the weekend of the ceremony. Please contact the alumni office to make these arrangements. You would be expected to pay for your space. 

No the dinner is for those graduating only, you can still book for the dinner but will be withdrawn from the dinner if you are successful with your application.

The dinner is for Graduands only.

Please request a visa support letter online at least two weeks before your visa appointment. Please make sure you write specifically who you need the letter form including full names, dates of birth, and the country they will be applying from.

Please contact the International Student Office.

Yes - you will need to email the Praelectors’ Secretary to register to graduate in absentia for your chosen congregation date. 

You will have your certificate and official transcript delivered to the mailing address specified on your CamSIS account. You can update your mailing address using CamSIS Self-Service.

For General Admissions, the residency agreements for all UG finalists include the date of graduation, so if you live in College you will be able to remain in your room until the morning after your graduation free of charge. For undergraduate students living out of College we may have rooms available in West House which are bookable by contacting the Accommodation Office (accommodation@homerton.cam.ac.uk). 

For other Congregations (i.e. Higher Degree) it is possible, but not guaranteed, that a room in College is available, please email alumni@homerton.cam.ac.uk to enquire on availability.

College has a number of Guest Rooms managed by our conference office. 

If you wish to book a guest room for friends/family members you should email events@homerton.cam.ac.uk.