Graduation and Congregations
Graduation - Important Information
IMPORTANT: Please read the information below first if you would like to receive your degree at a congregation.
2024/25 Congregations - Dates are also listed at the bottom of the page, however some may still subject to change and some cohorts/degrees may not be eligible to attend certain dates, so please do not make any travel plans before receiving confirmation from us after the deadline passes.
Further dates and deadlines will be published here once known. Registrations normally open three months before the date itself.
If you have any questions please contact the Praelector's Secretary. Once the registration deadline passes, the Praelector's Secretary will be in touch to confirm registration.
Next Available Congregation Dates:
Saturday 3 May 2025 - The deadline to register has passed to register for this congregation.
Saturday 24 May 2025 - This congregation is strictly reserved for the MA cohort eligible for this year. Other degrees cannot be presented on this date. The deadline has passed to register for this congregation.
Wednesday 2 July 2025 - Undergraduate finalists have been emailed invites on 15 April 2025. The deadline to register is Sunday 4 May 2025 and all third and fourth year finalists are encouraged to do so even if plans might change. Please read further down the page for more information about General Admission.
Thursday 24 July 2025 - This will become available to register for via CamSIS. There has been a delay but this website will be updated when it is possible to register soon. If you would like to be emailed when this happens, please contact the Praelector's Secretary.
For MPhil students, this is when records are updated so that you can register, if you have any issues with registering after it is open to registrations please contact the Praelector's Secretary.
Caps on Graduation Numbers
The University aims to accommodate as many graduands and their guests as possible during each Congregation, but there are practical limitations. Degree Congregations take place in the historic Senate-House, where members of the University have graduated since the Eighteenth Century, but although repeated ceremonies are held across each day, each one can only hold so many people and, to provide the best experience, ceremonies should take place during daylight.
Please confirm with the Praelector's Secretary that you have a place booked at a ceremony before making any travel/accommodation arrangements (confirmation emails will also be sent out after the deadlines pass to register). If there is no space at a particular ceremony, there will be later occasions and degree congregations take place across the year.
Certificates and transcripts
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.
A subscription service to Digitary allows you to share documents such as your official transcript on-line with other organisations such as employers or other educational institutions. Degree certificates are also available digitally via your CamSIS Self-Service or Digitary. Further information is available here.
Jet Photographic offers St John’s College specific certificate frames. These are available direct from the photographer. You may wish to purchase these now ahead of receiving your certificate in upcoming weeks.
Degree Names
Please check your name at the time of registration, certificates will not be reprinted if you do not contact us before the deadline passes to register if this is incorrect.
Graduation and Congregations
What is a Congregation?
The Congregation ceremony is one of the oldest traditions in the University. The conferment of each Degree is still an act of the whole University, approved by "Grace of the Regent House", that is by a resolution of the governing body. Graduands are presented one by one to the Vice-Chancellor of the University or a deputy, in the presence of the Proctors who are the elected representatives of the Regent House. Although Congregations are held throughout the year, the June Congregations are set aside for what is called “General Admission” to Degrees, at which most undergraduates proceed to their first Degrees at the end of their final term.
Students or alumni who are eligible to receive their degrees may do so at Congregations of the Regent House held on Saturdays at regular intervals throughout the year. The College Praelector is responsible for presenting students at Congregations when they receive their degrees.
You cannot use your degree title until you have been conferred to your degree at a congregation, so it is the student's responsibility to make sure they register for a congregation, either in person or in absentia.
What happens on the day?
Please note that any timings may be subject to change, you will be emailed directly with any last-minute changes so please make sure your email address is up-to-date on CamSIS' Extended Self-Service.
A congregation is normally held in the morning, for around a 10am start. Graduands are expected to be in College prior to this ready to be briefed by the Praelector and lined up in Second Court (or in the Old Music Room in the case of wet weather). Graduands will go together, led by the Praelector, to the Senate House. Guests will be expected to make their own way to the Senate House a bit earlier in order to be seated before the start - this time will also be circulated via email to Graduands.
Trinitarian Formula and your options
You will find information about the ceremony and the Latin that is typically read out on the University's site. The standard formula is the Trinitarian Latin, although sometimes this is replaced with a non-religious formula for all.
When you register for a congregation, you can choose to omit the Trinitarian Formula completely, or have it replaced with an 'in nomine Dei' option (please see their site for more information on what this means), this request will be sent on to the Bedells. It is not possible to choose both options, so if you do not choose either of these, then the full religious formula may be used.
Lunch
All Graduands are invited to lunch with the Fellows at 12:15. This may be held in the Combination Room or in Hall, depending on the size of the congregation. If this is in the Combination Room due to smaller numbers, then Sherry will be served from 12:00 in the Green Room (which adjoins the Lobby at the upper end of the Hall; entrance is from B Staircase in Second Court).
It is only possible for two guests per graduand to attend the Lunch (except for MA and General Admission which have different rules); it is unfortunately not possible to include more than two without changing its character as the normal lunch for Fellows - please see Standing Order I.1.1.2 for more information.
Lunch will be a sit-down affair, with the exception of May and July which are normally buffets.
For MA and General Admission, a group photograph is normally taken, with a photographer available in the afternoon for individual portraits.
Please note that the May Congregation is a much larger event as this is when most newly eligible alumni return to receive their MA degrees. The day is organised differently and any non-MA graduands wishing to attend this Congregation should be aware that this particular congregation will be mostly those accepting an MA only.
Important Safety Information: To ensure that your visit to the University is as safe as possible, enhanced security procedures are currently being implemented. Rucksacks, holdalls, shopping bags or bags larger than 35cm x 25cm into the Senate House or the surrounding grounds. If you bring them to the ceremony, you will be asked to make alternative arrangements for their storage or may be denied entry to the event. If you need to keep your bag with you, you must seek assistance from a Proctor/Constable who will check contents prior to entry to the Senate House. Please allow sufficient time for the additional delays this may cause. A phone can be brought in if it can be concealed as a means of payment for items within the Senate House.
Graduands are presented College by College in order of the date of foundation of the College and in sessions of several Colleges at a time. The timetable is confirmed around 2 weeks before a congregation, and final timings circulated to Graduands then.
Car parking is available at Playing Fields Car Park for all congregations, space permitting.
Congregation Dates and Deadlines 2024-25
Please scroll to the bottom of the page to find the dates and deadlines for congregations - these may be subject to change due to the pandemic and the most recent congregation information will appear at the top of the page.
BChir Information
Those admitted to the BChir in June 2024 have one year in order to take their MB at a congregation. Please note that the May 2025 ceremony is the last occasion at which the MB can be conferred in person. If the MB is not conferred by then it will be automatically conferred in June 2025.
MA Information
*Those wishing to take the MA in 2025 are particularly encouraged where possible to do so at the May congregation; candidates will not normally be presented for other degrees on this occasion. You are advised not to make travel arrangements for this, or any ceremony, until you have received confirmation of your place after the deadline has passed for others to apply.
How to Register
Please read all the following information carefully to avoid missing anything important!
For those receiving their degrees for the first time: Please register via your Extended Self-Service account on CamSIS. You can register and access ESS here.
If you wish to put your name forward to receive your degree at any Congregation (other than General Admission) as a celebrant who has already received their degree in absence during the pandemic, please check the top of the page to see what dates you will be eligible to attend. You will need to read the Congregations Information which includes academic dress information, and then register for the congregation by emailing praelectorssecretary@joh.cam.ac.uk with the following information:
Surname:
First Name:
Pronunciation of Name for the Senate House speakers (if applicable):
Degree (conferral/celebration?):
Date of Congregation applying for:
Do you need to opt out of the religious formula/request an in nominei Dei version?:
Number of guests in the Senate House (max. 2):
Attending lunch?:
Number of guests to lunch (max. 2): Any dietary requirements?:
To help keep your contact details up-to-date, please also access your Extended Self-Service account on CamSIS. You can register and access ESS here.
It is vital that you update your contact details. You will need to update the following information:
You will then receive the confirmation email after the deadline has passed for the congregation you are registering for (usually three weeks before the ceremony). If you do not receive such a letter by two weeks prior to the Congregation, please contact the Praelectors Secretary.
Academical Dress
The Praelector is obligated to emphasize to Graduands the rules for dress for those taking degrees In Person.
If you choose to graduate in person at the Senate-House, you are required to wear the following Cambridge academical dress at the ceremony:
- Undergraduates and affiliated students: undergraduate gown of your college and the hood of the highest degree that you are about to receive.
- Postgraduate candidates: either the gown and hood of your highest existing Cambridge degree or, if not already a Cambridge graduate, a BA (if under age 24) or MA (if age 24 or over) status gown and the hood of the highest degree you are about to take.
- Candidates for degrees by Incorporation or the MA under Statute B.II.2: the gown and hood of the degree that you are about to receive.
Academical Dress - Buying or Hiring
If you choose to graduate in person you may hire or buy your academical dress. The following are two Cambridge suppliers who offer this:
Ede & Ravenscroft
70-72 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RJ
Website: www.gownhire.co.uk
Purchase Enquiries: 01223 350048 (shop) or 01223 861854
Ryder & Amies
22 King’s Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SP
Website: www.ryderamies.co.uk
Email: sales@ryderamies.co.uk
You may also wish to look at https://churchillgowns.com/, which focuses on creating sustainable gowns
What to wear at a Congregation ceremony
As graduation is a formal occasion an appropriate standard of dress is expected and the dress code is strictly enforced at ceremonies. Should you not observe it, you may not be permitted to graduate on the day of your chosen ceremony. A female University Constable will check your dress on arrival at the Senate-House and will adjust if required.
The University have produced a flowchart tool to help students check that their graduation outfit meets all of the criteria: https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/graduation-and-what-next/degree-ceremonies/academical-dress
If after reading the website you have any further questions, please contact the Praelector's Secretary who will advise you further about the dress code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are hair accessories and jewellery permitted?
Yes. Jewellery and hair accessories can be worn at the ceremony but these should not be conspicuous and should befit the occasion. The ceremony itself is a formal event and as such dress should be reflective of this.
How do I pin a hood onto a gown?
Please see the following guide for assistance on how to do this (here)
Can I wear a cap (also known as a mortarboard)?
Yes, if you want to. The cap (mortarboard) is optional for Cambridge graduands. If you do decide to wear one on the day then you will be asked to take this off and carry it in your left hand once inside the Senate-House so please bear this in mind when making your decision.
Can I wear national dress and/or the colours of my country or a uniform?
If you want to wear national dress you will need to contact the Praelector's Secretary as dispensation may be required to allow this.
General Admission
General Admission 2025
The next date for General Admission is Wednesday 2 July 2025 (for the 2024/245 cohort only). Undergraduate finalists will be emailed details on how to register at the start of the Easter Term.
Only the following degrees are awarded at General Admission:
- Master of Engineering: M.Eng.
- Master of Natural Science: M.Sci.
- Master of Mathematics: M.Math. (not including MAST)
- Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine: Vet.M.B.
- Bachelor of Arts: BA
- Bachelor of Theology for the Ministry: B.Th.
The main Graduation page gives general information about Congregations and matters relating to the presentation of graduands for their degrees, including information about Academical Dress.
What to wear
If you have your own gown (from Matriculation) you can wear this at General Admission. We would, however, recommend that you have it dry cleaned. The alternative is to hire a gown for the day, as well as the appropriate hood for the degree that you will be receiving. Please check the Academical Dress page for more information. Please note that it is important that you order your gowns and hoods well in advance.
Accommodation
All graduands may normally remain in College until 10:00 on the Thursday after General Admission. A limited amount of bed and breakfast accommodation is available for parents in College rooms the night prior and/or the night of General Admissions. Rooms are allocated on a first come first served basis, limited to two guests per student. Graduands will be emailed this link with their invites.
Timetable of events
We can normally only guarantee to allocate two guest tickets per graduand for friends and family to attend the Congregation at the Senate House as we are only allocated a limited number of Senate House tickets. Graduands will be invited, along with two guests, to attend a buffet lunch in First Court from 13:30. The timetable for events will be emailed to graduands directly.
MA Degree Ceremony
A Bachelor of Arts may be admitted to Master of Arts not less than six years from the end of his or her first term of residence, provided that a supplicat for the latter degree may only be entered after the former degree has been conferred.
This removes the previous requirement for the B.A. Degree to be held for two years before the M.A. can be conferred.
Someone who qualified for the BA but has never had it conferred cannot be entered for the MA, even if the necessary time has passed since the end of their first term of residence, unless and until the BA has been conferred on them.
Therefore, those that meet the above requirements, and matriculated in Michaelmas Term 2018, have been invited via email on 31 January 2025 to a ceremony on Saturday 24 May 2025. The email address used will be your 'preferred' one on CamSIS - please get in touch with the if you have not heard anything. The deadline to register is 20 April 2025 (this may close early if we reach capacity).
Affiliated Students
Affiliated students are deemed to have ‘kept’ 3 terms before they officially begin their first term of residence in Cambridge. Their MA can be conferred from 5 years after their matriculation as long as the BA has been conferred.
Graduation FAQs
Many people have questions about graduation and congregation arrangements.
You can find some of the most common questions and answers here.
You are also welcome to email the Praelector's Secretary at any time if you have a question that you need answering.