Graduation
Award of Qualification
A candidate's award is approved by Quality & Standards Committee on behalf of Senate. Degrees and Diplomas are conferred at a degree ceremony. If a graduand is unable to attend the ceremony the degree will be conferred in absentia. In very exceptional circumstances a graduand may defer graduation until a later ceremony. Applications to do so should be made in writing to the Academic Services Division.
There is a procedure for students wishing to graduate between graduation ceremonies. Details are set out below. No student who is in debt to the University is permitted to graduate from the University. Once the debt has been cleared the degree will be conferred at the next ceremony. If an undergraduate student is unable to complete their degree course they may be eligible for a certificate or diploma of the University, provided they have passed the sufficient number of credits. Further information is available on interim awards see the regulations for undergraduate courses.
Degree Classification - The policy on degree classification can be found online.
Inter-ceremony graduation
The University holds graduation ceremonies twice a year, in summer and winter. The usual expectation is that students will graduate at the next ceremony following the successful completion of their studies. The award certificates are issued to students at the ceremony or sent to them after the ceremony if they choose not to attend in person.
Students who wish to follow the inter-ceremony procedure (see below) may apply to have their awards conferred in absentia by the University in March or October. If you choose to follow the inter-ceremony route and to have your award certificate early, this does mean that you will not be able to attend a ceremony in person. If you wish to be present at a ceremony you will have to graduate in the usual way and wait to receive your certificate at the ceremony.
If you need to receive your certificate early and wish to apply for the inter-ceremony graduation, please complete the application form (see below) and return it, by the stated deadline, to staff in Academic Services Division*; Student Registry (Malaysia Campus); Faculty Office (Ningbo Campus). Deadlines for the receipt of applications in those offices are 20 February and 20 September.
*except for:
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School of Education (for undergraduate Education students);
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Student Services Centre, Sutton Bonington (for all Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine and Health Sciences students);
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Medical Education Unit (for undergraduate Medicine students)
Students who wish to graduate between ceremonies
If a student requires his/her award certificate prior to the next set of graduation ceremonies s/he should complete the application form (attached). The form makes it clear that by choosing to follow the 'inter-ceremony' graduation route they will be able to have their certificate once the award has been conferred by the University of Nottingham (in mid-March or mid-October) but will forfeit the chance to attend a ceremony in person.
The student should return the completed form to the appropriate office as listed on the application form and above. Forms must be returned by 20 February (for formal approval and issue of certificates in mid-March) or by 20 September (for formal approval and issue of certificates in mid-October). If students make requests after these deadlines it may be quicker for them to graduate at the summer or winter ceremonies as appropriate.
Immediately after the deadlines given above have passed, each Office should submit copies of the students' application forms and relevant passlists to Academic Services Division so that conferral of the awards can be formally confirmed. The usual checks to ensure the student is eligible to graduate (ie that the examination process is complete in its entirety and that debts to the University have been cleared) should be made before documentation is submitted to Academic Services Division. A procedure document will be circulated and should be followed when processing inter-ceremony applications.
Once formal approval that the awards should be made has been received, Academic Services Division will compile a consolidated list of names. Award certificates will be issued showing the dates of either 15 March or 15 October as the date on which the awards were conferred. Student Administration/School/MEU Office staff should also enter the March or October date as the date of conferral on the student record system. When graduation literature is circulated subsequently, students who have already graduated by the 'inter-ceremony' route should not receive information about the ceremonies. The graduation programme will include a section listing all the names of students whose awards have been conferred in absentia prior to that ceremony.
Forms - inter-ceremony graduation form
Graduation arrangements for candidates for research degrees
The University holds award ceremonies twice a year, usually in summer and winter. Most postgraduate students have their awards conferred at the winter ceremony although postgraduate awards may also be presented at the summer ceremonies. The usual expectation is that students will graduate at the next ceremony following the successful completion of their studies. If you have special reasons for wishing to defer graduation you may make a written application to Academic Services Division to request permission to defer. You will need to explain the special circumstances leading to your request. Permission to defer will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and you should be aware that your award certificate will not be issued until your award has been formally conferred at a ceremony.
In order to make appropriate arrangements for the ceremony, information is distributed in September (or February for the summer ceremonies) to candidates who are expected to be eligible to graduate. You will be asked to complete an online application via the Portal indicating whether or not you wish to attend the ceremony by a deadline in October (or May). It is most important that your contact details, particularly your email address, are up to date so that information about graduation reaches you. These details can be updated any time through the Portal. As arrangements have to be made well in advance of the ceremonies, you may be sent information and asked to reply before your final results are known. Even if you are not sure whether you will have competed in time to graduate at the ceremony you should still respond by the deadline, as it will not be possible for you to be added to the proceedings after the closing date. If you subsequently find that you have not completed in time to graduate at the ceremony, your name will be withdrawn and you may obtain a refund for any payment made for guest tickets or gown hire.
Students who wish to graduate in winter must give formal notice of their intention to submit not later than 1 July. This is to allow time for examiners to be appointed . It is recommended that you then submit your thesis no later than 1 September. The equivalent dates for summer graduations are 1 February and 1 April.
Even when these dates have been correctly observed, no guarantee can be given that the necessary examination procedures will have been completed in time for a candidate to graduate at the next award ceremony. Only those candidates who have successfully completed the examination procedures (including viva, corrections etc.) and have submitted two copies of the bound thesis by 15 November (or 15 June) will be eligible to graduate at the ceremony.
Further information on graduation is available on the Academic Services Division site.