Degree ceremonies
Degrees are not automatically conferred at the end of the course but at a degree ceremony. Degree ceremonies usually take place in the Sheldonian Theatre (or should the Sheldonian Theatre not be available then at the Examination Schools). There is no time limit on graduation - you can graduate straight after you've finished your degree, or many years later, and you can graduate in person by attending a ceremony or in absence.
Only one degree can be conferred in person at a given ceremony. For example, if you passed the examinations for a BA degree and then successfully passed a Masters course, the BA would be conferred in absence and the Masters can be conferred in person at a ceremony. It is not possible to attend a Degree Day following completion of a Certificate or Diploma. If you have any debts or dues outstanding to your college or the University you will not be permitted to graduate. Please refer to the Regulations for Degrees, Certificates and Diplomas for more information
Booking a place at a degree ceremony
Booking a degree ceremony before July
2013
If you have completed or are due to complete your studies before Trinity Term 2013, please contact your College to book your degree ceremony. They will be able to advise you as to which days are available to you. Please be aware that ceremonies usually become fully booked several months in advance of the ceremony date.
Booking a degree ceremony from July 2013 onwards
Taught course students due to complete in Trinity Term 2013 and thereafter will receive an email invitation at the start of their final year with information about booking a degree ceremony. From October 2012, Research students will be contacted with potential degree ceremony dates once they have submitted and will be able to book a date once they have been granted leave to supplicate. They may wish to contact their College to see if they have availability at ceremonies before July 2013.
There will be spaces for students who completed before Trinity Term 2013. Please contact your College for more information.
Guests
Guest tickets are limited to two or three per candidate and are collected from your college on the degree day. The number of guest tickets allowed will depend on which ceremony you attend. Please check with your College. Only ticket holders will be admitted to the Sheldonian Theatre.
Photographs
Photographers will be based at the Sheldonian Theatre (or at the Examination Schools). Please note that photographers who operate outside the railings of the Bodleian quadrangle (and Examination Schools) do so without the permission of the University authorities. You can also purchase a DVD of the ceremony.
Academic dress
Full academic dress must be worn at degree ceremonies. For men this is dark suit, socks, and shoes, white bow tie, white shirt and collar, with a mortar board and for women, dark skirt or full length trousers, white blouse, black tie, black shoes and black stockings/tights, and if desired a black coat with a soft cap or mortar board. Members of the University serving in H.M. Forces are permitted to wear uniform together with a gown.
For all degrees you must also wear the gown of your existing status (and the hood if there is one) during the first part of the ceremony. You will change into the gown (and hood) of your new degree at the appropriate time during the ceremony. Your college will let you know which gowns and hoods you will need.
Please be aware that you may be refused admission to the degree ceremony if you are not properly dressed.
Degree certificates
One degree certificate will be automatically issued following graduation regardless of whether you have graduated in person or in absence.
The Oxford Master of Arts
In most UK universities, the Master of Arts is a free-standing graduate degree awarded by examination. In Oxford (as in Cambridge), and following longstanding tradition, the status of Master of Arts is a mark of seniority within the University which may be conferred twenty-one terms after matriculation
If you have completed a BA or BFA you will be eligible to take an MA in or after the 21st term since you matriculated (i.e. seven years after matriculation). This is not an automatic process and to obtain your MA you must apply to graduate at a degree ceremony (either in person or in absentia). You must have had your BA or BFA conferred in order to take your MA. They can be conferred at the same ceremony provided that sufficient time has elapsed since you matriculated. You should book for a Degree Day through your college in the usual way. You are not at any point eligible to take an MA if your undergraduate degree is an Oxford integrated Masters degree.
Please note the Oxford MA is about reaching a new status within the University and not an upgrade of your BA or an additional qualification. It therefore has no subject or class. We do not issue Degree Confirmation letters or ECTS statements as proof of your MA. Please use your Degree Certificate as evidence of this award.
Useful documents
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Degree ceremony
brochure
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