Graduation FAQs
Degree Ceremony FAQs
Graduation is an opportunity to celebrate your academic success with your guests in College.
Graduation is a special moment to recognise the support of family, friends, and those who’ve helped you along the way. After the ceremony, you’ll have the chance to gather with them in the College grounds, take photos, and mark the occasion together.
The information below relates to the Congregations which are held throughout the year for candidates taking higher degrees (M.A., M.Phil., M.B.A., Ph.D) and those who are eligible, but unable, to attend General Admission in June.
If you are expecting to graduate with one of the following degrees (MEng, MMath, MSci, VetMB, BA or BTh) at General Admission in late June, please see the General Admissions page.
The College has very limited guest accommodation available to graduands and their guests. Accommodation in College is very popular, booking in advance is highly recommended. Further details are available on request.
Alternatively, Conference Cambridge run the Cambridge Rooms service has details of rooms available in other Colleges on a Bed and Breakfast basis.
The dress code for guests is expected to be formal/smart due to the nature of the ceremony.
College parking is not generally available, but we do our best to provide easy access for those with severely restricted mobility – though unfortunately even in these cases it is not possible to guarantee availability.
If parking is essential, please contact the Praelector’s Secretary who will try to assist.
Further information on parking in the city can be obtained from the Cambridge City Council website. In general, those coming by car to attend graduations are best advised to use the Park and Ride sites and travel into the city by bus.
Every graduand has a photograph taken inside the Senate House while receiving their degree.
This is available to order on the day of the ceremony from the marquee in Senate House Yard and is administrated by Tempest Photography, which is also available to take photographs of graduands and their guests; if desired.
Guests are not permitted to take photographs in Senate House.
Futher information can be found on the University’s Senate House Photography webpage
Guest Information
Senate House tickets are not sent out in advance. Tickets will be available for collection on the day of the ceremony from the main Porters' Lodge in College.
Each graduand is allocated a maximum of three tickets for the Senate House, apart from M.A. graduands who are allocated a maximum of two tickets each. This number includes babies and children.
Each guest must have a ticket or they will not be admitted to the Senate House.
Babies and children are required to have their own ticket, although the University does not recommend bringing very young children to the Senate House.
It is occasionally possible for the College to re-allocate any ‘spare’ tickets but this cannot be guaranteed and can only be confirmed by the Praelectors Secretary one week before the ceremony itself. Please do not offer any 'spare' tickets to others.
Please do not request extra tickets until the week of the actual ceremony the College does not operate a waiting list system for extra ticket requests. If there are any 'spare' tickets they will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis based on requests received the week of the ceremony.
On congregation dates where Magdalene candidates are presented in person (other than MA Day) the College offers drinks and lunch either before or after the ceremony, depending on the schedule for the day. The lunch is not compulsory but some graduands like to use this as an opportunity to show friends/family their College.
For the majority of graduations lunch takes place in Hall, and for the July congregation it is a garden party in Second Court.
Space is limited and bookings for lunches at this and the other congregations are taken on a first-come first-served basis, up to the maximum capacity of the venue.
There is a charge for guests to attend the celebratory lunch, but there is no charge made for graduands' lunches.
Please let us know if you or your guests require a vegetarian or vegan meal, or have any other dietary requirements.
No refund will be issued for meals cancelled with less than 72 hours notice.
Any special dietary or access requirements should be notified to the Praelectors Secretary when your application form is submitted and no later than three business days (72 hours) before the date of the ceremony. Please contact the Praelector’s Secretary if you have any concerns.
The College requires advance notification of the age of any guest under the age of 14 years, together with any special requirements.
The College’s buildings and grounds were not designed with children in mind and so there are areas in which special caution should be taken, notably by the river (River Court, the Fellows’ Garden, Scholars’ Garden) and on Magdalene Street which carries a great variety of fast-moving traffic.