Graduation

You will receive an email from SJC closer to the date, which will invite you to book online to secure places for celebrations in College for you and your guests (maximum of 2).

In the meantime:

Check your confirmation email from the University (titled "Degree Ceremony Confirmation"): If there are any mistakes with your address, attendance mode or the degree you will receive; or if you did not get that email, then let us know.

Clear your College Battels and any Loans. You may not be permitted to graduate if you have any outstanding debt to the University.

Those taking a DPhil; MLitt; or MSc by Research: Make sure to submit a digital copy of your thesis to the Bodleian at least 5 days before the ceremony. You may not be able to graduate if you fail to do this.

You will be emailed in advance of your graduation with an invitation to book online for the reception and details of how to arrange gown hire.

Gowns for the ceremony can be hired from Ede & Ravenscroft, Shepherd and Woodward or Churchill Gowns.

Celebrations organised in College are free for graduands, and a maximum of two guests.

On the day, when you register at SJC prior to the ceremony, you will receive two tickets for your guests. No additional tickets will be available.

Guests are encouraged not to take photographs or record videos during the ceremony in the Sheldonian. However, please be aware that by attending a degree ceremony at the University of Oxford, either as a graduand or as a guest, you may be captured in photography or film footage.

The ceremony will be streamed online for those who can't travel to Oxford: http://livestream.com/oxevents

You must wear full academic dress (sub fusc) for the ceremony. Please read this carefully prior to your ceremony to ensure that you are appropriately dressed as the University will not permit you to enter your graduation ceremony if you are not wearing the right clothing:

One of:

dark suit with dark socks, or
dark skirt with black tights or stockings, or
dark trousers with dark socks or dark hosiery

Dark coat if required

Black shoes (no open toed shoes or sandals). To protect the flooring in the Sheldonian, stiletto heels are not allowed.

Plain white collared shirt or blouse

White bow tie, black bow tie, black full-length tie, or black ribbon.

Ministers of religion may wear clerical dress, with a gown over, when attending ceremonies. If you wear a head dress / scarf for religious reasons, a black scarf should be worn. Members of the armed forces may wear service dress under their gowns.

Please do not bring any personal items with you to the Sheldonian. We suggest that you leave any personal items with your guests (ie bags, phone etc).

Given the way the booking system works, it is not possible to arrange spaces at the same ceremony to a group of friends.

Please let us know in advance if you have any special requirements for the Ceremony or celebrations in College.

For guests: There is limited step-free seating available in the Sheldonian. This cannot be booked in advance. Please make yourselves known to the staff at the Sheldonian when you arrive and they will do their best to seat your party together.

View an Access Guide to the Sheldonian Theatre

View an Access Guide to St John’s

Contact degrees@sjc.ox.ac.uk. You won’t be able to cancel if you have had your place confirmed on a ceremony by the University and it is within 60 days of the ceremony. All cancellations must be made in writing (an email is acceptable), and you cannot ask somebody to cancel on your behalf. Please note that if you cancel it may be some time before a place becomes available for you on a future ceremony.

If you are due to attend a ceremony and want to change dates, please fill in a booking form. If you swap dates, you give up your place on the current ceremony and might not be able to re-join it. You won’t be able to move dates if it is within one month of the ceremony.

If you are due to attend a ceremony in person, you can change your mind and decide to graduate in absentia within 1 month of the ceremony. Please let us know if you would like to do this as soon as possible.

If you decide you would prefer to graduate in person after initially choosing to do so in absentia, you will have to join a waiting list for a ceremony.

All degrees must be conferred on you in order from lowest to highest (e.g. if you want to collect your DPhil, and also have a BA and an MPhil, you collect your BA and then your MPhil, before you can collect your DPhil).

If you attend a ceremony for your highest degree, you can collect your lower degrees at the same time in absentia. You won’t be able to go back and attend a ceremony for them retrospectively.

Yes, but you must to do them in order from lowest to highest (e.g. if you want to collect your BA, MA and DPhil, you need to first graduate for your BA, then your MA, then your DPhil).

You don't have to attend ceremonies for all of your degrees – any that you haven’t already taken will be done in absentia, while you attend a ceremony.

You will graduate as a member of your college for each degree that you take. If you did your lower degree with Balliol but want to graduate for a higher degree taken at a different college, you will need to take your Balliol degree in absentia or first attend a ceremony with St John’s.

If you took a higher degree with St John’s, you can collect your lower degrees in absentia, or contact your other college to arrange a ceremony with them first.

The waiting list works on a 'first come first served' basis. There is no guarantee, but we will do our best to fit you in.

You will remain on the requested waiting list until a month before the ceremony, and we will continue to try to get you on the ceremony until that date.

Please let us know if you are not able to attend a date any longer, so that we can remove you from that waiting list.

The University's booking system limits us to one waiting list per person. If you selected more than one ceremony option on your form, however, we will automatically add you to the following waiting list if you don't get on to your preferred ceremony.

If you can’t make a date anymore, please let us know as soon as possible.

You will receive an email from the University confirming your place on a ceremony. We expect this to be sent no later than one month before the ceremony.

Yes, we can add you to another waiting list. We will add you in chronological order to the dates you have said you can attend.

Graduands of MA, DD, DCL, DM or MCh are asked to kneel in front of the Vice-Chancellor, who touches them on the head with a Bible. You can opt out of this part of the ceremony; however, we need to know in advance. All other degrees are unaffected by this. You cannot request the non-Christian formula on the day of the ceremony.

All students will automatically receive a degree certificate once their degrees have been conferred at a degree ceremony. Students who have passed their examinations but have not yet had their degrees conferred at a degree ceremony can request a degree confirmation letter free of charge. The letter will confirm successful completion of the course at the University of Oxford, the dates of attendance and the classification. More information is available here.

If you commenced your studies at St John’s prior to Michaelmas Term 2007, and you require either a transcript letter or a degree confirmation letter, please complete email the Academic Office.

Please email degrees@sjc.ox.ac.uk.