December 2020 Degree Congregations

Colleagues across the University are working hard to ensure that all final-year students, at all levels, who can complete this year, will do so. Students completing their studies in time to graduate at our December Degree Congregations will have their degree conferred in absentia by Special Warrant – ensuring that they graduate as planned in 2020 despite not being able to attend an on-campus Degree Congregation.

Following the conferral of your degree by Special Warrant, your certificate and transcript will be available to view online, so you can access them from wherever you are in the world without delay. We will post the paper copy of your certificate and transcript as quickly as we can and hope that they will arrive by the end of January 2021, depending on how the postal service copes with increased demand over Christmas. We will contact you via email beforehand and ask you to confirm the delivery address for your documents.

We are absolutely committed to providing all Class of 2020 graduating students with an opportunity to come together, celebrate and reunite in person and on campus. The event will provide an opportunity to wear your graduation gown and have photographs taken with your friends and family. We will get back in touch with you to provide further information about the on-campus events once the situation becomes clearer in 2021. For now, the date range to tentatively hold in your diaries is Monday 15 to Friday 26 March 2021, subject to government guidelines and global restrictions.

If you have already chosen to graduate in absentia at the December 2020 Degree Congregations then you will be largely unaffected by the postponement of the on-campus ceremonies. You will still graduate in absentia when your degree is conferred by Special Warrant and you will receive your certificate and transcript in the same way as everyone else.

The main difference is that now you will also be invited to take part in the virtual celebrations due to take place in December and the replacement on-campus event we plan to run when it is possible to do so, should you wish to join us for either of these. You do not need to contact us to register your interest in these events or to change your status. We will be back in touch with further information as soon as it becomes available.   

Due to the uncertainties of the current situation, and the large number of graduates now waiting to be able to attend an on-campus event, it is not possible to choose to defer your graduation. We really appreciate how much graduation means to you, your friends and your family. The Degree Congregations mean a great deal to our staff too, so please rest assured that we are doing everything that we can to ensure that we will still be able to come together to celebrate your achievements at replacement on-campus events in the future.