Guests allowed at graduation ceremonies from next month

Friends and family will be able to watch graduands receive their degrees in person following two years of disruption

Guests have been unable to attend degree ceremonies in-person since the start of the pandemicLouis Ashworth/Varsity

by Lorna Kimmins

This article is 3 years old

Tuesday March 29 2022, 3:26pm

Guests will soon be allowed to attend graduation ceremonies again after two years of disruption, the University confirmed today (29/03).

Graduating students will be able to bring guests to degree congregations at Senate House from April 29, with a live streaming service still available for guests who are unable to attend in person.

Students who were forced to graduate in absence due to the pandemic will also be able to attend a ceremony with family and friends.

Bridget Kendall, master of Peterhouse and chair of the joint University and Colleges Working Group on Congregations, said that the University was “delighted” that guests will be able to return to watch their loved ones graduate in person.

She said: “Graduations are normally a highlight across the academic year, but the last two years have made it challenging to hold them.

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“Guests have been able to watch an adjusted form of ceremony online since June 2021 and have appreciated that opportunity. For that reason, the streaming service will continue, allowing those who can’t attend to participate in real time and share in the tradition of the occasion.”

The announcement comes after two years of disruption to traditional in-person degree ceremonies at Senate House, with many events in 2020 and 2021 being cancelled or held as “in absence” graduations, in which degrees are officially given to students without them being physically present.

Many students graduating in summer 2021 were able to attend in-person ceremonies, but were not allowed to bring family and friends to watch.

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