Conferral of your degree
A day or two after the completion of your degree (your final result), you will be sent an alert/email to your student email address telling you the date your degree will be conferred. This is not the same as a graduation ceremony.
You will be asked to ensure your records are up to date by confirming your details and contact information in ‘Your graduation application’ in the My graduation area of the eVision portal. There will be a date listed by which you must complete this. Your degree will still be conferred on the date listed in the alert/email even if you have not confirmed your details. It is, however, important that you complete this process so your qualification certificate can be sent to you as soon as possible.
Once your degree is conferred, you can then use the title of ‘Doctor’ - even if you are planning to attend a graduation ceremony later in the year.
You can register interest in attending a ceremony when you confirm your details, but this does not guarantee you a place in a ceremony. You will be sent an email inviting you to apply to attend a ceremony when applications open.
See Graduation Ceremony dates and application dates for further information
Applying to attend a graduation ceremony
Candidates must apply to graduate at the appropriate ceremony online via eVision when applications open.
Once the exact opening date for applications has been confirmed for each round of ceremonies, these will be published on the Graduation at Otago web pages.
View opening and closing dates for Graduation Ceremony applications
You should also be aware of the completion dates for securing your place in the ceremony.
For all doctoral candidates, we strongly recommend applying to graduate in the group of graduation ceremonies after the group of ceremonies immediately following submission. For example, if a candidate submits in December, we recommend that they apply in the following year for the August ceremony, rather than a May ceremony. Statistics show, while not impossible, it is very doubtful that candidates will meet requirements and deadlines to graduate at a ceremony immediately following submission of their thesis for examination. Graduating in the next set of ceremonies is also not guaranteed, but it is much more likely.
It is each candidate's responsibility to ensure that they apply for a place in the ceremony allocated to their discipline before the closing date for the ceremony. As there is a limit to the number of people who can graduate at each ceremony; the closing date may be brought forward if this limit is reached before the closing date. Candidates should apply promptly to avoid disappointment.
Graduation booklet summary of research
If you are attending a ceremony, a brief summary (120 words or less) of the research and findings can be included in the graduation ceremony booklet. Candidates should complete the Graduation Booklet Form for Doctoral Candidates and email it to the Graduation Office as soon as possible, and at least five weeks prior to the ceremony they wish to attend.
Download the Graduation Booklet Form for Doctoral Candidates (DOCX)
Email graduation@otago.ac.nz