Graduation
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Common questions
For detailed information on eligibility, the conferral process and what to expect from your graduation ceremony, visit Graduation.
Conferral
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You can request a deferral before the deadline outlined in your conferral email that you will receive when you complete your course. Go to the ‘Graduations’ tab on your my.unimelb account and select defer.
If you choose to defer:
- You do not need to provide evidence
- Your conferral will automatically be deferred for 12 months from your course completion date.
Please note it is not possible to be conferred on a date that is not published on the conferral date page.
Deferral is recommended only if:
- You are applying for further study that requires recent conferral
- Your employment requires a particular conferral date
Otherwise, it is best to confer your degree as early as possible to:
- Officially confirm your qualification
- Receive your testamur (certificate) and academic transcripts.
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Bachelor and master students will be conferred in absentia if no response is received to their graduation options email. The University is unable to revoke conferral once the conferral date has lapsed.
PhD and higher doctorate students must RSVP their conferral preference otherwise it would result in an automatic 12 month deferred conferral from your course completion date if no response is received.
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On your conferral date, you’ll receive access to your:
- Digital graduation certificate (testamur)
- An updated academic transcript that lists your award
- AHEGS (Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement) via My eQuals.
If you are conferred in July or December and plan to attend your graduation ceremony, you will get a physical copy of your graduation certificate (testamur) at your ceremony.
If you are conferred outside these dates or you do not attend a graduation ceremony, we will send your graduation certificate (testamur) to you by post in the month after your conferral.
Visit the conferral dates page for more details on postage timings
Please note:
- In-person collection of certificates at Stop 1 is not available
- Certificates will be posted to your preferred address.
To ensure correct delivery:
- Update your ‘contact’ or ‘home’ address in my.unimelb
- Mark the correct address as ‘preferred'
The Graduations team will email you a tracking number once your testamur has been posted as per the timelines on the conferral dates webpage.
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After results are released, you can download a free evidence of qualification from my.unimelb.
This document is helpful for:
- Job applications
- Further study applications
- It shows that you have completed your degree but does not include a conferral date until your degree is officially conferred.
On your conferral date, we’ll send you an updated transcript that lists your award and your official testamur with your conferral date.
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If you're not sure that you've completed or enrolled in the required subjects to satisfy your course completion, you can view the Handbook
and your Study Plan to check your course requirements If you require clarification, or need assistance getting back on track, you can speak with a specialist Course Planner
to discuss your course progression. Need more help?
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Each graduation ceremony round has a final results deadline. By this date, all your final subject results must published and passed for you to be eligible to graduate.
For the upcoming August graduation ceremonies, the deadline is 5pm AEST Friday 10 July.
If you have any interim or pending subject results after this date, you will not be able to graduate in August.
Interim or pending results include:
- Interim result grades (SPE, SUP, WAF, or WXT)
- Outstanding special or supplementary assessments (unless declined by the deadline)
- Delayed results due to assessment extensions
- Pending outcomes from misconduct hearings
- Uncleared sanctions that prevent results from being released
- Non-standard study period subjects with results released after 5 August.
If you miss out on the August ceremonies, we'll invite you to graduate in the next ceremony round you are eligible for.
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Your Bachelor degree and Honours year are treated as separate awards.
Your Bachelor degree should be conferred at the first available opportunity after completion.
You can either:
- Attend a graduation ceremony after your Bachelor degree is conferred, or
- Wait until you complete your Honours year to attend a ceremony
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Graduates of the following programs will have ‘with distinction’ printed on their testamur if eligible:
- Master of Engineering (all specialisations)
- Master of Environment
- Master of Computer Science
- Master of Information Systems
- Master of Information Technology
- Master of Science (all listed streams)
- Doctor of Dental Surgery
- Doctor of Physiotherapy
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
More information about testamurs can be found on the Academic transcripts and statements page.
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Before 2013, students had to respond to a graduation invitation to have their degree conferred.
If no response was provided, the degree was not automatically conferred.
Since 2013, degrees are automatically conferred in absentia if there is no response.
If you're unsure whether your degree was conferred:
- Use the Verification of Qualification service, or
- Submit an enquiry to the Graduations Office below.
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Graduation ceremonies
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Conferral: The Conferral is the date your course is officially complete, and you become a graduate of The University of Melbourne. Your conferral date is listed on your official Graduation documentation. This process takes place before the Graduation ceremony and occurs automatically on set dates. You won't be able to attend a Graduation ceremony unless you have been officially conferred.
Graduation Ceremony: The Graduation ceremony is the date the University holds a public celebration of the successful completion of your course. It marks a significant milestone in your academic journey, providing you with an opportunity to celebrate with your friends, family and peers.
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After you've received your final results and completed your course, you'll receive an email confirming your official conferral date (this date will appear on your testamur).
After your degree has been conferred, you'll be invited to the next available in-person graduation ceremony. You can view the current graduation schedule here.
Please note, Stop 1 can’t confirm the date of your conferral or graduation ceremony until it has been made available by the Graduations team. Stop 1 also can’t confirm when you’ll graduate if you haven’t completed your course yet.
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It's not possible to join a Graduation ceremony after the deadline to RSVP to your invitation. However, you can request to be included in the next ceremony round if you haven’t already postponed your attendance at a ceremony for more than 12 months. Please submit an enquiry to the Graduations team to request an invitation to the next ceremony round.
View Ceremony dates.
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If you have RSVP'ed to attend an in-person graduation ceremony, you will be emailed by our Graduations team in the lead-up to your ceremony with further details on how to book your tickets and regalia. Please continue to monitor your student and personal inbox for this correspondence.
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Due to limited availability, these tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Once any extra allocation is exhausted, there will be no more tickets available. Find out more about graduation fees and tickets here.
You can book these tickets online via the Reed Graduations website.
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You’re unable to change your Graduation ceremony date once you’ve been allocated to a ceremony. However, you can:
Postpone your attendance:
Respond to your invitation link before the RSVP deadline to postpone your ceremony for up to one year. If you miss the deadline or need to change your response later, you can submit an enquiry to the Graduations team.
Please be aware of the specific Graduation ceremony rounds, as you may not be able to postpone your ceremony an additional time.
Exceptional Circumstances:
If you have exceptional circumstances for why your ceremony date needs to be changed, you can submit an enquiry to the Graduations team for consideration. Please note, reasons such as employment, study, or wishing to attend the same ceremony as friends will not be considered.
Refund for Non-Attendance:
If you don't attend the ceremony on your registered date and have purchased tickets, you will automatically receive a refund if you don't check in on the day of your graduation. Please allow 5 business days after the final ceremony of the graduation round for your refund to be processed. Any additional guest tickets purchased are not eligible for a refund.
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Please submit an enquiry to the Graduations Office below to request a change to your ceremony attendance response.
Please note that if the deadline has passed to secure your place in a ceremony, it may not be possible to change your response in order to attend.
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You must have your degree officially conferred before being eligible to attend a graduation ceremony.
If your conferral has been deferred, you will not receive a graduation ceremony invitation until that conferral happens.
Please submit an enquiry to the Graduations team below to have your degree conferred.
Conferral dates usually take place at the end of each month.
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The Graduations team does not send invitation letters to guests. Invitations are only sent to graduating students.
For further assistance, contact Stop 1.
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If your visa is not granted in time, you can submit an enquiry up to one day before the ceremony to cancel your attendance.
If you’ve already paid the ceremony fee, your payment will be automatically refunded after the graduation ceremony round concludes.
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Need more help?
Please contact us using one of the channels below.
Enquiry (recommended) Call us Book an admin and general enquiry appointment Visit Stop 1