General Admission (GA) Information and Booking

(BTh, BA, VetMB and BA with MEng or MMath or MSci degrees only)

Arrangements for attending the Senate-House, booking of tickets for your guests and reservations for the buffet lunch and accommodation can be made via your self-service page on CamSIS once booking opens towards the end of the Lent Term. All students eligible to receive their degree during general admission will receive an email when the booking system has opened. The deadline for applications is to be confirmed.

The maximum number of Senate-House tickets that you can book for your guests is two (owing to the capacity of the Senate-House).

There will be a live stream of the ceremony for your remaining guests to view in college. 

You may book up to 5 guests at a cost of £29.50 per head for the buffet lunch in college; this charge will be added to your college bill.

If you do not wish to attend the ceremony and would rather graduate in absence this is also booked via your self-service page on CamSIS

Typical timetable for GA Congregations

Timetable for Graduation week:

Wednesday 26 June 2024 at 7.30pm (TBC) - General Admission Dinner (Graduands only) in Hall.

Thursday 27 June 2024 at 6.30pm (TBC) - Reception for Graduands and families in the marquee in the Fellows garden. Booking will open soon.

Provisional Timetable for Friday 28 June 2024:

9.15am to 11.15am - Registration and collection of Senate House Tickets in a location to be confirmed

11.15am - Assemble for group photograph outside the chapel and talk by the Praelector about Senate-House procedures

11.45am - Assemble outside Howard Building for procession to the Senate-House

12 noon - Guests advised to leave for Senate-House

12.15pm - Procession to the Senate-House

12.25pm - Guests to arrive at the Senate-House

12.35pm - Graduands to arrive at the Senate-House

12.45pm - Session begins at the Senate-House

13.15pm - Approximate finish time for Downing graduands

13.35pm - Buffet lunch in the Hall and marquee on the Fellows' Lawn

From 15.45pm - Graduation group photographs will be available from the Porters' Lodge

The actual timetable for the day of your graduation cannot be confirmed until a week before the ceremony when the College receives the information from the Student Registry.

There is no shelter near the Senate-House and visitors are advised to bring umbrellas in case of wet weather.

Remember that all guests, including children and babies, require admission tickets for entry to the Senate-House. Please notify the College if you have any guests attending who are under the age of 16 by emailing graduation@dow.cam.ac.uk

Admission tickets for the Senate House will be distributed to graduands when they register at the Tutorial and Admissions Office (B Staircase) earlier in the day. Please bring your University Card with you to the Tutorial Office on the day both as identification and also for collection as it has to be returned by the College to the University Card Office.

The Bursary (your College Account)

The deadline for settling bills with the Bursary is midday on 21 June 2024. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, or are anticipating problems settling your college bill you must make contact with your Tutor to discuss this as soon as possible and notify the Bursary by email that you are experiencing problems, bursary@dow.cam.ac.uk

Accommodation

All those graduating in person on Friday 28 June 2024 are permitted to remain in College accommodation up to and including the night of Friday 28 June 2024, should they wish to do so. It may, however, be necessary for a few students to move rooms at the end of Full Term as with usual out of NPR arrangements. Rent will be charged on a pro-rata basis.

Parents and Guardians may be accommodated in College on the Thursday and Friday nights, as space permits, on a first-come-first-served basis. Requests for accommodation should be made via your self-service page on CamSIS when you apply for graduation. Please do not contact the Accommodation Officer directly.

As the College is able to offer single, twin and double rooms it is important that you specify clearly which type of room(s) you require for your guests under 'Accommodation Requirements'. (For example, 2 x single room on Thursday, 1 x twin room on Friday.) The cost for this accommodation will be published on the booking page in CamSIS.

Please note that all rooms occupied until the morning of Saturday 29 June 2024 must be completely vacated and cleared of all belongings, by 10am at the latest.

Any further enquiries you may have can be emailed to graduation@dow.cam.ac.uk or telephone +44 01223 334811.

Photographs from 2019 General Admission

Images: Martin Bond, A Cambridge Diary