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Graduation

Eligibility and conferral


Eligibility to graduate

To be eligible to graduate you need to have:

We'll email you when your completion letter is available in Sydney Student and ask you to review details for your graduation so that your degree can be conferred. 

Appeals

All appeals need to be lodged before your degree is conferred, as you can't appeal an academic decision once you’ve graduated.

If you've lodged an appeal and you've received your completion letter, contact us through the Graduation support form (select 'Request a different conferral date') so that we can withdraw you from conferral until your appeal is finalised.

Once finalised, contact us again through the Graduation support form to proceed with your conferral. 

Find out more about appeals

Intensive sessions

If you completed your final unit of study during an intensive session, you will usually need to wait until the end of the semester to receive your results. This means you won't receive your completion letter and be eligible to graduate until after your results are finalised.

Research students

If you're a higher degree by research student, make sure you're aware of the deadlines to receive your completion letter and to confirm your graduation details as these determine your conferral date and ceremony date.


Conferral

Conferral is where you are awarded your degree, and you’ll be able to use any associated titles. Once conferred, you'll receive a transcript and testamur which confirms completion of your degree.

Conferral is separate from attending a graduation ceremony. It generally happens soon after the completion of your study, earlier than scheduled ceremonies. 

Read about the steps involved in conferral and upcoming conferral dates.

Steps

1

Your completion letter is available

Once the University has assessed you are eligible to have your degree conferred, you will receive an email confirming your completion letter is now available in Sydney Student. This email will usually be sent a couple of weeks after the release of your final results, but for some courses it may be longer.

You will need to have received your completion letter at least 10 weeks before the first ceremony scheduled for May, October or December, in order to be allocated to a ceremony during that month.

2

Submit your graduation details in Sydney Student

As soon as you've received your completion letter you'll need to complete 'Getting ready to graduate' in Sydney Student (go to ‘My studies', 'Assessments', then ‘Getting ready to graduate’). This is where you can:

a. Confirm your details

It's important you check your legal name and award course details as these will be printed on your testamur and transcript. If your details are incorrect, you will need to make changes by the deadline.

b. Indicate if you'd like to receive a ceremony invitation

You'll be asked whether you plan to attend your graduation ceremony.

If you select 'yes', we'll email your invitation closer to the ceremony date. Find out more about your ceremony invitation.

If you select 'no', you’ll be prompted to complete a request to graduate without attending a ceremony.

3

Your degree is conferred

You'll receive a digital version of your graduation documents 2-5 business days after your degree is conferred. These will be sent to your personal email address, as recorded in Sydney Student, with information on how to create an account with My eQuals. This will also be the address we use to set up your My eQuals account.

You'll receive your hard-copy documents at your ceremony.

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If you need a hard-copy document that shows your degree has been conferred ahead of your graduation ceremony, you can request an optional certificate of graduate status


Conferral dates for 2025

The Graduations Office determines your conferral date after considering when you complete your studies and receive your completion letter. Conferral takes place before your in-person ceremony, if you choose to attend one.

We’ll send you an email once we’ve determined your exact conferral date. This will be around the week of your conferral. 

There may be instances where your conferral date may be delayed. This will most likely be because aspects of your degree are yet to be finalised, such as if you have an active appeal or if you have pending results. In these instances, the Graduations Office will determine the most appropriate conferral date. 

Standard conferral dates

The indicative standard dates and deadlines for 2025 are:

Indicative conferral date Who is likely to qualify
24 March 2025

Students who:

  • complete studies in Semester 2, 2024 and
  • receive their completion letter and submit ‘Getting ready to graduate’ in Sydney Student by the deadline of 17 February 2025.
16 June 2025 Students who receive their completion letter and submit 'Getting Ready to Graduate' in Sydney Student between 18 February and the deadline of 2 June 2025.
8 September 2025

Students who:

  • complete studies in Semester 1, 2025 and
  • receive their completion letter and submit ‘Getting ready to graduate’ in Sydney Student by the deadline of 4 August 2025.
10 November 2025

Students who:

  • complete studies part way through Semester 2, 2025 and
  • receive their completion letter and submit 'Getting Ready to Graduate' in Sydney Student by the deadline of 8 October 2025.

Alternative conferral dates

You may receive a different conferral date if you need it to apply for graduate opportunities, or if you decide not to attend your ceremony.

Graduating without attending a ceremony

If you’re not attending a graduation ceremony, you have the option to request to graduate without attending a ceremony. This may change your conferral date depending on when you submit your request.

Earlier conferrals

If you need to request an earlier conferral, the available dates may be different to the the standard dates.

Later conferrals

You may be able to request a later conferral date if you meet eligibility. The available dates may be different to the standard dates. 

We are currently accepting applications for a late conferral date of 16 June 2025. Applications close on 20 February 2025. Find out more, including how to apply, by reading Can I request to graduate with a later conferral date?

Student Centre

Online

Phone

1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864)
or +61 2 8627 1444 (outside Australia)

Find out more about how we can help

Last updated: 12 December 2024

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