Related links
Graduation
- Overview
- Eligibility
- Prepare for graduation
- On the day
- Graduation and conferral schedule
- Graduating in absentia
Graduating in absentia
If you’re unable to attend your graduation ceremony, you will graduate in absentia. This means the University will automatically put you forward for conferral, the process where you are awarded your award course at the University.
Your degree will be conferred on the date outlined in your graduation invite.
Receiving your graduation documents
If you RSVP ‘no’ in your invite, your documents will be posted to the preferred address nominated in your Sydney Student account. The documents will be posted within 4-6 weeks after the ceremony. You will receive digital access to your documents within 2 days after conferral.
If you do not RSVP to the invite, we will send your documents to the preferred address nominated in your Sydney Student account. Make sure your address is up to date at least a week before your graduation.
Request to graduate in absentia early
If you know in advance that you will not be able to attend your ceremony you may be able to have your degree conferred by requesting to graduate in absentia early. If you request to graduate in absentia, then you will not be able to attend a ceremony in Sydney.
Here are a few examples of where applying to graduate in absentia early may be of interest.
For graduates seeking professional registration (e.g. Vet, Dentist, Doctor of Medicine), job application, international students returning home, application for further studies, or a visa application.
We will send your documents to the address nominated in your request.
Eligibility
Before you request to graduate in absentia early, you need to have received your completion letter and paid any outstanding debts to the University.
All appeals need to be lodged before your degree is conferred. If you have lodged an appeal, you will need to withdraw from the graduation or conferral process until your appeal is finalised. Find out more information about the appeals process.
When you need to apply
You can submit a request to graduate in absentia early through Sydney Student (go to ‘My studies’, then ‘Assessments’).
You need to submit your request by the request deadlines outlined in the table below. In most circumstances. we will confer your degree according to the date we receive your request however, there may be instances where your conferral date may vary. Most of the time, this is 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 Team will determine the most appropriate conferral date.
| Request received by | Indicative conferral date |
|---|---|
| Monday 16 January 2023 | Monday 30 January 2023 |
| Tuesday 17 January – Monday 13 February 2023 | Monday 27 February 2023 |
| Tuesday 14 February – Monday 13 March 2023 | Monday 27 March 2023 |
| Tuesday 13 June – Monday 31 July 2023 | Monday 14 August 2023 |
| Tuesday 1 August – Monday 28 August 2023 | Monday 11 September 2023 |
Last updated: 20 December 2022
