Apply to graduate

Your degree from the University of St Andrews will not be automatically awarded when you complete your programme of study.

To receive your degree, you must apply to graduate by completing a graduation application form. This applies to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Graduation application deadline

If you are eligible to graduate in June, you will receive an email from the Graduation Office with a link to the application form mid March. The deadline to apply is Monday 8 April at 5pm.

This deadline applies to students graduating in person or in absentia.

If you are graduating in the winter, the application form will open in October.

Graduation checklist for undergraduate and postgraduate students

There are a few things you should check after applying to graduate:

1. Check your University email for graduation details

The Graduation Office will email all information about your graduation to your University email account.

2. Check your student statement for outstanding debt

If you have an outstanding debt to the University, you may not be able to graduate. You should check your student statement before graduation to clear any outstanding debt.

3. Check your visa expiry date

If you currently have a student visa, check your expiry date. If your student visa will expire before the date of your graduation ceremony, you must apply for a standard visitor visa to attend your ceremony.

Your friends and family may also need a visa if they are planning to join the ceremony.

See how to apply for a standard visitor visa.

4. Check your files on Office365

You will lose access to Office365 six months after your graduation, including Outlook and OneDrive. You should:

  • back up important documents and emails
  • check that your @st-andrews.ac.uk email is not linked to another account. If you forget your password, you won't be able to access your reset password emails or alerts.

Additional checklist items for postgraduate research students 

If you are a graduating PhD, MPhil, or MFA student, your School will submit the Examining Committee reports to the Registry team, and you will then receive an email confirmation when the Associate Provost (Students) recommends that your degree should be awarded.

 After this, you must:

  • complete the Library copies task in MySaint
  • submit a final copy of your thesis.

MSc (Res) and MSt (Res) students do not submit a final copy of their thesis or complete the Library copies task in MySaint. However, if you are one of these students, your School must submit the Examining Committee reports and the Associate Provost (Students) needs to then approve the degree recommendation. 

For further details, see Examining Committee Report submission below.

1. Examining Committee Report submission

Deadline: Friday 12 April 2024

Your School must submit the full set of Examining Committee Reports to Registry by the deadline, including the final report recommending that the degree should be awarded.

You will receive an email confirmation when the Associate Provost (Students) approves the degree recommendation. If this has not happened by the deadline, you will not be able to graduate in June. This means your award will be conferred at a later graduation diet.

2. Complete the 'Preparing for submission of my Library copies' task in MySaint

This includes the production of new declarations that you and your supervisors will need to sign. If you can’t get an electronic signature from your supervisors, you should submit your thesis electronically to Thesis Libguide, and the Registry team will get your supervisors to sign your thesis digitally. 

3. Submit the final copy of your thesis

Deadline: Friday 10 May 2024

You must register at the St Andrews Research Repository to submit your thesis. See how to register and submit your thesis.

If you do not submit the final copy of your thesis by the deadline, you will not be able to graduate in June. This means your award will be conferred at a later graduation diet.

If you have already submitted your thesis, or will do so by the deadline, you should still apply to graduate. This will allow your degree to be conferred. 

If your degree has not been approved by the time you complete the graduation application form, your degree will be your current intended award until the degree has been approved.