Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Education, Master of Philosophy and Taught Master Degrees programmes

You must settle all outstanding fees/charges/library liabilities before collecting your award certificate. Otherwise, the University will withhold the issuance of all types of academic documents to you (including Statement of Results, Award Certificates and Transcripts).

The following table illustrates the Certificate Collection Period for graduates with the respective graduation dates:

Students graduating by the end of	Date/Period of Approval by Academic Board (AB)	Graduation Date^Note1	Certificate Collection Period^Note3
Semester 1	By 31 March	31 March	Late April to Early May^Note4
Semester 2	By 31 July	31 July^Note5	Within August
Semester 2	By 31 August	31 August^Note6	October
Summer Semester^Note2	By 31 October	31 October^Note5	December

Notes:

The “Graduation Date” would be adopted formally as the issuance date and printed in the graduates’ award certificates. The Graduation Date, as approved by AB, is irreversible and irrevocable.
Applicable to all programmes including those with a lengthened Semester 2 extending to the summer (e.g. some individual students who have outstanding courses for completion in Summer Semester to graduate.
Details of the arrangement of certificate collection will be released nearer the time by Registry.
Details of the arrangement of certificate collection for graduates of 31 March will usually be announced by the respective Faculty/Department/School within 4-6 weeks after the graduation date (i.e. 31 March).
For students of specific Taught Master programmes graduating by the end of Semester 2 with programme end date ended on or before 30 June, you are allowed to declare your Graduation Date preference (either ‘31 July’ or ‘31 October’) according to your study/ career/ employment reasons:
- The declaration arrangement will be announced by your programme office during a stipulated period (normally in April).
- Once your preference for the Graduation Date is accepted and recorded or when the declaration period (normally between mid of April to mid of May) is ended, the approved Graduation Date is irreversible and irrevocable and will be printed on your award certificate accordingly.*
  *Example: A graduate who has declared 31 July as his/her Graduation Date is not allowed to change it to 31 March or 31 October. Similarly, a graduate who has declared 31 October as his/her Graduation Date is not allowed to change it to 31 March or 31 July.
- For students who do not express their preference during the declaration period, the Graduation Date will be set according to their graduation semester, i.e. "31 July" for Semester II and "31 October" for Summer Semester.
- For any questions on the graduation schedule or programme/ academic advising needs, please approach your programme office/ department for assistance. Kindly note that any late reply on declaration of Graduation Date after the stipulated period will not be entertained. Students of Taught Master programmes who graduate in Semester 2 with programme end date between 1 to 31 July will remain to have 31 August as the Graduation Date, and the collection period of certificates will remain to be within October.
The dates listed above are based on the dates/periods by which the AB would approve the recommended graduation list for respective programmes submitted by the Faculty Board/Board of Graduate Studies according to the Grade Release Schedule announced on the Registry website.