The doctoral degree conferment ceremony

Departure from the Main University Building

At exactly 12 noon, the doors of the Main University Building open, marking the start of the procession. The doctoral graduands – also known as promovendi – walk through Lundagård park to Lund Cathedral. The chief of protocol leads the procession together with ceremonial officers.

Return and graduation photography

After the ceremony, the procession returns to the Main University Building, where graduates are photographed with their academic insignia.

The ceremony usually lasts approximately three hours. Apart from the vice-chancellor’s introductory speech and the doctors’ oration, delivered in Swedish, the ceremony is held entirely in Latin.

Welcome and opening speech

After everyone has taken their seats, the vice-chancellor welcomes participants and guests to the ceremony with an opening speech.

Degree conferment order

The doctoral graduates get their diplomas in the following order:

• Faculty of Theology
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts
• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• School of Economics and Management
• Faculty of Science.

Honorary tribute: cannon salute

The Wende Artillery Regiment conducts a cannon salute as a tribute to the doctors:

• two shots for presenters and jubilee doctors
• one shot for honorary doctors
• three shots for the new doctors of each faculty.

Doctor’s oration

After the degrees have been conferred, one of the new doctors delivers a speech – an oration – to the University.

Concluding prayer

The ceremony ends with a prayer led by the bishop.

The celebrations continue in the evening with a formal dinner in the Great Hall of the Academic Society (AF) building. Nearly 500 people usually attend the dinner. These include the new graduates and the jubilee and honorary doctors with their family members, invited honorary guests and lecturers.

Original faculties and modern structure

In the University’s early years, there were only four faculties:

• Faculty of Theology
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Philosophy.

Today, the University has expanded to include nine faculties. Three of the original faculties, Theology, Law, and Medicine, still exist and keep their original names. The historical Faculty of Philosophy has evolved into four separate faculties:

• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• School of Economics and Management
• Faculty of Science.

Additionally, two new faculties have been established:

• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts.

Ceremonial tradition

For ceremonial purposes, the current nine faculties are still grouped according to the original four-faculty structure. The ceremony traditionally begins with the graduates from Theology, Law, and Medicine, once known collectively as the 'higher faculties', receiving their diplomas first.

The insignia are honorary symbols associated with the doctoral degree. Certain symbols, such as the book and sword, are no longer used. However, several insignia continue to hold an essential place in the tradition:

• the doctoral hat
• the laurel wreath
• the ring
• the diploma.

Presentation of insignia and Latin phrases

During the ceremony, each insignia is presented together with traditional Latin phrases:

• Salve! – Greetings!
• Accipe pileum, insigne libertatis! – Receive this hat, symbol of freedom!
• Ecce anulus, sincerae fidei pignus! – See this ring, pledge of true faith!
• Ecce diploma, doctrinae virtutisque testimonium! – See this diploma, testimony to learning and merit!
• Vale! Praeclarissime Doctor! – Farewell, most brilliant doctor!

Laurel wreath tradition

Graduates from faculties originating from the historical Faculty of Philosophy receive a laurel wreath instead of the doctoral hat. The laurel wreaths are brought into the cathedral by 'wreath-bearers' – children dressed in white who represent the nine muses. They arrive at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage.

The laurel wreath is presented with the Latin phrase:

• Accipe lauream! – Receive this laurel!

Variations in the ceremony

The ritual varies slightly depending on the type of doctor. Those graduating after completing examinations experience a shorter ceremony compared to honorary and jubilee doctors.

The presenter is the person who gives the insignia to the new doctoral graduates. The presenters themselves hold doctoral degrees, making them part of a symbolic academic tradition.

During the ceremony, the presenter places the hat or a wreath on the graduate's head and says a traditional phrase in Latin, for example:

• "Ego NN, ipse iuris doctor" – meaning, "I, NN, myself a doctor of law…"

This phrase shows that the new graduate is now officially part of the academic tradition.

Shared presenter tradition

The following faculties share the same presenter: 

• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• School of Economics and Management
• Faculty of Science.

This tradition exists because these faculties originally belonged to the historical Faculty of Philosophy.

Crossing the Parnassus

One of the ceremony's most important moments is when the presenter leads the doctoral graduand across a podium called the Parnassus. This act is a symbol for the graduate’s right to teach at the academic level.

The Parnassus podium represents Mount Parnassus, the mythical home of the Greek gods, and is traditionally seen as a symbol of learning, inspiration, and scholarly achievement.

Honorary doctors

The doctoral degree conferment ceremony is also an occasion for the faculties to honour highly deserving researchers from other universities and other members of the public, by appointing them honorary doctors ('doctor honoris causa' in Latin).

Honorary doctors are people who have made a significant contribution to the University or to society. This is a way for faculties to recognise them and associate them with their research community. Although honorary doctors are often academics from other universities, they can also come from outside academia.

Jubilee doctors

As a tribute to previous generations, the ceremony also celebrates those who obtained their doctoral degrees fifty years ago, by awarding them them the title of jubilee doctor ('doctor jubilaris' in Latin).

The vice-chancellor’s chain was a gift to the University from King Oscar II in 1882, marking the opening of the Main University Building. It features symbols of the original four faculties and a medallion with the king’s image on one side. The reverse shows the university seal. Older sources and images show how the medallion used to be worn with the king's portrait showing, but at some point in recent times the medallion has been remounted to display the university seal instead.

The chain is similar to one given to Uppsala University by the same king. Both chains were probably also created by the same designer, architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander, and goldsmith, C. F. Carlman. The medallions hanging from the chain are created by different engravers: A. Lindberg for Uppsala and Lea Ahlborn for Lund. In Uppsala, the medallion is worn with the king’s portrait showing. 

'Absens' is Latin for absent. It refers to a promovendus being awarded their degree without attending the ceremony. This is known as receiving the degree 'in absentia'. During the ceremony, the person’s name is read aloud, followed by the word 'absens'.

The term refers to someone who has earned their doctoral degree by completing a programme of research studies. This is different from honorary or jubilee doctors. The Latin term for a new doctoral graduate is 'doctor iuvenis'. In plural, new doctoral graduates are referred to as 'doctores iuvenes'.

Gowns refer to the black robes worn by presenters, deans, and professors at the ceremony and other academic ceremonial events. The lapels are decorated with braiding in the faculty’s colours: 

• purple – Faculty of Theology
• blue – Faculty of Law
• green – Faculty of Medicine
• red/white – Faculty of Engineering
• red/yellow – Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts
• red – Faculties belong to the former Faculty of Philosophy (Humanities, Social Sciences, Economics and Science).

Many marshals help during the ceremony. They take part in the procession and wear sashes in the colours of their respective faculties:

• purple – Faculty of Theology
• blue – Faculty of Law
• green – Faculty of Medicine
• red/white – Faculty of Engineering
• red/yellow – Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts
• red – Faculties belong to the former Faculty of Philosophy (Humanities, Social Sciences, Economics and Science).

Student marshals assist in the cathedral, wearing blue and white sashes.

Two proctors, dressed in blue, walk ahead of the vice-chancellor in the procession and sit at the front during the ceremony. They are the vice-chancellor’s honorary guards and carry ceremonial sceptres given to the University at its inauguration in 1668. The two sceptres are inscribed with the Latin phrases 'Sapientia humana' and 'Sapientia divina' respectively, meaning 'human wisdom' and 'divine wisdom'.

'Promovendus' or 'promovenda' refers to a person about to receive a doctoral degree. The plural is 'promovendi'.

Once the degree is awarded, they are referred to as 'promotus' or 'promota', with the plural 'promoti'.