Conferment ceremony history and traditions

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

The presenter is the person who gives the insignia to the new doctoral graduates. 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.

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 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.

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).