Award Certificate and Commencement
I. Graduation Date
While students can complete their research programme requirements at various times of the year, the University has three official graduation dates every year when students are considered to have formally graduated from the University.
To facilitate students to plan ahead their thesis submission and examination in order to be eligible for the graduation and degree conferment at the Commencement, please note the following indicative dates:
| Submission of Thesis for Examination to SGS | Completion of Examination Process# | University Graduation Date | Commencement Year |
| By the end of September 2023 | By the end of first week of January 2024 | 1 February 2024 | 2024 Commencement |
| By the end of January 2024 | By the end of first week of May 2024 | 3 June 2024 | |
| By the end of May 2024 | By the end of first week of September 2024 | 2 October 2024 | 2025 Commencement (To be confirmed) |
# The examination process includes thesis assessment, oral examination, subsequent revisions to thesis, if applicable, and College/School approval for MPhil/PhD award.
Under normal circumstances, it takes about three months to complete the examination process. In case of unexpected circumstances, or for students who are required to revise their theses by the Panel of Examiners, the examination period will take longer.
II. Collection of Award Certificate
Normally, the award certificates will be ready for collection in March, July and November. Graduates will be informed by email of the start date for collecting their award certificates at the SGS Research Degree and Professional Doctorate Service Counter
a) Documents Required for Collection
If collected by yourself in person:
- Collection email
- Your CityUHK Student Identity Card / HKID Card / passport
If collected by your authorized representative, your authorized representative will be required to produce the following items:
- Your Student Identity Card for returning it to SGS; and
- Proof of Authorization by either of the following means:
- Providing the “Acknowledgment of Authorization Letter Submission” generated from AIMS and your authorized representative’s ID document for verification purpose, if you have already submitted the information of your authorized representative via AIMS.
[Note: Please follow the path stated below to enter the information as required, including the identification information of the authorized representative, submit it via AIMS, and then an “Acknowledgment of Authorization Letter Submission” will be generated: AIMS → Student Record → My Applications (for Professional Doctorate and Research Degree Programmes) → Authorization Letter]; or - Providing a signed authorization letter with your name, student number, and your representative’s name and HKID Card/Passport number (Please see the sample letter in SGS website), if the identification information of your authorized representative has NOT been submitted via AIMS beforehand.
- Providing the “Acknowledgment of Authorization Letter Submission” generated from AIMS and your authorized representative’s ID document for verification purpose, if you have already submitted the information of your authorized representative via AIMS.
If delivered by registered mail *:
- A completed application form
- A photocopy of your HKID Card/passport
- Application fee (HK$50 for local address / HK$100 for mainland address / HK$120 for overseas address)
* As the award certificate will be sent to you by registered mail via Hongkong Post, no P.O. Box address will be accepted. The University will not be responsible for any mishandling of mail and no replacement award certificate will be issued.
b) Clearance of Outstanding Matters before Collection
Students must clear all outstanding matters with the University (e.g. tuition fees, Library fines/loans, student loans, etc.) before collecting their award certificates. Students who have not cleared all outstanding matters will NOT be allowed to collect the award certificate.
c) Online Survey on the Satisfaction of Research Postgraduate Graduate
We would like to invite our graduates to spare 5 minutes to complete the Online Survey on the Satisfaction of Research Postgraduate Graduate (https://cityuhk.questionpro.com/graduatesatisfaction). The Survey aims to evaluate our graduates’ satisfaction with various aspects of research degree studies in CityUHK. Your experiences and comments will be of essential reference to our review and enhancement of research degree education.
We strongly advise graduates to complete the Survey at their earliest convenience and before coming to SGS to collect their award certificates.
d) Deadline for Collection
Graduates should collect their award certificates on or before 31 December of the following year after graduation. (For example, for graduates of 2020/21 should collect their award certificates on or before 31 December 2022.) Uncollected award certificates may be destroyed after the said date.
III. Replacement Award Certificate
The award certificate issued by the University is a unique document. A graduate is only permitted to retain ONE award certificate, including replacement award certificate, for each academic qualification he/she is conferred by the University. Graduates may apply for a replacement award certificate under the following circumstances:
- permanently loss or damage of the original award certificate;
- update of name in the case of a legal name change; or
- original award certificate was not collected within the period prescribed by the University.
a) How to Apply
Please send an e-mail to sg@cityu.edu.hk for enquiries about the application procedures.
b) Fees Chargeable
The application fee for each replacement award certificate is HK$500 (including postage by registered mail).
IV. College/School Commencement 2024
The University is pleased to announce that the College/School Commencement 2024 will be held during 12-21 June 2024 on campus. Graduates of Summer Term 2023 and Semester A 2023/24, as well as students who are expected to graduate in Semester B 2023/24 will be invited to attend the Commencement. Potential graduates of Semester B 2023/24 whose academic award cannot be confirmed by 3 June 2024 will be excluded from the Commencement 2024 and will receive an invitation again for the appropriate year of Commencement.
Key dates for the Commencement 2024 are given below:
| Activity | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Attendance Registration | 26 April - 15 May 2024 |
| Collection of Academic Dress | 1 May - 21 June 2024 |
| College/School Commencement | 12 - 21 June 2024 |
Information for Graduates
Students/graduates concerned will be informed of the details of attendance registration, academic dress rental service, admission tickets, etc. in late April 2024. Please stay tuned to our Commencement website from time to time for new updates.