Matriculation

Matriculation is the ceremony that marks your formal admission to the University’s academic community. The vast majority of students who are admitted to the University are required to matriculate at a ceremony in Oxford within the first three terms on course and prior to final assessment.

The College is responsible for making the arrangements for the matriculation of all its students and your College Offer Letter will have included information about what arrangements apply in your particular circumstances.

Standard arrangements

Unless otherwise advised, all students commencing study this Michaelmas term should attend the ceremony on Saturday 15 October 2022. Full details of this ceremony and instructions for arranging your attendance will be issued by the Academic Office when all conditions of admission have been met. Students who must attend a ceremony but are unable to do so on this occasion may be permitted to postpone their attendance to a later date by prior arrangement.

Students starting at a later point in the year (i.e. in Hilary or Trinity terms) who are required to matriculate in person will do so at a ceremony on either Thursday 9 March 2023 or Thursday 15 June 2023.

The matriculation ceremony is a formal occasion on which full academic dress must be worn. Following the ceremony, we invite students to join the President and Fellows for a celebration at College. The University does not allow guests to attend matriculation ceremonies and we are not normally able to accommodate them at the celebrations afterwards.

Alternative arrangements

For several years, the University has exceptionally agreed alternative arrangements for students enrolling for certain programmes of study. These arrangements are made on a by-programme basis and apply to all students joining those programmes. Exceptions from these arrangements are not permitted for individual students on such programmes.
Students joining the following programmes will not matriculate in person and will not, therefore, attend a ceremony.

  • Executive Master’s in Business Administration (“EMBA”)
  • MSc Major Programme Management
  • MSc Taxation
  • MSc Nanotechnology for Medicine and Health Care
  • MSc ​Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching
  • MSt in Practical Ethics
  • MSc Educational Assessment
  • MSc Teacher Education
  • MSc Learning and Teaching
  • MSc Medical Education

Individual exemption from attendance for previous matriculation and incorporation

Under University Statutes and Regulations students who would otherwise be required to matriculate in person are exempted from this requirement in the following circumstances:

  • If a student has previously matriculated at the University of Oxford (e.g. in order to study for an undergraduate or previous graduate degree) they cannot matriculate again. They will not, therefore, attend a ceremony.
  • If a student has previously studied at either the University of Cambridge or at Trinity College, Dublin, and obtained one of a specific list of degrees as a result, they may choose to incorporate. Students choosing to incorporate are deemed to matriculate at the same time and, therefore, do not attend the matriculation ceremony. Please note that students incorporating may be charged a fee by the University.

Please note that individual exemption must be confirmed in advance by the Academic Office to ensure that the exemption is valid.

Exceptional arrangements

If you feel it will be impossible to attend a matriculation ceremony in person, please discuss this with the Academic Office academic.office@kellogg.ox.ac.uk who will be able to advise you whether an exceptional application may be made by College to Education Committee. Please note you should endeavour to attend matriculation (if required in person) as failing to matriculate will jeopardise your studies.

Updated on: 14/07/2022