Graduation

Please note that these are general guidelines and your final project may be subjected to additional requirements.

• Concise summary of all parts (if applicable at the moment of presenting), in which subject and research design (criteria a – c) are discussed briefly, and the most important findings and its relevance (criteria d and e) more elaborately:

1. Introduction to research question with clear motivation of relevance;
2. Concise explanation of used concepts and theories;
3. Concise explanation of research design;
4. Structured presentation of findings in a way that fits the chosen topic (e.g. tables, relevant statistical measures, quotes from interviews, examples);
5. Subsequent conclusion and discussion in which the own research is reflected upon (e.g. the useability of the theoretical perspective, the pros and cons of the research design, the interpretation of the results in light of POAS theory and practice);

• Structured and clear presentation of the research, with slides that support the oral presentation;
• Appropriate and convincing way of presenting which clearly involves the audience (e.g. by means of a calm speaking pace, making eye contact with the audience, giving summaries of different parts);
• Adequate answering of questions and contribution to the discussion following the presentation.

On the last business day of the month at 09.00 AM, the Board of Examiners will review all the examinations of the students that qualify for graduation according to OSIRIS. Students who can graduate at this point will receive word. In this email, the Board of Examiners will confirm your official graduation date. You will also receive information on collecting your diploma, how to un-enroll from your degree programme and how to end your student financial assistance, including your student travel product.

If you believe you quality for graduation, but have not yet received word from the Board of Examiners, please send them an email. 

Do you not wish to graduate yet? In some cases it is possible to delay graduation (see below).

Your official graduation date is the last business day of the month in which your last study result was registered in OSIRIS. You have to be enrolled as a UU student up until this graduation date. You can see for yourself what date will be your graduation date, but it is the Board of Examiner's message that formally confirms it. 

When you see in OSIRIS that all your results have been registered, you can unenroll, as you will know that you will graduate that same month. The Board of Examiners will review the examinations of all Master's students that qualify for graduation at 09.00 AM on the set graduation date each month.

Graduation dates for the academic year 2025-2026 will be published soon.

Please note: in July and August, the Board of Examiners will check whether students meet the graduation requirements weekly to give as many students as possible the opportunity to graduate within the current academic year.

For the Master's Programmes, there are two annual graduation ceremonies. One takes place in May and the other in October/November. 

In the email you will receive upon graduating, you can find a link to an online form. Here you can confirm how you want to collect your diploma.

Collecting your diploma

If you confirm you want to come collect your diploma, you will receive a message regarding where and from what point onwards you can do so.

Attending a graduation ceremony

If you confirm you want to attend the graduation ceremony, you will receive an invite to this ceremony with all the relevant details.

The Department of Governance employs a thesis archive in which your thesis will be stored for seven years following your graduation. This is due to the need for an external accreditation committee to be able to request your thesis, as a part of the of the re-accreditation process of the Master's programmes.

It is possible to upload two versions of your thesis, one for the archive and one for publication. The archived thesis will not be publicly available. If you upload only one version, this version will be both archived and published.

In order to upload your thesis, please go to OSIRIS Student and follow the instructions. Please do so as soon as your have received your thesis grade. You can only collect your diploma after your thesis has been archived.

The Department of Governance would love to how you would review your Master's programme. Therefore we ask you to fill in a programme evaluation in which you can express all your opinions about the programme. By doing you, you help future Master's students. In the  email you receive upon graduation and in the online form you can find links to the programme evaluation. The Department of Governance would greatly appreciate you completing this evaluation. 

Do you want to delay your graduation? You can request a delay within two weeks of receiving your graduation confirmation from the Board of Examiners. 

Your request will certainly be granted if

• You occupy a position in a student board for which you are entitled to financial compensation from Utrecht University
• You want to do an internship or follow extra courses abroad

Request is granted

When you are allowed to delay your graduation, you will receive word. This will confirm how long you are allowed to delay graduating. After this date, you will again receive a message from the Board of Examiners to confirm that you have met all the graduation requirements. They will also let you know what your new graduation date will be. 

Request is denied

If you are not allowed to delay graduation, you will also receive word. You will subsequently graduate on the date that the Board of Examiners communicated to you prior. 

If you have a DigiD and graduated after 1995, you can obtain certification of your graduation directly from the DUO diploma registry (only available in Dutch). If you don’t have a DigiD, or if you graduated before 1995, you can request certification of your graduation via this online form. Read more about verification of education.

Do you want to keep contact with alumni of Utrecht University?

• The Utrecht University Fund is the University’s alumni organisation. The fund runs events and activities for graduates of Utrecht University and supports the student experience by funding activities by and for students.
• Are you a recent graduate? Stay up-to-date on all activities for alumni.