Six years and one term after matriculating, a Bachelor of Arts is entitled to take his or her Master of Arts degree, either in person or in absence, provided that two years have elapsed since the BA degree was awarded.
Traditionally, newly eligible alumni return to receive their MA degrees in March, six years and one term after their matriculation to the College.
The Praelector’s Secretary will contact all those who become eligible each year in January by email, and invite them to attend the Congregation in March.
- If you confirm with the Praelector’s Secretary that you wish to graduate at the March MA ceremony, and follow the subsequent instructions, your Senate House tickets will be sent out accordingly. (Note: you have the option to take up your MA in person, or in absentia, in which case a different process will follow. Please let the Praelector's Secretary know of your intention).
- If, for any reason, you cannot attend the March ceremony you were invited to, you must let the Praelector's Secretary know by return of the email.
Once you have notified the College of this intention, you may apply to proceed at another ceremony by filling in this form and selecting the 'MA' option.
Please note that you may not be in the company of other MA graduands from St Catharine's if you elect to take up the MA in a different ceremony, as typically most alumni choose to do so in March.
If you have not heard from the College and you believe you are eligible to take up your MA, please contact .tutorial@caths.cam.ac.uk
If you are quite overdue to take your MA and therefore haven't been contacted in recent years by the College, you are invited to apply directly to proceed at another ceremony, either in person or in absentia. To do so, fill out this form and select the 'MA' option. A list of available ceremonies will appear.
Eve of MA Dinner
A special dinner is traditionally* arranged for MA Graduands the evening before the MA Ceremony, by the Alumni and Development Office.
This is known as the 'Eve of MA Dinner' or 'MA Dinner'. You will usually be separately invited to this, by the Office directly.
*Please note that in recent years the date of the 'MA Dinner' has varied in accordance with the College's calendar, particularly while catching up from the knock-on effect of postponed events and graduations during the pandemic.
