Convocation FAQ

Students who complete their degree requirements by the end of the Summer 2026 term and are faculty-approved for graduation are eligible to attend the Fall 2026 Convocation ceremonies.

Please refer to the deadlines on the Apply to Graduate page, for further details.

No, students do not need to register to attend convocation and you do not need to confirm your presence; however, you must have applied to graduate and be faculty-approved for graduation in order to partake in the ceremony, and you will need to reserve academic regalia once the regalia reservation form is open.

The Fall 2026 Convocation ceremonies are ticketed events. More details about tickets will be available soon.

You should plan to arrive with your regalia and line-up card at the Convocation venue at least one hour and a half before your ceremony is scheduled to start. Please see the On Convocation Day page for more details.

You attend the convocation ceremony that corresponds to the major listed FIRST on your unofficial transcript in Minerva.

If you would rather attend the ceremony of your current second major, you must change the order of your majors in Minerva by the deadline.

Your preferred name (as it appears on Minerva) will appear in the Convocation program, on your line-up card and will be read aloud at Convocation. Your legal name will be used on your diploma parchment. Make sure to verify the information in Minerva by the deadline.

Our office is not responsible for graduate portraits or graduation mosaic photos. Please contact the Student’s Society of McGill for information on this.

Graduation is the term used to acknowledge the completion of degree requirements. Once you have successfully completed your degree requirements and been approved by Senate to graduate your transcript will indicate a 'degree granted' notation. Convocation is the ceremony at which the Chancellor or his delegate confers the degree and you receive your parchment.

Each graduate can purchase up to 4 guest tickets ($25 +tax / ticket). More details about purchasing guest tickets will be available soon.

Graduating students will receive an email with the link to the ticket system closer to the date of the ceremonies. They will be able to purchase up to four (4) guest tickets ($25 + tax / ticket). 

Any child that will require a seat at the Convocation venue must have a guest ticket. Infants that are less than two years old and will be sitting on an adult's lap will require a special "infant" ticket. Infant tickets are free of charge and can be requested when you pick up your lineup card.

The cost for each guest ticket is $25 + tax. 

Tickets are transferrable but only for the same ceremony. For example, if one graduate purchases all four of their guest tickets for a ceremony, but only requires two, they can e-transfer their other two tickets to a friend (or whomever they wish) attending the same ceremony. Please keep in mind that each ticket can only be scanned once.

Yes. If available, graduates can purchase additional guest tickets closer to the ceremony date.

McGill does not issue formal invitation letters for Convocation, however, you can use the Fall 2026 Convocation Date letter to make your Canadian visa request. 

Convocation is committed to being as accessible and barrier-free as possible for students, faculty, and guests. Please refer to our Getting to the Venue page for more details about the venue. For complete accessibility details at Fall Convocation, please visit the Place des Arts website. Please let us know if you or any of your guests have any accessibility needs or require accommodations to participate by filling out the Request for Accessibility Accommodation Form.

Graduates do not need to register their guests, however they need to purchase tickets for their guests and share them prior to the ceremony. Tickets will be general admission (i.e. no assigned seats), and seating will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

No, they do not. Only guests with a valid ticket will be allowed to enter the Convocation venue.

Approximately one hour before the ceremony begins. Graduands begin to enter the venue approximately 30 minutes before the ceremony begins, announcements and videos are played before the arrival of the platform party and the start of the ceremony.

The link to the livesteam will be posted on the Schedule of Ceremonies page the day of the ceremony.

Your legal name will appear on your diploma. Make sure to verify the information in Minerva by the deadline.

The date of your Convocation ceremony is the date that will appear on your parchment.

For students who complete their degree requirements by the end of August 2026 and are approved for graduation, “Degree granted” will appear on their transcript on October 8, 2026.

Your diploma will be given to you during your convocation ceremony. If you do not attend your ceremony, you can receive your diploma in person or by mail after it has concluded. Please visit the Diplomas page for further information.

Please note that diplomas are not available before the convocation ceremony.

After your scheduled ceremony has concluded, you can request to pick up your diploma from Service Point, or have it mailed to you. Please see the diplomas page for more details.

Please note that diplomas are not available before the convocation ceremony.

As soon as “Degree granted” shows on your transcript, you can generate a Confirmation of Graduation letter in Minerva. Alternatively, students may order an official electronic transcript (eTranscript) in Minerva. The eTranscript is sent to recipients in as little as 15 minutes and is available to order 24/7. 

Digital diplomas are issued via the MyCreds™ platform for all students who graduated as of Spring 2026 or later.

You will receive an email with a link from the MyCreds™ platform (noreply [at] mycreds.ca) once your digital diploma is available. The projected release date for digital diplomas for Spring 2026 graduates is early July 2026.

No, digital diplomas are free of charge. You will not need to purchase any share credits to view and/or share your digital diploma with a third party recipient via the MyCreds™ platform.

If you graduated in or after Spring 2026, a digital diploma will be issued to you via MyCreds™ after the conclusion of the Convocation ceremonies. You do not need to submit an order.

If you do not authorize McGill to share information, you must review the consent statement and complete an opposition form by:

• April 15 for Spring Convocation ceremonies
• September 15 for Fall Convocation ceremonies

Yes, documents shared through MyCreds™ contain digital signatures. When students/alumni share their documents with third parties through the portal, these digital signatures ensure their authenticity as a document issued by McGill University.

Digital diplomas are only available as of Spring 2026 for degrees granted as of February and May/June 2026.

Starting with Spring 2026, all McGill diplomas, with the exception of the EMBA degree, will be issued in English only.

Starting with Spring 2026, all McGill diplomas, with the exception of the EMBA degree, will be issued in English, this includes replacement copies of diplomas previously issued in Latin.

The regalia reservation form will be available closer to the date of the ceremonies. The link will be published on the Academic Regalia, Line-up Card and Guests page.

The regalia company will have a limited number of extra caps and gowns available for on-site reservation on a first-come, first-served basis, and at higher rates. In such cases, show up early the day when regalia pickup opens for your ceremony, and you will have to pay the rental fee on-site. Please refer to the pick-up schedule to determine when you will be able to go reserve your regalia on-site.

Graduates will not be able to cross the stage without regalia and their line-up card.

You may authorize someone else to pick up your regalia and line-up card by completing this 3rd Party Authorization webform. The person picking up your regalia and line-up card must provide government-issued photo ID.

For Fall Convocation ceremonies, please contact convocation [at] mcgill.ca with your student ID number.

For Spring Convocation ceremonies, first make sure you have selected the correct campus (Downtown/Macdonald) for your ceremony. If you have selected the right campus and are still getting an error message, please contact convocation [at] mcgill.ca with your student ID number.

Students receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees will receive a black gown, a hood that corresponds to their program, and a black mortarboard cap. Students receiving a certificate or diploma receive only a gown and black mortarboard cap. Doctorate graduates will receive a red gown and hood with lining that corresponds to their degree/program, and a black Beefeater hat.  See McGill University's Academic Regalia for more information.

Yes, Indigenous students crossing the stage who wish to wear their traditional Indigenous regalia instead of the McGill gown are welcome to do so. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis graduates may also wear their graduation scarves with their academic regalia. They are encouraged to wear or carry their hood, the colour of which corresponds to the academic degree earned, as a symbol recognizing their entry into a community of scholars.

The hood should be worn with the strap around the neck, not around the shoulders. The silk lining of the flat part of the hood should face inwards against the back and the silk lining of the hood strap should be against your neck. You can tuck the hood strap under a tie if you wear one.

You regalia will cover you from the neck to mid-calf. There is no formal dress code, but most graduates choose business casual or semi-formal attire. Dress for the weather on your convocation day, and when selecting footwear, be conscious of the fact that you may be standing for extended periods and walking on gravel. Please also avoid bringing bags or purses into the venue.

Line-up cards are automatically generated for graduating students and lists their preferred name, degree, and any honours awarded (e.g. Dean's Honour List, Distinction). The information on the card will be read by the convocation orator as graduates cross the stage at the ceremony. The card must be picked up prior to your convocation ceremony, along with your regalia. 

No, line-up cards are generated for every graduating student.

Line-up cards are picked up at the same location as the regalia. Please refer to the pick-up schedule. The schedule for Fall 2026 Convocation will be available by mid-August 2026.

Your preferred name as it appears on Minerva will be used for the lineup card. If you do not have a preferred name on Minerva, your legal name will be used. Please note that middle names do not appear on the lineup card.

Convocation awards and prizes will display in the Convocation program but not on the line-up card. Convocation awards and prizes that have been approved by Senate also display on your transcript. Convocation honours (e.g. Dean's Honour List, Distinction) will be read at the ceremony, will display on your line-up card but do not appear in the Convocation program. Honours also display on your transcript.

Please see our Apply to Graduate page for deadlines. If you miss a deadline, contact your faculty's Student Affairs Office as soon as possible to find out what to do next.

Students in the Faculties of Arts or Science must complete a Graduation Term Change Request form.

If you missed this deadline, your diploma would include the legal name that is on your student file, and the program will include your preferred name, if you have one. If your legal name has changed, after Convocation, you may submit a name change request. Once the name change has been processed, you can submit a request for a replacement diploma.

You must attend the ceremony of your first major listed in Minerva.