For doctors wishing to be conferred in 2023

Before the Spring Graduation Ceremony

Reserve seats for your guests at the ceremony (for special reasons)

At the ceremony, there is free seating for the audience and hearing loops are available throughout the auditorium. However, you can reserve seats for guests with disabilities or guests with young children. 

Send an e-mail to promotion@umu.se with the number of seats and where you guests need to sit, for instance close to the exit, in the beginning of a row, avoid stairs or need of elevator.

Guests with young children will be seated near an exit. Please state age and if a stroller will be used. Please note however, that we do recommend that young children, if possible, stay at home.

Free cancellation for the banquet must be made no later than 5 May

Free cancellation for the banquet must be made to promotion@umu.se no later than 5 May. After that, you will be charged the fee for the banquet.

Make sure you hire, borrow or buy your doctoral insignia

If you belong to the Faculty of Medicine, you will be conferred with a doctoral hat. You must acquire this hat yourself by borrowing, buying or hiring. You must bring the doctoral hat to the rehearsal. 

If you belong to one of the other faculties, you will be conferred with a laurel wreath. No measurement is needed as the wreath is adjustable. You will be charged SEK 525 for the laurel wreath, which will be invoiced after the event. You will get to try the wreath on after the rehearsal.

Read more about the doctoral hat, the laurel wreath and other doctoral insignia and how to acquire them. 

Prepare your attire according to the dress code

The Graduation Ceremony requires a certain dress code for guests of honour, but also for your guests. This means that you need to wear formal attire for some of the events. You can purchase, hire or borrow clothes. Please make sure to prepare in ample time before the Spring Graduation.

Learn what dress codes apply for each event.

Mandatory and optional events related to the Spring Graduation

• Anyone being conferred must attend the rehearsal, the Procession Reception and the Spring Graduation Ceremony described in more detail below.
• Other events are optional. When you register, you may choose if you want to attend the Vice-Chancellor’s Reception and the Spring Banquet. This is also where you register any potential guests you would like to bring.
• Award recipients’ presentations and pedagogical conversations are open to everyone and no prior registration is needed.

Potential costs and other practical issues

The faculty will pay for you and one accompanying guest to attend the Spring Banquet. For additional guests, you need to cover the cost of their cover charge: SEK 850 per adult and SEK 650 per child under the age of 18. After the Spring Graduation, you will receive an invoice of these costs to the address you have stated in your registration.

If you wish to purchase a doctoral hat, you need to cover the cost of the hat yourself. You can also hire a hat or borrow one from someone who has been conferred previously.

Anyone conferred with a laurel wreath will be invoiced SEK 525 after the Spring Graduation.

Read more about the doctoral hat and laurel wreath.

If you and your guests need to obtain clothing suitable to the dress code, pay for travel or accommodation, you need to cover those costs yourself.

Ceremony programme

The ceremony programme (in Swedish)

These events take place on Friday, 12 May

AWARD RECIPIENTS’ PRESENTATIONS AND PEDAGOGICAL CONVERSATIONS 
At 08:30–12:00 in Vardagsrummet, the Humanities Building
No dress code 

The Spring Graduation starts with the award recipients’ presentations and pedagogical conversations led by a moderator. The pedagogical conversations will be broadcast on live.umu.se.

The presentations and conversations are open to the public, which means that also doctors being conferred are welcome to listen.

REHEARSAL 
At 13:30–15:30 in Aula Nordica 
No dress code

During the rehearsal, you will find out where you will walk in the procession and where you will be seated on stage during the Ceremony. Some doctors and award recipients will practice their conferment or award ceremony. It is mandatory to participate in the rehearsal for all doctors being conferred and all award recipients participating in the Ceremony. Coffee will be served.

Doctors at the Faculty of Medicine must bring your doctoral hat to the rehearsal. 
Doctors at other faculties will try out your laurel wreath after the rehearsal.

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S RECEPTION
At 18:00–20:00 at P5, Väven in central Umeå 
Dress code: Business casual 

The Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University invites doctors, award recipients and jubilee doctors to a night of mingling the day before the Spring Graduation Ceremony. You are welcome to bring one guest but registration is needed. Sparkling wine and snacks are served.

These events take place on Saturday, 13 May

PROCESSION RECEPTION 
At 15:00 outside Restaurant Hjortron in Universum 
Dress code: Formal attire 

At the mandatory procession reception, doctors, award recipients and jubilee doctors attending the ceremony get a chance to meet other guests before lining up for the procession into Aula Nordica.

Your guests will not attend the procession reception but are instead welcome to mingle with other guests before taking their seats in the auditorium around 15:30 when the doors open. 

SPRING GRADUATION CEREMONY 
At 16:00 in Aula Nordica
Dress code for doctors: Formal attire 

The Spring Graduation Ceremony starts by doctors, award recipients and jubilee doctors walking in procession to their seats on stage, where you will remain during the ceremony.

Firstly, jubilee doctors and doctors will be conferred faculty-wise by receiving their doctoral insignia. Secondly, the award recipients receive their awards. The ceremony is open to the public and will generally take between 1.5 and 2 hours.

Your guests will be seated in the auditorium. Seating is free, apart from some reserved seats for guests with special needs or with young children. Please note that we do not recommend that young children attend the ceremony, if possible.

About the conferment ceremony and the programme publication

The so-called conferment (from the Latin promovere, which means ‘to promote’) symbolises that the doctor has the right to conduct academic teaching.

The conferment takes place on stage in the Aula Nordica auditorium. The new doctor will be greeted with a handshake by the faculty conferrer. The conferrer will hand over the insignia to the doctor and will then lead the doctor through the parnassus – leaf-covered rails symbolising a small bridge. The doctor will receive applause from the audience and return to their seat on stage.

Before the Ceremony, the audience will receive a programme publication. This publication presents all doctors who are conferred and includes name, degree, title of the doctoral thesis and subject. The publication will be in Swedish, but titles of the doctoral thesis will be presented in their original language.

Example:
CARINA KÄLLESTÅHL 
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Dental Science 
Doctoral thesis: Periodontal conditions in Swedish adolescents
Subject: Pediatric dentistry

SPRING BANQUET 
At 18:00 in Restaurant Lingon, Universum 
Dress code: Formal attire or dark business attire 

The Spring Banquet starts with a welcome drink straight after the Ceremony.You and your guests will be seated together. Starter, main course and dessert will be served with wine or non-alcoholic options. Pre-registered speeches will be held over the course of the evening. After coffee is served, the dance floor opens up to music by Renhornen. 

Dress code

This information explains what the different dress codes mean. If you have questions regarding the dress code, please contact promotion@umu.se.

Business casual 
Dress code at the Vice-Chancellor's Reception

You and your guest attending the Vice-Chancellor’s Reception must wear:

• Suit or a jacket with trousers (not jeans) with a white or discreetly-coloured shirt, a bow tie or a tie. The suit or jacket may be light or dark;
• Dress, skirt or trouser suit. The dress or skirt length is short, which means below the knee; or
• A trouser suit should be more elegant that everyday wear. 

Formal attire
Dress code during the Procession Reception and Ceremony 

You must wear:

• A long dress or skirt with a top in any colour. The dress or skirt length must be floor-length;
• Black tails with a white shirt, white bow tie and a white waistcoat;
• Academic gown; or
• Formal national costume or folk costume. 

Any headgear matching your outfit must not be worn during the procession or the Ceremony. You may wear one or several decorations.

If you have guests only attending the Spring Graduation Ceremony, but not the Spring Banquet, these guests do not need to follow any dress code. However, those of your guests who will attend the Spring Banquet are recommended to dress according to the Spring Banquet dress code for the Ceremony too.

Formal attire or dark business attire
Dress code at the Spring Banquet

All guests attending the Spring Banquet must wear:

• Long, ankle-length or short (below the knee) dress or skirt more elegant than everyday wear;
• Black tails with a white shirt, white waistcoat and white bow tie;
• Dark business attire with a white shirt and tie or bow tie. The suit may be dark blue, dark grey, dark green or dark brown;
• Folk or national costume; or
• Academic gown. 

Children may wear a fancy dress or only a white shirt (suitably with a tie or bow tie) and trousers. 

You may wear one or several decorations. Only promoters, doctors and jubilee doctors of the Faculty of Medicine who have participated in the  ceremony wear doctoral hats.

Doctoral insignia

Doctoral insignia are the symbolic items awarded the doctor at the doctoral conferment: a doctoral hat or laurel wreath, doctoral ring and diploma. Doctors at the Faculty of Medicine are conferred with a doctoral hat and doctors from other faculties are conferred with a laurel wreath.

Doctoral hat

The doctoral hat stands for academic freedom and power. Pleated and black, it carries the emblem of the recipient’s faculty, custom-designed for Umeå University. Only doctors from the Faculty of Medicine are conferred with a doctoral hat.

Borrow a hat

You can borrow a hat from someone who has been conferred previously. Ask your colleagues or friends about this in ample time. A black doctoral hat from other university is also acceptable.

Hiring a hat 

Umeå Medical and Health Sciences Student Union owns 23 doctoral hats that current or previous members of the student union can hire for the Spring Graduation Ceremony. 

Most hats are already spoken for, but there may be some hats left in sizes 54, 57 and 58. Please contact kansli@medicinska.se. 

The hat can be picked up at Kårhuset Villan the week prior to the Spring Graduation. To hire a hat, you must pay a SEK 500 deposit in cash. The deposit will be paid back when you return the hat the week after the Spring Graduation, on condition that the hat is returned undamaged.

Buy a hat

You can buy a doctoral hat at your own expense. Contact promotion@umu.se if you wish to know what hat suppliers are available.

Hat emblem

When Umeå University was founded, there were three faculties: Faculty of Odontology, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Philosophy. As a result, there are three different hat emblems. Nowadays, only doctors at the Faculty of Medicine wear a hat at the conferment ceremony. Doctors at the other faculties are conferred wearing a laurel wreath, but they can purchase a doctoral hat with an emblem to use at later festive events. In that case, choose model according to this:

• Medicine doctoral hat: for all doctors at the Faculty of Medicine, beside those with a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Dental Science.
• Odontology doctoral hat: for doctors at the Faculty of Medicine who carry a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Dental Science.
• Philosophy doctoral hat: for doctors at the faculties of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences or Science and Technology.

Laurel wreath 

The laurel wreath is a symbol of academic freedom, and is an ancient tradition. All doctors from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Umeå University are conferred with a laurel wreath.

Umeå University will order laurel wreaths for all doctors who will be conferred with a laurel wreath. The cost, currently SEK 525, will be invoiced to the doctor after the Spring Graduation. The laurel wreath is adjustable and will be tried out at the rehearsal.

Doctoral ring

The ring symbolises the wearer’s commitment to science. The ring comes in a special Umeå model.

Who may purchase Umeå University’s doctoral ring?

The doctoral rings in the special Umeå model may be purchased by anyone who has been awarded a doctoral degree at Umeå University. 

Do I need to purchase a doctoral ring?

No. It is not a requirement to purchase or wear a doctoral ring to participate in the University’s conferment ceremony. Prior to the conferment ceremony, those who have purchased a ring have already put the ring on their left hand. The handover of the ring during the Ceremony is merely symbolic – to avoid delays due to get-away rings rolling away. 

Which ring do I choose?

When Umeå University was founded, there were three faculties: Faculty of Odontology, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Philosophy. As a result, there are three different models to the ring. 

• Medicine doctoral ring: for all doctors at the Faculty of Medicine, beside those with a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Dental Science. 
• Odontology doctoral ring: for doctors at the Faculty of Medicine who carry a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Dental Science. 
• Philosophy doctoral ring: for doctors at the faculties of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences or Science and Technology.

Umeå University’s rings are available in regular (red) gold or white gold (resembles silver). You may choose according to your preference. See pictures of the ring models.

Where can I purchase the ring and how do I order it?

Umeå University has no framework agreement for purchase of doctoral rings. This means you can purchase your doctoral ring from the jewellery shop of your choice. Order the ring by contacting the shop and make sure to order a doctoral ring from Umeå University.

Ring measurement

It is crucial that the measurement of your doctoral ring is perfect. Making alterations to a doctoral ring later is difficult due to their intricate pattern. Make sure to take your measurement before ordering the ring. If you take your measurement in another jewellery shop than the one you are ordering from, let them know that the ring is 5.5 mm wide and has a flat inside. The doctoral ring is usually carried on your left hand. If you also wear a wedding band, the wedding band is placed on the inside – closest to your heart.

Engraving

The engraving may include: 

• First name and surname 
• Doctoral title abbreviated. 
• Date of doctoral degree or defence of doctoral thesis.

These details are engraved to the extent there is room inside the ring. Long names may be abbreviated with initials on the first name. 

Diploma 

The diploma is a gift from the faculty when you are conferred and is only awarded those who participate in the conferment ceremony.

Please note that the diploma does not replace the official degree certificate. Learn how to apply for your doctoral degree under the headline Public defence of doctoral thesis and grade.