Applying to graduate
Find out when your AUT qualification may be granted, when you may be invited to attend an AUT graduation ceremony and how to apply to graduate.
Understanding graduation: graduation ceremonies and granting of qualifications
AUT operates a flexible graduation model throughout the year – this means that your qualification can be granted soon after you’ve completed your studies, no matter the time of year.
The granting of a qualification and a graduation ceremony are related – but they can be two separate events. Sometimes, students are granted a qualification but choose not to attend a graduation ceremony, or they may not be invited to attend a ceremony due to the type of qualification they receive.
To complete your programme of study you must satisfy the academic and any other specific requirements prescribed in the programme regulations. You can find regulations for your programme in the AUT Calendar.
When will you meet the requirements?
For most students this means they will complete their studies and be eligible to receive their qualification after the final examinations or assessments at the end of their last semester.
However, some qualifications have extra requirements that must be met, and this may delay the final completion of your qualification and impact which graduation ceremony you can attend. In some cases, these are the requirements of external professional bodies, for example for the Bachelor of Laws and some of the health clinical programmes. If you're unsure whether your programme of study has extra requirements, check with your faculty if this applies to you.
What happens next
Faculty assessment boards meet at the end of semester to review student results before confirming final grades.
If the board determines you’ve met all the academic completion and any other related requirements for your programme, they will formally recommend that your qualification be granted. This is when you become academically eligible for the granting of the qualification.
Following some further checks, your name will normally be recommended to the AUT Council, which then grants the qualification.
Graduating if you have any outstanding fees
If you have any outstanding fees, you can still apply to graduate but your parchment will be withheld.
An outstanding debt to AUT may prevent you from meeting the requirements of your programme. Once the debt is paid, the hold will be removed from your account, and your parchment will be made available physically and online.
The decision to grant the qualification, and the date of granting, is at the discretion of the university.
Your parchment and academic record will show the date of granting approved by the AUT Council.
Most qualifications will be granted after the end of semester, but some qualifications may be granted each month.
Qualifications that can be granted monthly
- Certificates
- Qualifications for students who have been granted an extension of study
- Qualifications for students whose programme has additional or external completion requirements
- Programmes that don’t follow the normal semester-based enrolment pattern
What you need to do
In the case of certificates above, you don’t need to do anything. We will courier or mail your parchment to you. You won't usually be invited to attend a graduation ceremony.
For all the other cases above, we'll contact you and explain what the next steps are, including options for attendance at a graduation ceremony.
Qualifications that are granted at the end of semester
If you’re getting any qualification other than the ones listed above, your qualification will normally be granted shortly after the end of semester.
What you need to do
Before you finish your studies, AUT will email you to invite you to apply to graduate.
If you’re granted an eligible qualification, AUT will offer you the opportunity to take part in a graduation ceremony and explain the options.
Follow the instructions below to apply to graduate.
Graduating if you have any outstanding fees
If you have any outstanding fees, you can still apply to graduate but your parchment will be withheld.
An outstanding debt to AUT may prevent you from meeting the requirements of your programme. Once the debt is paid, the hold will be removed from your account, and your parchment will be made available physically and online.
Step-by-step process to apply to graduate
Apply online
If we think you may be eligible to graduate, you’ll receive a graduation application notification by email, advising you to complete your application online.
You can apply to graduate on My AUT or through the AUT App. Simply navigate to 'My account’ and then ‘My graduation’ on My AUT or in the main menu in the AUT App.
You should see a button that says ‘Apply to graduate’ if we think you may be eligible to graduate.
If you’ve graduated from an AUT programme before, the My Graduation screen will also show you details about your previous graduation.
Don’t wait – apply to graduate now
If you want to attend a ceremony, it’s important that you apply before 21 June 2024, so that a place can be reserved for you. You don’t need to wait for your final results.
Confirm your legal name
Next, check that your legal name that appears on the screen is correct. This is the name that will appear on your official graduation parchment, so make sure this is accurate.
Once you’ve checked your legal name, confirm that it’s correct or let us know that something is not quite right.
If you’re legal name isn’t correct, you’ll see instruction on the screen of how to get it updated to ensure your name is correct for your graduation.
Choose a graduation method
Now you need to decide how you want to graduate and if you want to attend the graduation ceremony.
Choose from 3 options to graduate:
- In Person – I wish to attend this graduation ceremony and have my parchment presented to me then
- In Absentia – I won’t attend a graduation ceremony and want to receive my parchment as soon as it’s available. Parchments will be dispatched after the graduation ceremonies.
- Defer Ceremony – I won’t attend this graduation ceremony and want to delay the ceremonial presentation of my qualification and parchment to a later date (12 months maximum). If you’ve already reached the maximum deferral limit, your deferral option will expire and you’re sent a notification.
If you chose ‘In Absentia’, confirm your address
If you’re not graduating in person, we'll deliver your parchment to you, so it’s important that we have your up-to-date contact details and mailing address, including phone number. If you’re overseas, make sure we have your full overseas address and contact number.
Your parchment will be dispatched 2 weeks after the graduation ceremonies. There is no cost, however if your parchment is returned, you need to email graduation@aut.ac.nz to arrange delivery. You'll need to pay for the courier costs, so it's important that your physical delivery address is up to date.
Confirm name pronunciation
If you’re planning to attend the graduation ceremony and want to make sure your name is pronounced in a particular way, you can include additional information to help us make sure your name is pronounced correctly. You don’t need to provide this information if there isn’t a particular way you want your name pronounced.
If you choose to provide guidance for how to pronounce your name, you can:
- Type in the phonetic spelling of your name - follow the on-screen guidance if you need help
- Upload an audio file with a clearly recorded pronunciation of your name
Once you’re happy with the information you’ve added, make sure you save it and then confirm the pronunciation.
Graduation photography
At the graduation ceremony, our photographers will take your photo while you’re on stage receiving your qualification and they will also be available if you want to take portrait photos before and after the ceremony.
Let us know if you’re happy for your photos to be available for purchase on the official graduation photography website.
Confirm if you need additional assistance
We want to make your graduation ceremony as enjoyable as possible for you.
Let us know if there is anything that may affect your participation in the graduation ceremony, for example a physical or other impairment, so we can arrange any additional assistance to help you make the most of your day.
Indicate your guest numbers
To help us plan your ceremony, indicate how many guests you're hoping to bring to your graduation. You don’t need a ticket yourself.
This is not your ticket order – you’ll receive more information about how you can claim tickets for your graduation guests later.
When can you claim your guest tickets?
We can guarantee you up to 4 guest tickets. We'll email you how to redeem your guest tickets on 18 July 2024. You'll have to redeem your guest tickets from Ticketmaster. If you need more than 4 tickets for your guests, we'll confirm on 23 July if more guest tickets are available at your graduation ceremony.
Confirm and submit
Now confirm that you’ve understood the information about your graduation and that the information you’ve provided is accurate.
After you've confirmed, you'll receive a confirmation email and we'll send you more detailed information closer to your ceremony.
You'll also see that the information on the 'My graduation' screen has now changed to include the information you've submitted.
Dates and times for graduation
Learn more about the dates and times for upcoming AUT graduation ceremonies.
On the day: what to expect at graduation
Find out what to expect at your graduation ceremony – including when to arrive and register, how long ceremonies are, and what happens during your graduation ceremony.
If you don’t hear from us
Think that you’re eligible to graduate and haven’t heard from us? You should contact your AUT faculty or school office immediately.