Degree certificate

The doctoral degree certificate is issued once all elements of the doctoral programme have been fulfilled and the PhD student has defended their thesis and the minutes of the examination committee’s meeting has been received by the Research Studies Board.

The Faculty of Medicine has obtained the rights to issue degree certificates for Doctor of Medical Science and for Licentiate of Medical Science. The diplomas for both doctoral and licentiate degrees are signed by the dean of the faculty. The degree certificate states, among other things, the title of the thesis and the doctoral-level courses achieved within the degree. In addition to the degree certificate, a so-called Diploma supplement is issued, describing the context of the doctoral degree in the Swedish education system.

The processing time for the degree certificate is normally 2-3 weeks.

Doctoral conferment ceremony

All those who have completed a doctoral degree during the previous academic year are invited to have their degree conferred at Lund University's annual doctoral conferment ceremony, that usually takes place on the last Friday of May each year. The university honours those who have completed a doctoral programme and defended a doctoral thesis, and most choose to participate. On the same occasion, the university honours outstanding individuals, and researchers from other universities, by awarding them honorary doctorates. As a tribute to previous generations, the ceremony also celebrates those who earned their doctoral degrees fifty years previously, by bestowing them with the title of jubilee doctor, or doctor jubilaris. At the ceremony, three insignia of learning are awarded: the ring, the hat (or laurel wreath), and the diploma.

The Lund University Office of Special Events and Protocol provides information on the practical arrangements for the procedure, by contacting all those who have defended or intend to defend their thesis during the academic year, and inviting them to participate in the ceremony. Detailed information on all aspects of the ceremony is sent out to all those who registered as PhD students.

The following dates are currently planned for the ceremony:

2024 - Friday 31 May
2025 - Friday 23 May

Learn more about the doctoral degree conferment ceremony at the Lund University website