The University of Southampton has formally announced that graduation ceremonies for those graduating this year have been postponed.
An email was sent to students stating that graduation ceremonies could not take place in July due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. This is the second in-person graduation ceremony that has been cancelled as a result of the pandemic, following the cancellation of the 2020 graduation ceremonies.
Alongside the announcement, the university revealed that they plan to host ‘online celebrations‘ in place of the physical ceremony. They will take place in either the late summer or autumn but further details about the celebrations have not yet been released.
The university has expressed its sympathies with disappointed students, noting in their email:
We know this will be a huge disappointment to you, your friends and family as it is for all of us at the University. We understand the importance of the degree ceremony and thoroughly enjoy celebrating with all our students.
At this stage, there is no information on when physical ceremonies will take place given the uncertainty of the current circumstances and the pending 2020 physical graduation ceremony promised to last year’s graduating class. However, students are encouraged to fill out a survey to relay their thoughts on the important factors they would like included in the physical ceremony. This survey will be circulated alongside the Online Ceremonies registration information which will be released in the coming weeks. Further updates will be added to their Graduation website.
Students with questions or queries should email the Graduation team at graduation@soton.ac.uk.
