Graduands will have the option to either graduate online in November or defer their graduation to a live event at an unconfirmed date, College has said.
In an email to graduands, College’s Registrar Prof Brendan Tangney wrote that “though there is a possibility that some live face-to-face ceremonies could be held if restrictions are significantly eased, it is not possible to offer live ceremonies in the Autumn session”.
Instead, a number of virtual commencement ceremonies will take place in late November, Tangney said. Students graduating in this format will be conferred in absentia, with the degree parchment to be posted to the person’s home address following the ceremony.
“A good model for such ceremonies has been developed and recordings of prior virtual ceremonies can be viewed on the Registrar’s website”, Tangney added.
For graduands who wish to be conferred in person, they will have the option to defer their graduation to a later, unconfirmed date when a live event will be held. Students will not receive a degree parchment in this instance but, instead, a transcript of their standing and results.
“We recognise that many of you would like, or need, to get your degree conferred so you can move on to the next stage in your career”, Tangney said.
In April, some 532 Trinity students were conferred with their degrees in absentia in a commencement ceremony on Zoom. Chancellor Mary McAleese conferred the degrees in the traditional Latin, in a ceremony that was later uploaded online.
In March, The University Times reported that all in-person commencement ceremonies were cancelled, with graduations to be live streamed instead and students conferred with their degrees in absentia.
An email sent to all staff and students, signed by Senior Lecturer Kevin Mitchell and College Secretary John Coman, said that “public ceremonies are not possible” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. College contacted graduands set to receive their degrees in April to ask their permission to be conferred in absentia.
Mitchell and Coman said College hopes to live stream the ceremonies “so that graduands can hear their name being entered into the University record”.
