FAQ

Frequently asked questions

This page has some frequently asked questions along with their answers. If you can’t find an answer to your question, please contact the committee at fil-promootio@helsinki.fi.

Who can participate?

• If I am conferred in absentia this year, can I later take part again in person?
  Unfortunately you can not, if the degree in question is the same. If you are conferred in absentia, you cannot participate again in person.
• I was already conferred in a previous Conferment Ceremony. Can I participate again?
  It is only possible to take part in the Conferment Ceremony once per degree. If you were conferred as master in your first Conferment Ceremony and have since graduated as a doctor, you can participate as doctor promovendus. Each academic rank can only be conferred once.
• I graduated as a master in the 1980s and as a doctor in the 1990s and I have never taken part in the Conferment Ceremony. Can I still do so, and if yes, will I be conferred as a master or doctor?
  Yes, you are warmly welcome to participate! Your highest degree is conferred in the Conferment Ceremony. If you have graduated as Doctor of Philosophy by the Conferment Act, you will be conferred as a doctor, regardless of whether you have been conferred as a master previously or not.
• I would like to take part in the Conferment Act, the act rehearsal and to the Conferment Dinner, but not to the other events. Is this possible?
  Participation in the Conferment Ceremony is either for all 3 days from the 25nd to 27th of May, or just in the Act on Friday the 26th and the act rehearsal the day before. The options have been limited to the two mentioned above because the Conferment Ceremony is a 3-day whole, not just a collection of separate events.

Registration

• I would like to participate in the Conferment Ceremony but I am graduating during the spring of 2017. What should I do?
  You can participate even if you have not yet graduated when registering. If this is the case, you need to deliver a copy of your graduation diploma to the Conferment Committee immediately after graduating. You must graduate before the Conferment Act on the 26th of May 2017.
• Who can I bring as my companion?
  The Conferment Committee does not wish to set restrictions on the choice of companion, and he/she may well be a friend or relative of the promovendus, for example. However, we do not recommend bringing a companion who is under the age of 18.
• Can I rent or borrow a sword from somewhere?
  It is possible to borrow a sword from the university. If you wish to do so, please contact the Conferment Committee at fil-promootio@helsinki.fi on the 13th of May 2017 at the latest. The Conferment Committee will take care of the arrangements on behalf of the doctor promovendi.
• Are all the events in the Conferment Ceremony accessible?
  The Conferment Ceremony aims to be accessible. However the events are held in many different places both indoors and outdoors, so please contact the Conferment Committee in cases of accessibility.

During the conferment ceremony

• What should I wear for each event?
  The exact dress codes will be listed and explained under the page Dress Codes.
• Are taking photographs and video allowed during the Conferment Ceremony?
  The Conferment Committee will arrange a photographer to be present at all events. Details regarding the distribution of the photos as well as of the distribution and sale of the commemorative book will be announced to promovendi after the Conferment Ceremony.To maintain the right atmosphere, taking photographs and video is absolutely forbidden during the Conferment Act in the Great Hall.  Promovendi are asked to inform any friends and relatives attending the events about the rules regarding photography.
• I do not wish to take part in the church service due to its religious content. What should I do?
  In addition to the church service, there will be an alternative secular service event held at the same time. More details on the secular service will be sent to promovendi once the registration has ended.
• Can I take part in the dances at the Conferment Ball, even if I am unable to take part in the dance practice sessions?
  Yes, you can participate in dances even if you haven’t taken part in all dance practice sessions. The dance practices are compulsory if you want to participate in the doctoral polonaise or the masters’ contredanse francaise. The other dances are open and and possible for anyone to take part in. These dances are ballroom dances, e.g. waltzes, traditionally danced at academic organisations’ anniversary balls etc. in Finland.
• Can I dance the doctoral polonaise even though I do not have a companion?
  Sure. For the doctoral polonaise you don’t need a specific companion, but you can pick anyone from the ball who is wearing black. Also the master promovendi wearing black can dance the doctoral polonaise if they just take off their wreaths during the dance.
• My companion and I are both promovendi: I am a Master and my companion is a Doctor. Which dinner do we go to on Thursday?
  The wreath-weaving and sword-whetting dinners are organised separately in this Conferment Ceremony, so sadly you cannot go to Thursday’s dinner event together. Master promovendi attend the wreath-weaving dinner and Doctor promovendi the sword-whetting dinner.