A congregation can refer to "an assembly of senior members of a university". It is used in this general sense in both of the ancient universities of England, although with significant differences. At Cambridge, and at many other universities in England and around the world, it particularly refers to such assemblies when held as graduation ceremonies, while at Oxford it is the governing body of the university.

Usage

Cambridge University graduation enter Senate House

At the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, the term normally refers to congregations (meetings) of the Regent House, the governing body of the university. Historically, such meetings voted on many matters – Samuel Pepys records attending a congregation on 10 October 1662 to elect various officers of the university. Congregations are now principally held to confer degrees, that is, as

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

ceremonies. At the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, congregation is the sovereign governing body of the university, rather than the meeting of that body. It has over 5,000 members, including all university academic staff as well as other senior university staff and members of college governing bodies. Its powers include amending the university's statutes and regulations, conferring degrees, electing various university officers and approving the appointment of the vice-chancellor. At

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, degrees have been awarded at congregations of the university since 1938; prior to this they were conferred at meetings of convocation, the assembly of the university's members. In addition to graduation ceremonies, the term is used for the ceremonial assembly of the university for the installation of the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the university. Congregation is also used as the name of the graduation ceremony at other universities in England, including the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

, the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

, Northumbria University and Newcastle University. In Canada, the term is also used by the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. In Hong Kong, it is used by the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Metropolitan University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Congregation (University) Academic terminology Terminology of the University of Oxford Terminology of the University of Cambridge Terminology of Durham University Graduation

Usage

See also

References