Next conferment ceremony for masters and doctors to be organised in August 2028

The conferment event is the biggest celebration of the university community and a festive end to university studies, traditionally celebrated over a span of several days. Uniarts Helsinki organises a conferment ceremony every four years, with the next events taking place in 2028 and 2032. The exact dates of the conferment acts are 26 August 2028 and 28 August 2032. 

The conferment weekend will kick off with a community gathering on the Sörnäinen campus 

The conferment festivities give master’s and doctoral graduates the chance to celebrate their degrees with the whole university community in a wonderfully uplifting setting. After participating in a conferment ceremony, the promovendi, i.e. the participating graduates, gain the right to wear their academic insignia: a wreath for masters and a doctoral hat for doctors. 

In 2028, the conferment weekend will begin on Friday with a wreath-weaving ceremony for masters and a hat try-on for doctors on the Sörnäinen campus.  Besides the promovendi and their companions, all students and staff of Uniarts Helsinki are also welcome to join the warm community-oriented celebration on Friday.  

The main festivities will take place on Saturday, when the programme includes the conferment act at the Helsinki Music Centre, a procession leading to a jubilee and, finally, a conferment dinner and ball, just like in previous years. We invite all members of the university community to join the audience of the conferment act and to come watch the procession. 

Browse pictures from the 2024 conferment festivities on our website 

We have gathered highlights from the 2024 conferment festivities, which included 

• Dance rehearsal 

• Wreath-weaving event 

• Doctoral hat try-on 

• Celebration of the arts  

• Conferment act 

• Procession 

• Ecumenical jubilee 

• Secular jubilee 

• Conferment dinner and ball 

• Excursion 

Browse pictures from the previous event (uniarts.fi). 

You can also visit the dedicated pages for the conferment ceremony and watch a recording of the previous ceremony. Visit the conferment ceremony website. 

Conferment event tradition 

The conferment event is the biggest celebration of the university community and a festive end to university studies, traditionally celebrated over a span of several days. The history of conferment ceremonies dates back to about a thousand years ago when the first universities began celebrating the awarding of academic titles. Even though the conferment is, first and foremost, a celebration of conferring academic degrees in a dignified and solemn atmosphere, it is also a celebration of youth and an event that can include fun elements and the chance to form life-long acquaintanceships. Read more about the history of the conferment tradition on our website. 

Uniarts Helsinki’s first joint conferment ceremony for masters and doctors was organised in June 2018. The event honoured the academies’ individual traditions, but the goal was also to establish new shared conferment traditions for the university. Uniarts Helsinki’s second-ever joint conferment ceremony for masters and doctors was organised in August 2024.