I've read that there is a difference between the date that a higher degree committee approves a student for graduation and the actual date of graduation. The first being the date that a student becomes a graduand and the second being the date that a student becomes a graduate. These two dates could be far apart. My question is which of these two dates should be shown next to a degree on a CV or resume? Obviously I would like it to be the first, but that would lead to a discrepancy between the date on the resume and the date on the certificate. Someone suggested I could show both the completion and graduation date on my CV.
4
-
Wouldn't graduand denote someone who is working towards their degree, without any statement on whether or not they will achieve that degree? As such, the date starting at which you are a graduand seems utterly irrelevant with respect to the degree.– O. R. MapperCommented Jul 1, 2016 at 10:39
-
1Usually the date of graduation is stated explicitly on the certificate (which is determined as Dirk writes below). This is the one you have to list on the CV as "date of graduation". Of course, you are free to list others (as well or instead), as long as you make it perfectly clear what date you refer to. Thus you can write "date of thesis defense: YYYY-MM-DD" or even "date of thesis submission: YYYY-MM-DD". Caveat: If you don't list a date of graduation, the default assumption will be that you haven't in fact graduated yet.– Christian ClasonCommented Jul 1, 2016 at 12:12
-
The linked "duplicate" is about the date to list on job applications. On CVs, I think most people just list a year, making this question moot in most cases.– Nate EldredgeCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 4:12
-
In my case it wouldn't be moot because the graduation ceremony is next year.– SANBI samplesCommented Jul 4, 2016 at 7:17
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
Usually the graduation date is the date on which the last accomplishment needed for graduation was completed.
This could be a thesis defense but could also be something else. For example in some Master and Bachelor programs I know one may have a "final" presentation prior to handing in the thesis. So the graduation date is the date at which the thesis is handed in. Note that even though a thesis defense may not count towards your grade, it is usually still a required accomplishment and consequently it date counts.
-
Hmm, somebody seems to disagree with this. I'm curious to learn what's wrong…– DirkCommented Jul 1, 2016 at 14:39
-
I was wondering that myself. My best guess is that you're not actually answering the question (which is "can I list some other date than the official graduation date on my cv", not "what is the official graduation date"). Commented Jul 1, 2016 at 14:57
-
Ah I see. I answer the question in the title and your comment addresses the actual question.– DirkCommented Jul 1, 2016 at 15:08
-
Yeah, I've fallen for that quite a few times myself. (Incidentally, the top linked question has the exact same problem (mismatching title and body), but complementary: its title matches this body and vice versa.) Actually, one could close this question as a duplicate and make the whole problem go away :) Commented Jul 1, 2016 at 15:15
-
Retrospectively, in ten years time, when I edit my CV and the date of the ceremony is reflected on the CV, then all the hard work I put in to complete my degree earlier will be invisible. Commented Jul 4, 2016 at 7:19