Graduation
On the recommendation of the faculty, degrees and diplomas are conferred by the President of the Seminary at a spring Convocation of the faculty, alumni, graduands and their guests.
The responsibility of the granting of degrees, diplomas and certificates rests with the Faculty.
Time Limitation for Completion of Credentials
Normally, there is no time limitation for the application of credit toward an Ambrose credential for any Course completed at Ambrose or at any recognized accredited post-secondary institution.
Time limitations (stale dating) may be imposed if the Course content is particularly time-sensitive. Any such time limitations must be approved ty the Dean of the appropriate Faculty upon recommendation from the Chair.
All graduate requirements for a master degree must be completed within ten (10) years of admission to the program. Exemptions may be granted
There is no limit on the number of years for completion of a certificate or diploma.
Students unable to complete a credential within the stated time limits will be removed from the program and be required to apply for readmission.
Graduation Application
All students expecting to receive a credential are required to submit an ‘Application to Graduate’ on the student portal, whether you are planning to attend the convocation ceremony or not.
Ambrose confers credentials three times in the academic year: August 10, January 30, and April 30, with one convocation ceremony in the Spring.
Deadlines for application and graduation fees are noted in the Academic Schedule.
If you plan to apply courses taken at another institution toward your degree, and you have not yet been granted transfer credit for those courses, you must list them on your Graduation Application form. To receive transfer credit, you must provide official transcripts showing suitable final grades (as defined in the Transfer Credit section of this Academic Calendar) to the Office of the Registrar no later than one month prior to convocation. You are responsible for having official transcripts from other institutions sent directly to the Office of the Registrar.
Degree Parchment
The wording on parchments is standardized and approved by GFC and includes the credential, major, conferral date, and where applicable the honours standing and valedictorian notation. An Ambrose University parchment is an official legal document and only the student’s official full legal name (first, middle, last) will be printed on the parchment. Concentrations, streams, career domains and minors will not be indicated on your parchment, but will be noted on your official transcript.
Posthumous Credentials
A posthumous degree, certificate, or diploma allows the university to recognize the efforts of an Ambrose Student who dies before being granted their degree.
General Faculties Council has the authority to award posthumous degrees that have been recommended by a Faculty or School Council. Each case will be determined on its own merits. Posthumous credentials will be noted on the transcript and parchment.
Graduation Requirements
You alone are responsible for meeting all applicable requirements for graduation. To be considered eligible for graduation, you must meet all of the following requirements:
- Your degree program requirements, as outlined in the Academic Calendar in effect at the date of registration in the program (or readmission to the program), must be completed satisfactorily. Academic credit may be earned at Ambrose University and may include transfer credit consistent with Ambrose University policy
- Your minimum cumulative GPA must be 2.7 for all programs except the Master of Theological Studies which requires a minimum CGPA of 3.0.
- You must have completed a minimum number of credits at Ambrose Seminary – 30 credits for all 60 credit Masters degree programs and 45 credits for the Master of Divinity degree programs.
Deferring Ceremony Attendance
Students who are unable to attend the ceremony held immediately following completion of their degree requirements may provide a written request to the Registrar’s Office requesting the ability to attend the following Convocation Ceremony. The student’s parchment will be issued for the original Convocation and the names will appear in the program at the original Convocation. Their names will not appear in the program for the Convocation Ceremony they attend.
Academic Regalia
Students participating in the Convocation Ceremony are required to wear academic regalia. All graduates will wear the academic dress (gown, mortarboard, and hood) in accordance with the North American Intercollegiate Code for the degree they are receiving at the Convocation Ceremony.
Students receiving a certificate and/or diploma do not wear a hood. Students graduating with a double degree wear a hood for each degree.
Gowns: Masters’ gowns follow the black gown specified by North American Intercollegiate Code.
Hoods: Students graduating with a Masters’ degree wear red, the hood colour for the discipline of Theology.
Headwear: Masters’ headwear is the black mortarboard or trencher-type.
North American Indigenous Students
In the spirit of reconciliation, Ambrose welcomes all North American Indigenous graduating students to celebrate their heritage through wearing ceremonial dress at their Convocation ceremony along with the Academic gown. All graduands who participate in Convocation must wear an academic hood as it represents the specific degree earned and the Faculty or School awarding the degree. Graduands choosing to wear cultural dress should advise the Office of the Registrar two weeks prior to the Convocation ceremony.
Graduating In Absentia
If you plan to miss the graduation ceremony, you still need to complete the Graduation Application form by the prescribed deadline and pay the Graduation Application fee in order to graduate. Your degree parchments will be mailed to you.
Parchment Replacement
In extraordinary circumstances, a replacement parchment may be issued upon request to the Office of the Registrar. The replacement parchment will be marked “duplicate” with the date it was reprinted. Replacement degrees will usually not have original signatures.