There are many words and expressions that are used in connection with the academic ceremonies and that are rarely used in our everyday language. Here is a list of the most common ones, and explanations of what they mean.
Absence (in Swedish: absens): If an honorary doctor or jubilee doctor cannot participate in the ceremony, they will still be conferred in their absence.
Award recipients (in Swedish: pristagare) are employees at Umeå University who are awarded prizes by different organisations within and outside the University. Pedagogical, scientific and study guidance prizes are awarded at the Spring Graduation. During the Annual Celebration, only scientific prizes are awarded. The awardee receives a diploma, and usually gives a talk or participates in a pedagogical conversation in conjunction with the award ceremony.
B
Banquet (in Swedish: bankett): After the ceremony, a three-course dinner banquet is held for invited guests, with speeches, song and dance to celebrate the guests of honour.
C
Confer (in Swedish: promovera) means to award or promote.
Conferment (in Swedish: promotion) is the ceremony during which the doctoral insignia are awarded.
Conferrer (in Swedish: promotor) is the person conferring new doctors, jubilee doctors and honorary doctors. The conferrer is appointed by each respective faculty. Deans are usually conferrers at the Annual Celebration Ceremony and deputy deans or associate deans are usually conferrers at the Spring Graduation Ceremony.
D
Defence of doctoral thesis (in Swedish: disputation) is an event in which a doctoral student defends their doctoral thesis in public.
Doctor (in Swedish: doktor) is a person who has publicly defended their doctoral thesis and been awarded a Degree of Doctor.
Doctoral degree (in Swedish: doktorsexamen) is the degree that completes the doctoral student's doctoral studies. The doctoral student applies for a doctoral degree when they have been approved for the courses included in the education as well as the doctoral thesis that they have defended at a public defence.
Doctoral insignia (in Swedish: doktorsinsignier) are the symbolic items that are handed over during a conferment: doctoral hat or laurel wreath, doctoral ring and doctoral diploma.
F
Faculty (in Swedish: fakultet) is a unified organisational entity for closely related subject fields in education and research.
Fanfare (in Swedish: fanfar) is a short and magnificent trumpet or horn signal, in ceremonial contexts played as an expression of praise. Umeå University has its own fanfare that is performed after each faculty's graduation.
G
Guests of honour (in Swedish: festföremål) is a collective term for those who are celebrated at the respective academic ceremony: doctors, jubilee doctors and award recipients during the Spring Graduation, and honorary doctors, new professors, award recipients and medallists during the Annual Celebration.
H
Honorary doctor (in Swedish: hedersdoktor; in Latin: doctor honoris cause) is an honorary title awarded to prominent researchers or others who a faculty wishes to tie to their research community.
J
Jubilee doctor (in Swedish: jubeldoktor; in Latin: doctor jubilaris) is a doctor who was conferred at least 50 years ago.
L
Laurel wreath (in Swedish: lagerkrans): At Umeå University, a laurel wreath is handed out by the conferrers within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Faculty och Science and Technology. The laurel was Apollo's tree. The custom of crowning doctoral promovendi only occurs in Sweden and Finland.
M
Marshal (in Swedish: marskalk) is a person who helps at the academic ceremonies. Faculty marshals are appointed representatives of their faculty and student marshals are students at the University.
Master of ceremonies (in Swedish: ceremonimästare) is the person in charge of the ceremonies.
P
Parnassus (in Swedish: parnass) is a small leaf-covered bridge used at the Spring Graduation Ceremony.
Presenter (in Swedish: härold) is what the person is called who presents the doctoral students before their conferment and professors before their inauguration as professors.
Procession (in Swedish: procession) is when the guests of honour walk together onto and off the stage of the ceremony.
Professorial inauguration (in Swedish: professorsinstallation) is a tradition with Medieval origins that recalls the old ties to the church. Once upon a time, when a member of the cathedral chapter was installed in his office, he was assigned a special chair in the cathedral's choir, stallum. From this word comes the present-day Swedish installation. A professor who is inaugurated is called installandus in Latin. Professorial inaugurations take place at the Annual Celebration.
Promotus or promota (Latin) is the person who has just received the doctoral insignia (pl. Promoti).
Promovendus or promovenda (Latin) is the person who will be conferred (pl. Promovendi).
