Of the 11,147 people graduating with UCD degrees last year, including non-degree graduates and international students, just over half of that number, 5,471, attended conferring ceremonies to receive their degree. This means that there was a cost of roughly €40 for the college per student graduating last year.

This figure does not include the cost incurred by the student in graduating. Graduates must rent robes for the ceremony, which cost €45 if pre-booked and €50 if rented on the day of the ceremony. Students can also pay for a photographer on campus and frames or tubes to hold their degree.

In the same report, the UMT outlined their recommendations for changes to the graduation ceremony. The group recommended that the approximately 2500 people graduating from certificate and diploma courses each year should be given the opportunity to have to a formal ceremony. Currently, these non-degree graduates receive their diplomas in absentia.

Another two thousand people graduate from UCD overseas. These students usually receive their diplomas in a presentation ceremony, with a small number of students and staff traveling to Ireland in order to participate in a conferring ceremony.

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