Doctoral degree conferment ceremony

Karolinska Institutet holds a conferment ceremony for new doctors twice a year. In the spring ceremony honorary doctors are welcome and in the autumn ceremony jubilee doctors are welcome. The ceremony takes place in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall and is followed by a banquet in the Golden Hall and dance.

The doctoral degree conferment is the ceremony through which a university or university college, which has fixed research resources, distributes the external signs of the doctorate. Karolinska Institutet's first doctoral conferment took place on 31 May 1906.

The doctoral degree conferment ceremony has ultimately its roots in the European Middle Ages and its universities. The Swedish word promovera comes from the Latin verb promovere, which means to bring forward, to push forward, but here in a transferred sense almost to promote.

Stream the ceremony

Follow the ceremony here

Two people in festive costumes are waiting to fire a salute.

In connection with the conferment ceremony, a salute is fired from Stadshuskajen outside of the Stockholm City Hall. Photo: Danish Saroee

Cannon salute

Karolinska Institutet's first doctoral conferment took place in 1906, but the exact date when new doctors began to be celebrated with a cannon salute is not documented.

Who fires the salute?

The cannons are fired by the Artillery Division in Gothenburg. It is a non-profit association that recreate the Royal Göta Artillery Regiment’s history. They have been firing salutes for Karolinska Institutet since 2004.

When is the salute fired?

The first salute is a test firing and is shot from Stadshuskajen at 3:00 PM. Later in the afternoon, the shots will be fired at irregular intervals between approximately 5:20 PM and 6:30 PM, marking special moments in the conferment ceremony.

The date for the next ceremony is 14 November 2025

Who is entitled to the conferment

If you are a new doctor at KI who have satisfactorily defended your thesis and have applied for the doctor's degree certificate. If you defended the thesis in the spring you will be invited to the ceremony in the fall, if you have defended your thesis in the fall you will be invited to the ceremony in the spring of the next year.

For particular reasons there is the possibility to postpone the conferment within 2 years, but you have to contact the unit for academic ceremonies as soon as possible at: doktorspromotion@ki.se

Invitation

An invitation will be sent to you approximately 2-3 months before the Conferment Ceremony by e-mail.

Please make sure to notify us of any change of e-mail address in order for the invitation to reach you at doktorspromotion@ki.se

Guests

You can register one guest to the ceremony and the banquet that will follow free of charge and up to two guests just attending the ceremony.

Supervisor

One supervisor per promovendi will be invited by KI to the ceremony and the banquet, free of charge, provided that the former doctoral student is attending. The new doctor decides if KI shall invite the supervisor.

The supervisor will get a separate invitation after we have received your reply. This is in order to be sure that KI invites the supervisor whose promovendi has accepted the invitation. If you wish KI to invite your supervisor, we will send an invitation to the person after the last date for registration has passed and we have registered your reply.

The supervisor may then register a guest attending both the ceremony and the banquet but has to pay the fee for the banquet for the guest. More information about that comes with the invitation.

Entrance tickets

All guests (included promovendi) need entrance tickets with QR code. Entrance tickets will be sent digitally by e-mail approximately 1-2 weeks before the ceremony and shall be shown at the entrance. Please notice also that the e-mail containing the ticket may come to the spam box.

Schedule

3:00 pm doors open for promovendi
3:20 pm mandatory rehearsal begins
4:15 pm doors open for all guests
4:50 pm all guests must have taken their seats
5:00 pm the ceremony begins
8:45 pm (approx) the ceremony ends
7:30 pm (approx) the banquet begins
10.30 pm (approx) the banquet ends and coffee will be served in the Blue Hall and the dance starts

Ceremony

The ceremony comprises the conferment of new doctors (promovendi) and of jubilee doctors (doctors who had been conferred their degree 50 years ago, autumn occasion) or honorary doctors (spring occasion) . You will be called on stage in groups. When on stage, the chief usher will announce your name and the Deputy Vice-President of Doctoral Education will confer you the doctor's degree by placing the doctoral hat on your head and handing over a diploma. After a fanfare and applauds the group is lead back to the seats. The hats stay on during the remains of the ceremony.

Banquet

At the banquet you are primarily seated together with your accompanying guest and your supervisor. Thereafter you are seated in order of department and division as far as it is possible.

Diploma

The diploma handed at the Conferment Ceremony is not an official document. It is only a document attesting that you have attended the ceremony following the Swedish tradition and it is not to be considered an official validation of a doctoral degree. The official document is the degree certificate which testifies the receipt of the doctoral degree. See more here to apply for it: degree certificate

Dress code

For the new doctors the dress code is full evening dress: white waistcoat, white tie and tails/ long evening gown. An alternative may be to wear the national costume. It is mandatory for new doctors to wear a Swedish doctoral hat. You can either buy a hat, borrow from a colleague or hire from KI.

For supervisors and other guests who will even participate to the banquet the dress code is also full evening dress. Guests just attending the ceremony are not required to wear evening dress, smart casual is appreciated.

Doctoral hat

If you wish to hire a hat the cost is 500 sek. Send an e-mail no later than 22 September to: doktorshatt@ki.se, and you will receive more information about that. The doctoral hat is an academic insignia. All hats are made by hand and are a traditional craft. If you wish to buy a hat it is important to order it well in advance. You will find last date to order, price and other information at: www.hattmakarna.se

Tail coats and evening dresses may be hired/bought from, among others:

Wedding Bells by Little Faires, Skidvägen 21, 129 49 Hägersten, phone: 08-646 08 00
Kungs Skräddare & Uthyrning, S:t Göransgatan 65, Stockholm, phone: 08-653 25 86
Second-hand shop: Dress Again, Karlsviksgatan 3, 112 41 Stockholm, phone: 070-789 15 32

Tail coats may be hired or ordered from, among others:

Månberg & Bagge, Drottninggatan 112, Stockholm, phone: 08-24 30 32
Grosshandlarn, Vasagatan 11, Stockholm tel 08-21 22 11 - Odengatan 34, Stockholm, phone: 08-612 50 55
Steens Herrmode AB, Odengatan 106, Stockholm, phone: 08-34 93 00
Östermalms Smoking & Frackuthyrning, Almlöfsgatan 3, Stockholm, phone: 08-660 28 29
House of Steens, Odengatan 106, 2 tr, Stockholm, phone: 08-997700
Brudgummen, Vattugatan 1, Stockholm, phone: 08 30 01 12

Doctoral ring (not mandatory)

Doctoral rings can be ordered from:

Atelier Borgila AB (AB Heymann & Kuhlmann), Vegagatan 7, Stockholm, tfn 08 673 41 00
Oskars Guld & Silver, Västerlånggatan 55, Stockholm, tfn 08-22 80 29
Sundbybergs Guldsmedsaffär, Sturegatan 28, Sundbyberg, tfn 08-28 14 24
Guldsmed Stefan Carlsson, Vaksalagatan 40 Uppsala, tfn 018-12 57 08

One supervisor per promovendi will be invited by KI to the ceremony and the banquet, free of charge, provided that the former doctoral student is attending. This is in order to be sure that KI invites the supervisor whose promovendi has accepted the invitation.

The supervisor may register a guest attending both the ceremony and the banquet but has to pay the fee for the banquet for the guest. More information about that comes with the invitation.