Our Voice And Yours

Ceremonies for graduating students date from the first universities in Europe in the twelfth century. At that time Latin was the language of scholars. A universitas was a guild of masters (such as MAs) with license to teach. "Degree" and "graduate" come from gradus, meaning "step". The first step was admission to a bachelor's degree. The second step was the masters step, giving the graduate admission to the universitas and license to teach.

Usually the ceremony and name apply to university degrees (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees).

In a graduation ceremony at the college and university level, the presiding officer or another authorized person formally confers degrees upon candidates, either individually or en masse, even though graduates may physically receive their diploma later at a smaller college or departmental ceremony.

In the United States, the completion of mandatory schooling is also referred to as graduating, even though it is substantially below degree level.

Graduations for high school, middle school, kindergartens, and even for passing from one school year to the next, have been a development of recent years. This has received criticism, being described as "just a way of celebrating mediocrity".^[1]

Graduation parties celebrating graduation from school, college or university are quite popular. In a recent 2014 nationwide survey in the United States, $985 was the average amount spent on graduation parties.^{[2]

1. Parkinson, Justin (23 July 2014). "Do four-year-olds need a graduation ceremony?". BBC. Retrieved 30 March 2019.}

2. "Graduation Party Budget". graduationparty.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduation#:~:text=officials%20may%20preside.-,History%20of%20graduation,gradus%2C%20meaning%20%22step%22.