Summer graduation celebrations begin in St Andrews

A week-long series of graduation celebrations got underway in St Andrews today (Monday 30 June 2025).

Over the course of the next five days, more than 2,200 Class of 2025 students, from 88 different countries including Scotland, Canada, Australia and Nepal, will receive their academic awards in the town’s Younger Hall.

The summer graduation ceremony season will also see nine distinguished individuals honoured for their contributions to sport, politics, science and the arts, including award-winning Scottish actor, writer and presenter Alan Cumming, and the BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner.

Today’s Honorary Graduate was top US golfer Judy Rankin who was awarded a Doctor of Laws (LLD) alongside graduating students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), the School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies, and the School of Physics and Astronomy.

In her address to the graduating class, Judy said: “Find joy in small things; as you age, they will stack up and it’ll become a whole library of the small things that made you smile. And when you think back on them, they’ll make you smile again. Be grateful. Find contentment, and you will have a good life.”

Today was also a special day for many of the students who have undertaken evening degrees while juggling work and family commitments. Among them was St Andrews woman Karen Scott who, having begun but not completed an Honours degree at the University in the 1980s, was awarded an MA Combined Studies degree with distinction, and the prestigious Provost’s Prize 2025 for Most Outstanding Evening Student of the Year.

Karen said: “I took early retirement from my job as a social worker with Fife Council in 2016 and signed up for a few courses through the University Open Association. One of these courses was Art History and, on speaking to the tutor about how much I was enjoying it, she informed me of the Evening Degree course. I was immediately interested and signed up, embarking on modules in Art History, but on the non-graduating pathway as I had no intention of studying for a full degree.

“By this point I had undertaken several academic courses, starting with a degree in Biochemistry at St Andrews after leaving school in 1980. I hadn’t done very well with that degree, as I failed to make the honours year, so I graduated with an Ordinary degree, and I always felt very disappointed with myself.

“I did, however, gain a very lovely husband, David, and we celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary in August. In the late 1990s I went on to study Psychology with the Open University gaining a BA (2:1). I was pleased as, by then, I had two young daughters, Katrina and Becca, so I had to juggle study and family life.”

Karen added: “I feel very honoured to have been awarded the Provost’s Prize. I realise I didn’t start this degree as a novice in higher education and that previous studies stood me in good stead in terms of undertaking academic work. However, as I cross the stage on graduation day to receive my MA with Distinction I know that, finally, I will be extremely proud of myself in a way I was not when I graduated in the same spot in 1984.”

Several members of University staff who have taken on evening degrees will also celebrate their academic achievements this week, including Nicola Miller, from Cupar, who graduated with an MSc in International Education.

Nicola, Head of Administration and Communications and Manager (Extension Courses) at the University’s International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute (IELLI), said: “I began studying at St Andrews in 2013 through the Evening Degree programme, now known as the Combined Studies MA (General). It was a great way to return to academic study and build confidence in a flexible and supportive environment. I had no intention of continuing further after graduating, in fact, I was quite sure I wouldn’t.

“Balancing full-time work while also being a mother and a carer is demanding, but I found that the time spent in class became a welcome opportunity to focus on something for myself, away from the usual day-to-day pressures.

“Starting the MSc in International Education was a real step up, and the transition from undergraduate study to a postgraduate course was challenging. Around the same time, I also became a grandmother to Oscar, and the following year to Layla, so life was certainly busy.”

She added: “The support from my lecturers, along with the practical and empathetic approach of Deputy Director, Lesley Thirkell, who understands the challenges of studying online while working full time, helped me stay on track. I went on to complete the course with distinction, proof that caffeine, deadlines and a bit of sheer stubbornness can go a long way.”