Tribhuvan University will for the first time hold graduation ceremonies in all seven provinces, allowing students to choose a centre where they want to receive their degrees.

The university’s executive council has decided to organise the ceremonies at provincial centres, and its Office of the Controller of Examinations has begun the process by inviting online applications from eligible students.

Students will be able to select their preferred graduation centre when applying. They will then attend the ceremony held at the centre they choose, said Nabindra Bhandari, the university’s spokesperson.

The university has designated centres in Bagmati, Koshi, Madhesh, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces. Students receiving MPhil and PhD degrees, as well as gold medallists, will have to attend the ceremony in Bagmati Province. Other graduates can choose the province most convenient for them.

Until last year, students from across the country had to travel to Kathmandu to attend the university’s graduation ceremony. About 80,000 students complete programmes ranging from undergraduate degrees to PhDs at Tribhuvan University each year, of whom around 20,000 have typically attended the graduation ceremony.

The university is required to complete its graduation ceremony by the end of the Nepali month of Poush, which falls in mid-January. However, it has yet to approve the list of students eligible to graduate this year because the university assembly has not been fully constituted.

The government dismissed the vice-chancellor and members of the university assembly through an ordinance in April. Although a vice-chancellor, rector and registrar have since been appointed, members of the assembly have yet to be nominated. As a result, the university had not been able to approve even its budget for the current fiscal year until the first week of September.

The delay in approving the graduation list has also prevented the university from finalising the names of students eligible to receive degrees.

Instead of seeking applications from students already included on an approved graduation list, as in previous years, the Office of the Controller of Examinations has opened applications for students eligible to attend the 52nd graduation ceremony.

Applications will remain open until October 29, said examinations controller Laxman Poudel.

Some professors have raised concerns about the cost and logistical difficulties of holding ceremonies in all seven provinces. Students are formally conferred degrees in the presence of the prime minister, who is the university’s chancellor, and 52 members of the university assembly.

They say it would be difficult to take the chancellor and all assembly members to each province for separate ceremonies. Some professors have suggested holding the main graduation ceremony in Kathmandu while organising programmes in the other provinces to distribute certificates.

Students who passed undergraduate, postgraduate or MPhil programmes under either the semester or annual examination system between June 15, 2025 and June 14, 2026 and have obtained their transcripts are eligible to apply. Students who completed their PhDs during the same period are also eligible, according to the Office of the Controller of Examinations.

Applicants must submit their forms online through the official website of the university’s Office of the Controller of Examinations.

The graduation and certificate fee is Rs3,000 for undergraduate students, Rs3,500 for postgraduate and MPhil students, and Rs4,000 for PhD students.

Students can also receive a gown and scarf by paying a refundable deposit of Rs2,500. When the gown and scarf are returned, Rs500 will be deducted as a maintenance charge and the remaining deposit will be returned to the applicant’s bank account.

Each student can bring up to two parents or guardians to the ceremony, with a fee of Rs400 per person. Students who want a folder bearing the university’s logo for their certificate must pay an additional Rs500.

Application fees can be paid only through online banking services of Nepal Bank or Global IME Bank.

Applicants must upload a passport-size photograph with a white background, a scanned copy of their citizenship certificate and a scanned copy of their transcript with the online application.