The upcoming Conferment of Degrees Ceremony for master’s and doctoral degrees invites us to look back. The Jyväskylä University Museum has published a curated collection on Finna focusing on the most prestigious celebration in the academic world. The collection features photographs from the University’s first Conferment Ceremony in 1969, as well as videos and objects related to the tradition.
To mark the Conferment of Degrees Ceremony taking place on 22–24 May 2026 the University of Jyväskylä Museum has published a wide range of materials detailing the university’s graduation traditions on the national Finna search service, which is open to everyone. The published collection comprises photographs, artefacts and video recordings dating back to the University of Jyväskylä’s first Conferment Ceremony, held in 1969.
What makes this material valuable and interesting is that comprehensive metadata has been recorded about the occasions captured and the people featured in them. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the various events and stages of the Conferment of Degrees Ceremony. The material serves as an excellent window into, for example, the study and teaching of the graduation tradition, and helps illustrate both continuity and change within academic festive culture. The graduation artefacts and gowns form an interesting collection in their own right.
The Finna collections include a white gown that belonged to PhD Elina Kiuru and was worn at her master’s degree ceremony in 1996.
“We at the Jyväskylä University Museum are very pleased that, through donations and documentation, we have been able to add such a comprehensive collection of cultural heritage related to graduation ceremonies to our holdings,” says Pirita Frigren, Service Manager for Cultural and Natural Heritage Services at the Centre for Open Science Centre.
You can browse and search the conferment ceremony materials published by the Science Museum on Finna here:
https://finna.fi/Search/Results?filter%5B%5D=building%3A%220%2FJYU_MUSEO%2F%22
Finna is a national open platform for cultural heritage, learning materials, and research and information resources. The University of Jyväskylä Museum has previously published its collection related to Uno Cygnaeus, among other things, on Finna.
All materials from the Open Science Centre can be found on the University of Jyväskylä’s own Finna page:
https://jyu.finna.fi
Photographer Seppo Turpeinen took photo of the The Conferment Committee 1969 in the Seminaarinmäki Campus. Members of the Commitee were (left) Kyösti Jaakonsaari, Heikki Rusko, Kari Hokkanen, Secretary Tuovi Jokipii and Ilkka Savijärvi. Susanna named car was owned by the Student Union and was steerd by Mauri Lindell.
