Thousands of students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) who have embraced the fruits of their academic labour, will descend on Kingsway Campus in Auckland Park, Johannesburg with their gowns during the last series of graduation ceremonies of the University. The graduations are taking place in the Auditorium of the Auckland Park Kingsway Campus from 25 September 2013 to 9 October 2013.
This last series of graduation ceremonies will see some of UJ’s academic staff also being conferred with their degrees for having completed their masters and doctoral studies. This is, in part, the results of the Staff Qualification Programme (SQP), which was implemented in late 2009, to encourage academic staff without masters’ and doctoral degrees to study further. The SQP is split into two, with one programme offered to academic staff with honours qualifications to study toward a masters’ degree (SQP–M), and the other offered to those with a masters’ to study for a doctoral qualification (SQP-D).
The final series of graduation ceremonies sees fewer graduates getting capped, with the majority of students having been conferred during the autumn ceremonies. More than 1 160 students will be rewarded for the successful completion of their studies. Of the graduates who will receive recognition for their academic achievements during this series of graduation ceremonies, 879 are undergraduates and 283 are at postgraduate level. Apart from the 25 doctoral degrees to be awarded, 112 honours degrees and 146 masters’ degrees will also be conferred.
The high number of masters’ and doctoral students graduating proves that by establishing the programme UJ is moving in the right direction in encouraging both staff and students to pursue even higher qualifications following their undergraduate studies.
From 2010 to 2013 a total of 51 academic staff, enrolled in the SQP-M across UJ’s nine faculties, completed their studies and graduated. A total number of 22 academic staff, enrolled in the SQP-D also within the various faculties, completed their doctoral degree and graduated in 2012 and 2013. This highlights the programme’s success in encouraging postgraduate and research studies at the University, which will ultimately result in improved teaching and learning, higher research output and a postgraduate student complement that produces concrete results, further entrenching UJ’s position as a competitive and accessible institution of global excellence and stature
