The inaugural conferment ceremony of the Faculty of Theology was held in 1648, when Professor Eskil Petraeus conferred a doctorate in theology on Johannes Elai Terserus. The conferment ceremony to be celebrated in 2023 will be the 44th such ceremony at the Faculty.
The conferment ceremony is a joyful celebration of academic achievements, in which graduates of the University receive the insignia of their new title. The Faculty of Theology was originally one of the faculties of higher learning at the Royal Academy of Turku, which admitted students who had already been conferred with a master’s degree in philosophy. This is why the Faculty of Theology traditionally only confers doctoral degrees. As the insignia of their academic title, doctoral graduands receive a purple doctoral hat and a diploma. The Faculty also confers the title of jubilee doctor on individuals whose conferment originally took place 50 years ago. Honorary doctorates are conferred on a select group of individuals whose scholarly or public achievements the Faculty wishes to acknowledge.