graduate
Cap-and-gown wearer
Graduate centers on completion and advancement.
To graduate is to complete a course of study and receive a degree or diploma: She graduated from medical school last spring.
The noun is someone who has done so: a Harvard graduate.
As an adjective, graduate describes advanced academic work beyond a bachelor's degree: graduate school, graduate students.
Graduate also means to mark with degrees or divisions—a graduated cylinder has measurement lines.
More broadly, to graduate is to progress through stages: The program graduates participants from basic to advanced levels.
Act of starting
- convocationFormal ceremonial gathering
- diplomaAcademic completion document
- valedictorianTop-ranked graduating student
- salutatorianSecond-ranked graduating student
tassel · robes · regalia · hooding · procession · march · keynote · speech
Academic argument requiring defense
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- postdoctoralAfter earning doctorate
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
scholarship · doctoral · masters · bachelors · degree · candidacy · defense · advisor
Lifelong occupational pursuit
- jobPaid position of employment
- workforceAll available workers
- entry-levelRequiring minimal prior experience
- resumeCareer summary document
interview · employment · profession · networking · mentorship · internship · job market · recruiter
Move or progress forward
rise · move up · calibrated · incremental · scaled · graded · tiered · stepped
Accomplished goal or deed
- accomplishmentSuccessful completion of aim
- successFavorable outcome attained
- completionAct of finishing
- finishingBringing to completion
culmination · benchmark · threshold · turning point · rite of passage · coming of age · next chapter · proud moment
commencement
Act of starting
- convocationFormal ceremonial gathering
- diplomaAcademic completion document
- valedictorianTop-ranked graduating student
salutatorian · tassel · robes · regalia · hooding · procession · march · keynote · speech · address
thesis
Academic argument requiring defense
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- postdoctoralAfter earning doctorate
fellowship · scholarship · doctoral · masters · bachelors · degree · candidacy · defense · advisor · committee
career
Lifelong occupational pursuit
- jobPaid position of employment
- workforceAll available workers
- entry-levelRequiring minimal prior experience
resume · interview · employment · profession · networking · mentorship · internship · job market · recruiter · starting salary
advance
Move or progress forward
promote · rise · move up · calibrated · incremental · scaled · graded · tiered · stepped
achievement
Accomplished goal or deed
- accomplishmentSuccessful completion of aim
- successFavorable outcome attained
- completionAct of finishing
finishing · culmination · benchmark · threshold · turning point · rite of passage · coming of age · next chapter · proud moment · hard-earned
- schoolteachers, classrooms, classes, student, grades
- studentsstudent, freshman, university students, sophomore, pupil
- collegecampus, courses, application, dorms, dorm room
- academic levelskindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school, freshman
- education levelskindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, college
- Former Rolesex-president, ex-wife, ex-husband, ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend
graduatedropout
One who quits early
drop-out · nongraduate · quitter · washout · expelled student
graduatestudent
One formally enrolled somewhere
undergraduate · freshman · fresher · enrollee · first-year
- graduation dayAcademic completion ceremony
- high school graduationSecondary education completion ceremony
- graduate schoolInstitution awarding advanced degrees
- graduation ceremonyFormal academic completion event
- college graduate
- high school graduateOne who completed secondary education
gradual, gradually, graduation, graduated, undergraduate, graduates, graduating, graduate school, postgraduate