graduand means A student who has completed the requirements for, but has not yet been awarded, a particular degree. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
graduand is pronounced /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuːˌænd/.
Why “graduand” is a great word
GRADUAND — [Noun] A student who has completed the requirements for a degree but has not yet formally received it. From Medieval Latin graduandus, gerundive of graduare ("to graduate"), meaning "one who is to be graduated." Attested since 1882. Unlike a graduate, who has been formally conferred the degree, or a candidate, who is still actively pursuing it, a graduand occupies a precise administrative interstice. It is the rented gown hanging in its plastic sheath, the unprinted diploma resting in a registrar’s drawer, and the name typed on an unread list—a person defined not by work completed, but by the imminent rite that will make it real.
Etymology
Attested since 1882. From Medieval Latin graduandus, gerundive of graduō (“to graduate”).
noun
- A student who has completed the requirements for, but has not yet been awarded, a particular degree.“2005, Mike Amos, Proud Return of the Pigeon Boy, Northern Echo (Darlington, UK); Jul 14, 2005.
In order to add jollity to the proceedings, said the dean, each graduand would find beneath his seat a little tub of bubbles, complete with mortar board cap.”