More than 13 000 students will receive their degrees at the University of Pretoria's 2017 Autumn Graduation Ceremonies. Among them will be the university's largest-ever cohort of black postgraduate women – an unprecedented 1 453 – constituting almost a third of the total number of postgraduates. A total of 745, which is more than half of these female graduates, completed their studies at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Altogether 186 doctorates, 1 376 master's and 2 816 honours degrees will be awarded during the coming weeks.

Congratulating the new graduates, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Cheryl de la Rey, said: 'Achieving an academic degree does not come easy. It requires persistence, dedication and hard work. Our graduates can be justifiably proud of reaching this milestone.'

This class has produced outstanding graduates who have performed beyond expectations and have achieved remarkable success. This group of achievers includes 19-year-old Quintine Mkhondo, who will graduate with a degree in Actuarial Sciences and Financial Mathematics four years after first enrolling at the University of Pretoria when he was only 15 years old. He will be joined by blind cricketer, Kenneth Mabela, who has represented South Africa at the Blind Cricket World Cup and will receive a degree in Music, and twins Imtiaz and Raiz Ebrahim, who will both be awarded degrees in Medicine.

Honorary doctorates for outstanding contributions in their respective fields will be conferred upon Dr Jean Clandinin, professor and founding director of the Centre for Research for Teacher Education and Development at the University of Alberta, and Prof Dr Jürgen Moltmann, who currently serves as an emeritus professor of Theology at Tübingen University in Germany.

The University will once again livestream all graduation ceremonies. Family and friends who cannot attend will be able to watch the proceedings by connecting to www.up.ac.za.