a graduate of/from the university of ... (2025)

Which of these sentences is grammatically correct?

1. I am a graduate from the University of Sofia.
2. I am a graduate of the University of Sofia.

I'm guessing #1 is the correct option due to the phrase: to graduate FROM college/university/high-school etc.

I'd generally prefer the second.

"I graduated at the University of Sofia" is also fine.

We always use of, not "from" or "at", in that context. But with the verb, we use from.

You are a graduate of the University of Sofia.
You graduated from the University of Sofia.

Hello. I have come to take the question further. What should we say if we want to add the major as well?

"He is a graduate of XYZ University in Politics/Physics/Chemistry etc."

Does the preposition in fit here? I suppose so. Secondly, do you see any problem with the arrangement of the elements in the sentence? I mean, can one express the same idea with the following?:

"He is a graduate in Physics of XYZ University."

I guess that one would not be correct to say.

I prefer:

"He graduated in Politics from XYZ University."

Linkway said:

I prefer:

"He graduated in Politics from XYZ University."

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Thank you for the reply. Isn't it safe to go with the noun form?

Linkway said:

I prefer: "He graduated in Politics from XYZ University."

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WildWest said:

"He is a graduate of XYZ University in Politics/Physics/Chemistry etc."

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My preference was based on style and a feeling that the "noun version" is a bit awkward regarding the two prepositions.

In addition, you would often want to include the year of graduation, which is easy to do with my preferred version:

"He graduated in Politics from XYZ University in 1999."

In your "noun version", you used the simple present tense ("He is a graduate") and it's then difficult stylistically to specify when he graduated (past tense).

It would sound extremely odd if you said: "He has been a graduate of XYZ in physics since 1999."

In addition, if it's part of a CV for someone well-established in their career, it's normal to "look back" and use the part tense for past events.

"I graduated in Chemistry from the University of XYZ in 1999, obtained an MSc in Biochemistry in 2001, and was awarded a PhD by Oxford University in 2007. I am currently chief spin-doctor for the Global Warming Denial Society."

WildWest said:

Thank you for the reply. Isn't it safe to go with the noun form?

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To "be safe", you name the degree and year, not just the school and major. Linkway offers some examples.

To say you "graduated from" a college means you received an undergraduate degree from that college. It could be a 4-year BS or BA or a 2-year "Associate degree".

In several professions, the undergraduate degree is just the "first step". You need a 4-year degree, plus one or more graduate degrees, to work as a doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, etc.

dojibear said:

To "be safe", you name the degree and year, not just the school and major. Linkway offers some examples.

To say you "graduated from" a college means you received an undergraduate degree from that college. It could be a 4-year BS or BA or a 2-year "Associate degree".

In several professions, the undergraduate degree is just the "first step". You need a 4-year degree, plus one or more graduate degrees, to work as a doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, etc.

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So, if I used the verb and said, "I graduated from Columbia.", people would think I was telling them I did my four-year undergrad there. On the other hand, if I used the noun and said, "I am a graduate of Columbia.", people would not know exactly what I'd studied there; it could have been a two-year associate degree, a four-year bachelor's, a master's, or a PhD. Am I correct?

No.
Both "I graduated from Columbia" and "I am a graduate of Columbia" can refer to any degree that Columbia offers.
Neither of them tells the listener what degree the speaker has or what they studied.

PS I don't think Columbia offers Associate's degrees.

I think these phrases mean the same to listeners:
- I graduated from Columbia.
- I am a graduate of Columbia.

In general "to graduate" means "complete an undergrad degree" and "a graduate" is a person who has completed an undergrad degree.

Higher degrees (master's, PhD) are "post-graduate" (after graduation) degrees, and people studying for them are called "post-graduate students".

As someone who has spent decades in higher education, I have to disagree with @dojibear. I've heard and read sentences like the following many times.
--I graduated from Columbia in 1993 with Master's in Public Administration.
--I am a three-time graduate of Columbia: I have a BA in Political Science, an MA in History, and a PhD in East Asian Languages and Cultures.
--My PhD is in history, specifically South Asian history; I'm a graduate of Columbia, although I did much of my coursework at Harvard. I followed my advisor to Columbia, and graduated from there in 2003.

Also, the phrases I have usually heard are 'undergraduate degree' (BA, BS) and 'graduate degree '(MA, MS, PHD), and people who are in Master's and PhD programs are graduate students, not post-graduate students.

The issue is "jargon": words and word meanings used within a field, by people within that field, to clearly and accurately communicate with other people in that field. When speaking to people outside the field you cannot use jargon. The words have different meanings, even though both meanings are correct.

In my opinion, you are using a jargon meaning of "graduate", used by people in academia. I am talking about the non-jargon meaning, which is not the same.

Of course all your comments are correct. In particular this corrects my mistake:

Roxxxannne said:

people who are in Master's and PhD programs are graduate students, not post-graduate students

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But I think "graduate student" means "student after graduation". Similarly "graduate degree" means "degree after graduation". That is what the adjective "graduate" means, in my opinion, in general English. The WR dictionary says the adjective "graduate" means "related to academic study beyond a bachelor's".

Outside of academia, I cannot imagine someone saying "am a graduate of" or "graduated from" and not meaning "received an undergraduate degree from". I cannot imagine a person only mentioning their PhD degree and not distinguishing it from a bachelor's degree.

It's a status thing. Some PhD's even want to be addressed as "Dr. Biden" instead of "Mrs. Biden".

dojibear said:

It's a status thing. Some PhD's even want to be addressed as "Dr. Biden" instead of "Mrs. Biden".

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Ph.D., an abbreviation of:

of Philosophy.
And some medical doctors prefer Mr

dojibear said:

But I think "graduate student" means "student after graduation". Similarly "graduate degree" means "degree after graduation". That is what the adjective "graduate" means, in my opinion, in general English. The WR dictionary says the adjective "graduate" means "related to academic study beyond a bachelor's".

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And that's exactly why students who have a bachelor's degree or a master's degree are called "graduate students" not "post-graduate students". Sometimes students who are studying after receiving a doctorate are "post-docs."