The Graduate of the Year Award is given to the most distinguished graduate student of the year at University College Cork. It consists of a €2,000 prize and a parchment. Students are chosen by the College faculty first. These selected students then make a presentation to the Accreditation Committee who then decide on the winner of the award.
To be eligible a student must be pursuing a graduate career. This prize is normally confined to students who have graduated during the preceding session. Academic distinctions are taken into consideration.