ACT, in the universities, signifies a thesis maintained in public by a candidate for a degree, or to show the capacity and proficiency of a student. The candidates for a degree of bachelor and master of arts are to hold philosophical Acts; and those for bachelor of divinity, theological Acts, &c. At Oxford, the time when masters or doctors complete their degrees is also called the act; which is held with great solemnity. At Cambridge, they call it the commencement.