Arthur Ross, 71, will tomorrow be conferred the bachelor of arts degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC) which he first began in 1969, CBC reports.

Mr Ross had left the course to attend the National Theatre School of Canada, which he also subsequently left to study law, eventually spending 35 years as a litigator.

After retiring from his legal career in 2016, Mr Ross decided to return to his unfinished degree and resumed his studies at UBC in 2017.

Mr Ross told CBC: “It was always one of those things, even as I was practising law… thinking someday I’ll go back and finish that off.”

The 54-year period from his enrolment to graduation is two years longer than the longest time to finish a degree recorded by the Guinness World Records.