About 1,200 Queen's University Belfast students may not be awarded their degrees as planned this summer.
According to the university's vice-chancellor, 40 will not be able to graduate at all while many others may not get their final degree result.
One student affected said they were now worried about their future.
The uncertainty is due to industrial action by some staff in the University and College Union (UCU) which includes a boycott on marking and assessment.
But members of the UCU at Queen's have also been angered by the university's response to the industrial action.
A UCU spokesperson told BBC News NI they were "furious that it has reached this point".
