Graduation How to book

Guest tickets will be available to purchase via the booking portal during the same ticketing window as Graduand tickets. For further information about guest tickets, please see our ticket section.

We know that the cost of living crisis is impacting our students and we have a support fund available to help those in financial hardship to attend their graduation.

The fund will help with covering the costs of:

• Graduation gown hire
• Guest tickets (maximum of two tickets per student)
• Travel costs (up to the value of £50)

To apply for financial support, please click here to check you meet the eligibility criteria and for the next steps. You will then need to complete an online application via the Blackbullion portal (www.blackbullion.com by 23:45 on Monday 23 September 2024. 

Please note, we are unable to accept any applications after the closing date. Applications and funding is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis for those who meet the eligibility criteria. As this is a limited fund, we may not be able to support all students, and therefore we strongly recommend applying as soon as possible.

If you are unable to attend your official graduation date and would like to postpone your attendance and transfer to another ceremony, please click here and complete the 'graduation transfer request form'.

Subject to capacity and to the discretion of the Graduation Team, you will be added to the next graduation transfer list.

Please note, transfers will not automatically be actioned and any transfer request needs to be received within three months of the ceremony you were due to attend. Bookings previously made will not automatically be transfered. For further guidance on transfering bookings, please contact the Graduation Team. 

Should you wish to cancel any or all of your bookings for tickets, hire of academic dress and/or ceremony photography, please contact Graduation Attire Customer Service Team via the live chat function, T: 01234 988880 or E:[email protected], no later than the refund deadlines listed below:

• Gowning Refund Deadline: 17:00 (GMT) on 07 OCtober 2024
• Guest Ticket Refund Deadline: 17:00 (GMT) on 14 October 2024
• Photography Refund Deadline: Please contact Graduation Attire for specific deadline. 

Any refund requests made aftert the Refund Deadline will be automatically rejected. Please click here for full terms and conditions. 

If you think your name could be mispronounced, you will be able to submit a recording of your name pronunciation for the Autumn 2024 ceremonies. More information and links to follow. 

If you have not booked your student ticket via the portal before the deadline, you will not be able to attend the ceremony, as student seating is limited. However, you can request to transfer to the next graduation ceremony instead.

If you have successfully booked your student ticket and require guest tickets only, you may have the opportunity to book these with a second release of tickets and/or on the day of the ceremony, provided there are any available.

No - ceremonies are pre-allocated by campus and Graduands are not able to switch or choose their ceremony.

To update your personal details on ELITE, please sign into your ELITE profile (click ‘My Organisations’; click ‘Student Support’), or please contact your campus Student Services for further assistance, as supporting documents may be required to change your name officially.

Please note, this must be actioned at least two weeks prior to the cut-off date for eligibility, otherwise your name will be printed in the programme and called out at graduation as previously recorded.

If you or your family are coming from abroad, you may need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa to attend graduation. Depending on whether you are visa nationals or non-visa nationals, you will need to follow a different process. Please visit HERE to see if you need a Standard Visitor visa before entering the UK.

Please note, as per the guidance on the Gov.uk website, the earliest you can apply for a visa is 3 months before you travel. 

All documents, apart from passports, can be originals, scans or photocopies.

If you submit a document that is not in English or Welsh, it must be accompanied by a full translation that can be independently verified by the Home Office. Each translation must contain:

• Confirmation from the translator that it is an accurate translation of the original document
• The date of translation
• The translator’s full name and signature
• The translator’s contact details

How to apply for a Standard Visitor visa

If you or your guests are a visa national, you must apply for a Standard Visitor visa before travelling to the UK. You can find further information on how to apply in your country HERE. The visa application fee is £115 in local currency and you/your family will need to submit the following documents with your application:

• Passport (with at least 1 blank page).
• Evidence that you have sufficient funds for your visit (we recommend you have sufficient funds for at least 3 months even if your visit is shorter).
• Proof that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit (for e.g. your return flight details).
• Evidence of where you will be staying in the UK (for e.g. hotel reservation).
• Your graduation ceremony invitation email.
• Your family will also need an invitation letter from you. You can download an example letter here. 

For more information please visit HERE.

Non-visa nationals

If you or your guests are from a non-visa national country, you do not need to apply for a visa in advance but can request entry as a visitor when you arrive. You should still carry all of the documents listed above in case you are asked to show them to the Immigration Officer.

If you have not received an email confirmation of your booking, you may not have booked your tickets. You will need to contact the Graduation Team ([email protected]). However, if tickets have sold out, you will not be able to attend the ceremony and instead, can transfer to the next set of ceremonies.

Key word definitions

• Graduand: Student who is graduating.
• Graduate: Student who has graduated.
• Academic dress: Official graduating attire wore during the ceremony such as a gown/robe, hood and hat, bonnet or mortarboard.
• Graduation ceremony: Celebratory event in which a student's degree is conferred.
• Alumni: Student who has graduated from the same university as you.