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), before the fund closes on Monday 20 March 2023.

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 follow the steps outlined below.

Please send an email to [email protected] stating that you would like to transfer and providing your full name, student ID, campus, award and contact details.

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.

You are also able to cancel your Graduate ticket by emailing [email protected] However, we may not be able to refund guest tickets, gown hire or photography, but instead, transfer all purchases to the next ceremony.

Please note, refunds are only available during the ticketing window. No refunds will be actioned after this date. For specific cut-off dates please refer to the information in your graduation emails. To request a refund, please contact Graduation Attire directly via the Live Chat function, 01234 988880 or [email protected].

If you think your name could be mispronounced, you can submit a recording of your name pronunciation for the May 2023 ceremonies by clicking on your campus below, and entering your ULaw email address and student ID. 

Please note, we will not be able to accept any recordings after Sunday, 16 April 2023.  

• Berlin, GISMA
• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Chester
• Exeter
• Guildford
• Hong Kong
• Leeds
• Liverpool
• London Bloomsbury
• London Moorgate
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Norwich
• Nottingham
• Online (including Cestar)
• Reading
• Sheffield

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 are an international student coming from abroad, you or your family members may need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa to attend your 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.

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 are from a visa national country, 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 £100 in local currency and you 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.

For more information please visit HERE.

Non-visa nationals

If you 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.

Visas for your family members to attend graduation
Visa nationals

Your family members will also need to come to the UK as visitors. The process if they are visa nationals is the same as above and they will need to submit the following documents with their application:

• Passport (with at least 1 blank page)
• Evidence that they have sufficient funds for their visit (we recommend they have sufficient funds for at least 3 months even if their visit is shorter).
• Proof that they intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit (for e.g. their return flight details).
• Evidence of their relationship to you (for e.g. a birth or marriage certificate).
• Evidence of where you will be staying in the UK (for e.g. hotel reservation).
• Your graduation ceremony invitation email.
• An invitation letter from you. You can download an example letter of invitation HERE.
• Copies of your current passport and visa.

Non-visa nationals

If your family members are non-visa nationals, they do not need to apply for a visa in advance but should carry these documents in case they 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.