Academic Dress
Dress Code
A Graduation Ceremony is a formal University event and in accordance with our Regulations all graduands must be dressed smartly and will wear full academic dress.
- Hood colours vary according to the degree to be awarded;
- Jeans, t-shirts, casual shirts without ties and trainers/sneakers are not permitted; suitable attire is a lounge suit with a shirt and tie, a formal dress or a skirt/trousers and blouse
- Members of the armed forces may wear the appropriate uniform;
- Members of religious orders may wear their normal mode of dress;
- Graduands from overseas countries may wear their national dress.
Please note that Graduands who are not wearing academic dress, or who not meet the dress code will not be permitted to take part in a ceremony.
Ordering Academic Dress
Graduands must either hire or purchase their academic dress from the University's robemakers, Ede and Ravenscroft. This must have been in advance of the ceremony using their online order formLink opens in a new window . There is usually a discount for ordering your academic dress from the Ede and Ravenscroft website rather than using Ede and Ravenscroft's call centre or on the day hire. The robe hire discounted online prices for the January 2024 ceremonies are to be confirmed. The July 2023 hire costs, to give an indication, were are as below:
|
Award Level |
Price |
|
Foundation |
£45 |
|
Bachelors |
£45 |
|
Masters (PGT) |
£51 |
|
Doctorate/PhD |
£58 |
We strongly recommend that you order robes at least 21 days before your Graduation Ceremony in order to guarantee availability. Ede and Ravenscroft's online robe bookings form will usually close around 10 working days prior to the start of the University's Graduation week. If bookings have closed, you can enquire at robing on the day about hiring robes on the day.
On the Day
Robes can only be collected on the day of your ceremony. The ticketing and robing area will open for graduands only at 8.30am for a morning ceremony, and 11:30am for an afternoon ceremony. Here you will collect your graduand and guest tickets before collecting robes. If you have hired robes in advance, it is helpful to have your confirmation from Ede and Ravenscroft to hand at this stage.
Unless you have pre-arranged with Ede and Ravenscroft to hire your robe for an additional week (additional hire fees apply), any graduate failing to return their robe by 7pm on the day of their ceremony, will be charged the full purchase price by the University's robemakers.