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 UK or overseas countries may wear their national dress.
Please note that Graduands who are not wearing academic dress, or who do not meet the dress code will not be permitted to take part in a ceremony.
Ordering Academic Dress
The University's official robemakers are Ede and Ravenscroft. Graduands can either hire or purchase their academic dress using this order formLink opens in a new window. Robes should be hired in advance of the ceremony, with a discount offered for ordering the academic dress from the Ede and Ravenscroft's website in advance of the ceremony. The online discounted robe hire prices for the July 2025 ceremonies 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 close 10 working days prior to the start of the University's Graduation week. If the online booking portal has closed there will be a limited amount of robes to hire on the day of your ceremony at full cost.
On the Day
Robes can only be collected on the day of your ceremony. The ticketing and robing area will open for graduands from 8.30am for the morning ceremony, and 11:30am for the afternoon ceremony. You will be able to collect your graduand and guest tickets before collecting robes.
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.
On the Day
Find our frequently asked questions about 'on the day' activities