Graduation

Getting Ready for Graduation 2025!

A guide to what to expect and how to prepare

We appreciate you may wish to start planning in preparation for your graduation ceremony in July 2025.

Below you will find useful information to assist you with your planning and some guidance on how to prepare for your big day. More detailed guidance will follow as it becomes available

Graduation 2025 FAQ's

Graduation ceremonies will take place between the 18 July to 4 August 2025 (excluding the weekend).

The ceremony dates will be announced in the first quarter of 2025.

The Portsmouth Guildhall hosts our graduation ceremonies. It is located within a very short walk of Portsmouth & Southsea train station and next to the University’s Park Building.

The entrance to Portsmouth Guildhall is on the ground floor level with a gentle ramp into the main foyer area. All areas are accessible by lift.

We will send you regular emails, to your student email address, advising you on how to prepare for graduation, when to book your tickets, your gown and other relevant information. We will also update the graduation web pages regularly.

Early preparation: If you are not expecting to receive your certificate at your graduation (or if you don’t pick it up on the day) we need you to log in to your student view and update the correspondence address field in your contact details. Your correspondence address is the address you want your certificate to be sent to. We recommend that you update your record any time before graduation.

As a graduate, you will be entitled to a free ticket for yourself and two free tickets for your guests.

The ticket booking system is currently closed. You will receive an email prompting you to book your tickets and instructions on how to do this.

We appreciate you may want to bring extended family, including children. Please bear in mind that ceremonies are formal events that last up to an hour and a half and this can be challenging for young children to sit through. However, there will be space on campus, at the White Swan Studio behind the New Theatre Royal on Guildhall Walk, for additional guests to watch the ceremonies on screen for free.

Please note, that the ceremonies are live-streamed to Youtube so you can watch them from one of our designated rooms or on your mobile device from any location.

Our supplier, Graduation Attire, has a dedicated booking page which is currently closed

Book your Gowning and Photography

The supplier will be able to give you guidance on which gown to book (different degrees may have different detailing and colours) and how to work out your size.

You are required to wear academic dress to your graduation ceremony, but you are not restricted to hiring it from the University supplier.