In keeping with the formal nature of the occasion and ceremonial tradition, all students attending Lancaster University's graduation ceremonies must wear the correct academic dress.

Academic dress should be hired from our official academic gown supplier, Graduation Attire.

Any graduand not wearing the correct academic dress will be asked to hire the correct academic dress before being able to take part in the graduation ceremony.

Please refer to Graduation Attire’s terms and conditions for information on hire conditions, including details on changing or cancelling your order.

Graduands should inform us of any access requirements they or their guests have when registering for their ceremony. If access requirements are not provided in advance, we cannot guarantee that appropriate arrangements will be possible on the day.

Please contact the Graduation Team to let us know of any access requirements for graduands or their guests.

If, after registering to attend, a student is unable to attend their graduation ceremony, the student should inform the Graduation Team as soon as possible by emailing ceremonies@lancaster.ac.uk.

Should a student be unable to attend graduation, their guests will not be eligible to attend either, and any guest tickets issued will be cancelled.

It is the student’s responsibility to cancel their place at any celebration event they have booked to attend, and/or inform any other graduation suppliers.

Children aged six years and under can attend graduation ceremonies without a ticket, as long as they can be held on the lap of a guest. Please indicate during registration if you plan to bring a child to sit on a lap. Children aged seven years and over will require a guest ticket.

If a child is disruptive, the Graduation Team reserves the right to ask the guest and the child to leave the ceremony and watch the live broadcast in an alternative venue.

The Graduation team contacts graduands using the contact information in their LUSI online record. It is the student’s responsibility to keep these details up to date. If graduands cannot access their online record to check or update contact details, please contact recordsenquiries@lancaster.ac.uk.

The dates and time of the ceremonies are as published. You will be invited to register for the ceremony that is relevant to your College and/or Faculty, and relevant for your degree. It is not possible to attend a different ceremony unless you choose to defer your attendance to a future session.

Students with debts to the University will not be eligible to graduate, please arrange to pay all outstanding debts to the University before the end of your studies to ensure you are eligible to attend.

On request, students can ask to defer their graduation to a future ceremony. Students can request to defer their attendance by indicating this option on the registration form, or by emailing ceremonies@lancaster.ac.uk. Students can only defer their attendance to a ceremony where their degree type is being conferred.

Undergraduates can defer to a summer ceremony; postgraduate taught students can defer to a winter ceremony, and PhDs can defer to either a summer or winter ceremony.

Your place at graduation is subject to your degree being approved by your department’s exam board and confirmed by the University Senate. Please note that final confirmation of passing your degree may not be made until after the deadline to register for graduation.

If your degree is not confirmed by the date of your graduation ceremony, your registration will be cancelled and any guest tickets you may have received will not be valid. The student should then get in touch with the University gown supplier to request a refund, or defer their gown hire to another ceremony.

If a graduation ceremony cannot take place, is delayed, or the ceremony time needs to change arising from acts, events, omissions or non-events beyond the University’s reasonable control, including (without limitation) acts of God, riots, war, acts of terrorism, epidemic or pandemic, fire, flood, storm, earthquake or industrial action, Lancaster University will not be liable for any losses, direct or otherwise, incurred by graduands or their guests.

Students who register by the registration deadline will be guaranteed two guest tickets. If you register after this date, you will not be guaranteed two guest tickets.

Guest tickets are not transferable. If a student is unable to attend graduation, they must notify the Graduation Team and their guest tickets will be cancelled.

Graduands

All graduands should arrive at the Great Hall an hour before the ceremony starts and when the doors open (please see your ceremony specific information for this time) and remain in the Great Hall until the ceremony concludes. Any graduand arriving late (but before the ceremony starts) will be slotted in if and where possible. We cannot guarantee arrangements for graduands arriving after the ceremony begins.

Guests

All guests should arrive at the Great Hall when the doors open, and should take their seats no later than 30 minutes prior to the ceremony. Guests arriving after this time may not be admitted, and their seats may be re-allocated.

Lancaster University’s graduation ceremonies are public events and are significant events for our graduates, their guests and our staff.

This privacy notice explains how the Corporate and Ceremonial Events Team will collect, use, disclose and protect your personal data. This notice applies to graduating students at Lancaster University, including undergraduate and postgraduate students, and guests attending graduation ceremonies. It outlines the types of data that we hold and how we use it for planning purposes and during the events. This applies to all students who are intending to graduate or may be eligible for an award and whether they attend a ceremony in person or graduate in absentia.

The University will process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Full Privacy Notice

Students should register for their ceremony by the deadline given to them in their invitation email. Registration is via the online EventMap system. If a student is unable to access the EventMap online system, or needs to ask about registration after the deadline, please contact the Graduation Team.

Invitations to register are sent by email using the information in a student’s LUSI online profile - please ensure your details are up to date.

Lancaster University uses an official photographer to take photography of the graduation ceremonies, and these images may be used for media publications and advertising.

Our graduation ceremonies are professionally filmed and broadcast live on our Live Broadcast site.

DVDs or digital copies of the ceremonies will be available to purchase from I am a Graduate.com after Graduation.

Please note that footage may also be used by Lancaster University for media publications and advertising.

All graduands and guests should be aware that they may feature in the footage/images.

By registering to take part in your graduation ceremony, or by your guests entering a graduation venue, you are giving permission for your image to be captured in the live broadcast, or by our official photographer.

Some international students may need to apply for a visa to attend graduation. The University can provide an invitation letter confirming a student's eligibility to attend their ceremony. Once you have registered to attend a ceremony, you will be sent this letter which can be used as a supporting document to apply for a visa.

The University does not provide letters in support of graduation guests' visa applications. Such documents are completed by the graduating student. Further information together with a template letter to use to support guests' visa applications is available via the Student and Education Services webpages.