Prepare for Graduation

To attend graduation you will need to book a place using the online booking system.  

We will send an email to you when the booking system opens.

Please tell us if you will be Attending or Not Attending.  The booking system will tell you when your graduation congregation is.  

All students eligible to attend graduation need to register to inform us whether they will be attending the congregation.  This can be done by logging into the intranet account and clicking on the profile summary on the left-hand side of the screen.

To access your intranet account, please visit hwb.swansea.ac.uk, click Login, click the Intranet link, and log into the Intranet where you will be presented with your student profile. The graduation tab will appear in the Events/Reminders box beneath your photograph. Once you click on this you will see when your degree congregation will be and can complete the booking system to inform us if you will be attending or not.

If you experience difficulties logging into your account and require assistance, please contact the IT Service Desk by telephoning 01792 604000 from 7am-6pm Monday to Friday.  For further information please visit www.swansea.ac.uk/it-services/help.  Please note that the IT Service Desk email address only accepts emails sent from a student’s university account. 

All congregations will take place in the Great Hall, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea, SA1 8EN.

NB: Booking your place at graduation does NOT automatically mean that you have successfully completed your programme; all students who may successfully complete their programme are invited to graduation in order to allow time for arrangements to be made. You should register irrespective of academic factors, and if you are subsequently not eligible to graduate due to academic failure, you will be invited to the next available congregation following successful completion of your programme. We recommend that you take this into consideration should you need to arrange flights and/or hotel bookings.

To be eligible to graduate: 

• You must have completed your programme of study
• Your name must appear on an official conferment of award list
• You must have no outstanding tuition fee debts owed to Swansea University. You are reminded of the University’s regulations for the payment of fees which states:

‘In accordance with the university’s regulations for the payment of fees, students owing fees to the University will be unable to be considered by Award Bodies, to attend degree congregations or to receive awards.’

If you have outstanding debts, you need to contact income.tuition@swansea.ac.uk

Online Live chat sessions can be accessed using the link below:

Live Chat   

If you want to attend your graduation please 

•  Complete the graduation online booking form. 

When booking please

• Check that your name is how you would like it to appear on your certificate 
• Check that your programme title is correct 
• Inform us if you or your guests have any special requirements 

Do not wait until you receive your result to tell us as it will be too late to include you. 

NB. Failure to complete the online booking form before the deadline stated could affect the availability of guest tickets.

If you do not want to attend your graduation please

• Complete the graduation online booking form stating that you will not be attending. 
• Check that your home address is correct on your intranet account, as this is where your certificate will be posted. 

It is your responsibility to ensure that we hold the correct address in order for your pack to be sent. If the pack is sent to an incorrect address a charge will apply for a replacement.

If you change your address after your pack has been prepared, the change will not be effective. Therefore, if you need to amend your home address four weeks or earlier before your congregation, or if you wish your pack to be sent to an alternative address, please email the details to academic.certificates@swansea.ac.uk

When booking please

• Check that your name is how you would like it to appear on your certificate.  
• Check that your programme title is correct. 
• Tell us if you wish to defer your attendance to a future year (for exceptional circumstances only).

It is important to note that if you do not wish to attend your congregation then you will be admitted to your degree or award in absentia. 

Note to those not attending (receiving award in absentia): if you object to the publication of your personal data in the programme (name and award), please inform the Graduation Office.

All graduating students are required to wear the correct academic dress at their congregation.

You will NOT be allowed to go on stage without academic dress.

You are responsible for ordering this yourself.

Ede and Ravenscroft is the approved supplier of the correct academic dress for Swansea University. 

Academic dress bookings will open closer to the ceremony dates, with specific dates to be confirmed.

You can order your gown in one of two ways:

• on the internet 
• by phone on the following number: 0870 2421170 [Office hours 0900-1700 hours]

Before you start, you will need to know

• your head circumference (to ensure that you obtain the right hat size, measure the circumference of your head an inch above your eyebrow, level round and state the measurement in either inches or centimetres.)

• chest measurement
• height measurement

and have your credit/debit card details available.

Please use our Guide-to-selecting-your-Graduation-Gown to know which gown to order. 

Ede and Ravenscroft Ltd. will acknowledge receipt of your order when processed but you may not receive this until 10 days before your congregation.

If you have any special requests for a gown, i.e. extra large, or small, or a gown that is suitable for wear with a wheelchair, please inform Ede and Ravenscroft Ltd. at the point of ordering.

All graduation gowns cost £52 to hire if booked in advance of the ceremonies.  Gown cost will increase if hiring on the day.

It is possible to hire your gown, at an additional charge, for extra time. This allows you to take your gown home to have extra photographs taken.

Provided that the graduation online booking form is completed before the deadline, all students attending their congregation will be guaranteed 2 guest tickets free of charge. 

We realise that limiting tickets to 2 per student may cause some disappointment but hope you appreciate that the venue has a set seating capacity which we must not exceed.

We are unable to guarantee guest tickets to those who respond after our deadline.

Students DO NOT need a ticket to attend their congregation.

Guest seating is split between floor level seating and tiered seating.  If guests have any special requirements that require floor level seating please inform us when you book your tickets so that we can accommodate them. 

Guest Tickets

We will only be issuing 2 tickets at this time.

For additional guests we have live feed rooms, which are seated and available at the Great Hall.  These rooms are fully accessible and you are welcome to bring as many guests as you wish.

Children

We recognise that graduation is a family occasion and children are welcome to attend. However, they must be accompanied by an adult.  The congregations last approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes so they may not be suitable for very young children.  Out of respect for other guests we request that children should be taken outside if they become unsettled during the congregation so as not to disrupt proceedings and disturb other guests.  We reserve the right to ask any child (or adult) to leave the auditorium during the ceremony if they are making unnecessary noise or action which is disruptive to the proceedings or to other guests.

Children under the age of 2 years must sit on an adult’s lap, and not on a seat. They do not require a ticket.

Children aged 2 years and over must have a guest ticket for entry to the congregation.

Carer Tickets

If any of your guests require a carer to accompany them to the ceremonies, we can provide an extra ticket free of charge upon seeing evidence of one of the following:

• Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance for children under 16 or DLA/Personal Independent Payments (PIP) for those aged 16-64, either in the form of a letter stating that the benefit has been awarded, or the actual Allowance book.
• Attendance Allowance or Carer's Allowance letter of award.
• Incapacity Benefit books, or a letter notifying the recipient that the benefit has been awarded Incapacity Benefit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
• A valid Blue Badge.
• In the case of visual impairment, a registration card known as the BD8 or a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI).
• A local authority registration document which is local to the attraction where it is being submitted.
• A recognised Assistance Dog ID Card.
• Credibility’s Access Card with +1 symbol.

Please email gradaccessibility@swansea.ac.uk with your request and evidence.

All ceremonies will be broadcasted live on our website at http://www.swansea.ac.uk/graduation/  and can be watched via the internet.

International students who wish to attend their graduation ceremony, and do not have enough time to do so on their current visa, should apply for a Standard Visit visa from home. It is not possible to extend a Student Route visa from within the UK purely to attend a graduation ceremony.

A Standard Visit visa is also the correct visa for family or friends, who may be travelling to attend your graduation ceremony from overseas.

Visa Advice (formerly International@CampusLife) have comprehensive information available on their UK Standard Visitor Visa Route page. Please make sure you visit there for guidance on the eligibility, application process and suggested documents. Please note that you will not need a specific University letter about graduation as it is not listed in the UKVI requirements. However, you may wish to include either the graduation timetable and online booking email (which will automatically be sent to all graduating students around 6-8 weeks before the ceremony) or a printout of the University web page confirming the graduation date.

Students are asked to read through and understand the Terms and Conditions below and to contact the Graduation Team if they have any queries by emailing graduation@swansea.ac.uk

By applying to attend the Winter Graduation Ceremonies the student is agreeing to the following:

Location, Date and Time of Ceremony

• Graduation congregations will take place in The Great Hall, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea, SA1 8EN.
• It is anticipated that the confirmed graduation timetable will be released to students in September/October. 
• The date and time of all graduation ceremonies are subject to change, for example where there is a need to merge congregations.
• It is anticipated that online booking for students will open in October.
• Provision of these terms and conditions and booking a place at graduation does NOT automatically mean that a student has successfully completed their programme. All students who may successfully complete their programme are invited to graduation in order to allow time for arrangements to be made.  Students should book a place at graduation irrespective of academic factors, and if they are subsequently informed they are not eligible to graduate due to academic failure, their booking for the graduation will be cancelled (together with any guest tickets which will be refunded) and they will be invited to the next available graduation congregation following successful completion of their programme. We recommend that students carefully take this into consideration should flights and/or hotel bookings need to be arranged.
• Swansea University is not responsible and accepts no liability for any costs incurred by students and guests including, but not limited to, travel or accommodation or sustenance that are incurred by students and guests.

 Tickets and Registration

• Attendance at a graduation congregation is not mandatory and has no impact on the awarding of a student’s degree.
• Degree certificates will be available for collection at the congregations if your award was conferred 8 weeks prior to the graduation congregations. Students whose results were confirmed by an examination board prior to October could have already received their degree certificate by post to the student’s home address.  If degree certificates are not present at graduation, or a student does not attend their congregation, degree certificates will be posted to those students up to two months following the awarding of their degree.
• Where students are permitted to attend graduation after the close of online booking, the availability of additional guest tickets cannot be guaranteed. 
• The University reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of guest tickets allocated to each ceremony.
• The University cannot be held liable for the cost incurred of any travel, sustenance or accommodation arrangements made by graduates or guests if the graduate fails to achieve their award in time for their ceremony and is therefore no longer eligible to attend.
• Each student shall be allocated two guest tickets free of charge.
• The University will not permit entry into The Great Hall Auditorium for any guests that arrive for the ceremony without being in possession of an e-ticket.
• Every guest admitted into the auditorium for the ceremony must have an e-ticket, including children over the age of two years. Children under two years will not require a ticket and may attend the ceremony free of charge but no seat shall be allocated and therefore they must sit on a guest's lap.  Students do not require an e-ticket and will attend their graduation congregation free of charge.
• We cannot guarantee that there will be additional tickets available for your ceremony. If additional guest tickets do become available, eligible students will receive a link to purchase guest tickets within one month prior to their graduation congregation. 
• All guest tickets must be purchased through Swansea University’s guest ticket provider, which we will confirm once the November examination board has taken place and confirmed student eligibility is known.  
• All additional guest tickets (beyond the two free tickets automatically allocated) will cost £25.00 to purchase.
• All guest tickets are non-refundable (except for unforeseeable events as set out below).
• Guest tickets will not be available for purchase on the day and must be bought within the timeframe specified by the University in its guest ticket communication.
• Where a student is unable to attend their allocated congregation, the University cannot guarantee that an alternative ceremony will be offered.

Guest Ticket Refunds and Exchanges

• Tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged unless the graduation congregations have been cancelled or rescheduled.
• If the graduation ceremony is cancelled or delayed or the ceremony is rescheduled (to include date, time and/or venue) due to circumstances beyond the control of Swansea University, including (but not limited to) storm, fire, flood, explosion, act of terrorism (or threat of terrorist act), act of God, epidemic or pandemic, national mourning (any member of the royal family) or as a result of any labour dispute or industrial action, government action or order, dispute involving Swansea University, or any other act or event outside the control of Swansea University, the University will not be liable for any losses direct or otherwise incurred by the graduates or their guests.
• You may not resell tickets to third parties.
• The University reserves the right to refuse admission or request a ticket holder leave the premises in reasonable circumstances, examples of such circumstances include but are not limited to,: in the interests of health and safety, where inappropriate behaviour has been exhibited or occurred (including being intoxicated or under the influence of drugs or alcohol), the attendees do not arrive by the stipulated time, they are being disruptive to the ceremony or other guests or the attendee is ineligible to attend.  No refunds will be offered in these circumstances.

Conditions of Admittance

• All personal belongings are the owner's responsibility whilst on the premises.
• Latecomers may not be allowed entry or may be asked to wait for a suitable break in the congregation before taking their seats.
• All venues have a no smoking policy in accordance with the law.  This includes electronic cigarettes.
• Only food and drink purchased on the premises can be consumed; prohibited items will be appropriately confiscated or disposed of. Appropriate discretion will be made for those with medical requirements and/or special needs, we ask that this is communicated to Swansea University’s Graduation Team ahead of visit for ease of entry.
• It is requested that guests remain seated (unless otherwise asked to stand as part of the ceremony) throughout the congregation to allow all attendees a clear view of the stage and graduating students.  Please be aware where this request is contravened and results in complaints, the venue team on duty will ask you to sit down or may relocate you to another location in the auditorium.  Refunds or compensation will not be offered in any of these circumstances. 
• Students are expected to arrive, register, dress in their academic robe and be seated in the auditorium no later than 15 minutes before the start of the graduation congregation. Doors to the auditorium for guests will open 30 minutes before the start of the graduation congregation.
• Students who arrive late may lose their place in the graduation congregation. Late students who arrive after all students within that ceremony have been presented will not be able to graduate in their congregation.  The Graduation Manager will determine whether an alternative congregation can be offered to the student instead.

 Tuition Fee Debts

• Student tuition fee debts to Swansea University must be settled in full prior to a student’s attendance at their graduation congregations. If you are concerned how a tuition fee debt will affect your attendance, please email: income.tuition@swansea.ac.uk.
• If any student tuition fee debt has not been cleared in full within four weeks of a student’s graduation congregation, Swansea University reserves the right to refuse a student and their associated guests’ entry to the ceremony.

Data Protection

• Students, guests, and staff attending graduation should be aware that degree congregations are regarded as public events. 
• Any publication of personal data (such as names and awards) will be detailed in the Graduation Privacy Notice. 
• Audio and visual images of the congregation are publicly available via a live webcast, social media, and the sale of DVDs of the congregation. 
• In accordance with the General Data Protection Legislation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 the material will be used solely for the promotion or benefit of Swansea University. 
• Materials can remain in the public domain for an indefinite period and may be used for educational and/or marketing purposes. They may require editing for quality or technical purposes and will be stored securely by the University or its agents. 
• Material(s) will be the copyright of Swansea University and may be used as is or in conjunction with other material(s), as part of a composite production. 

Academic Dress

• Academic dress (i.e., the wearing of academic robes) for students is mandatory at all Swansea University graduation congregations.
• Ede and Ravenscroft are appointed to supply the correct academic dress for the University’s graduation congregations. Additional information, including the charge to hire or purchase academic dress, can be viewed via the University’s graduation web pages. Please note that separate terms and conditions will apply to the hire or purchase of academic dress and that any contract for hire or purchase of academic dress will be made between you and Ede and Ravenscroft. As such, the University shall not be responsible for or liable for performance of any obligation under that contract.

Access

• Assistance dogs are welcome but please notify the University under ‘special requirements’ at the time of booking.  Owner is responsible for the dog whilst on the premises.
• Requests for accessible seating requirements for students or their guests, such as wheelchair access, sight, or sound facilities, should be submitted when confirming their attendance so that appropriate arrangements can be made. If a student fails to declare any special requirements in advance of the congregations, the University cannot guarantee that special provisions can be accommodated on the day.
• If you require assistance during your visit, please see any member of venue staff on arrival who will be pleased to help where possible.    

Children/Babies in Arms

• As each congregation is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes long, we advise that they are unsuitable for children under the age of 2 years old.
• All children under 18 must be always accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult.
• Management reserves the right to ask parents/supervisors to leave if the child they are supervising is causing a disturbance to other guests.
• Baby changing/feeding facilities are available.

Failure to comply with any of the above Terms and Conditions may result in the student and their guest(s) losing their places at the graduation ceremony.

When applying for tickets, students will be asked to accept the Terms and Conditions and will not be able to purchase tickets without doing this.