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On the Day

On the Day

Congratulations - it's your Graduation Day!

The following information will help guide you on what to expect on the day of your graduation.

Summary of Instructions for the Day

 

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THOSE GRADUATING IN PERSON IN NOVEMBER 2024
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Ceremonies will be held at King's College Campus

1. When I arrive for my graduation ceremony
  1. Collect your robes from James MacKay Hall in King's College Conference Centre
  2. Have photographs taken, if you have time
  3. Report to the Briefing area at New Kings 1 for check-in an hour before your ceremony start time.

Note: If you do not arrive on time, your name will be deleted from the procession order.

You must report to the briefing room at this time for 3 reasons:

  • So that you can be marked as present for the ceremony. If you do not attned the briefing on time, you will be recorded as absent and therefore removed from the ceremony
  • Registry staff and the Sacrist brief students on the proceedings for the ceremony
  • Registry staff undertake important checks to ensure that you are in the correct order and that it will be your name that is called in the correct place! Please ensure that after check-in you sit in your allocated seat in the Briefing room. 
2. Robes and Photographs

You should already have ordered your robes from the Ede & Ravenscroft website.  You will require a gown, the appropriate hood and a hat (trencher).  If you haven’t placed your order, contact Ede & Ravenscroft.  You can also order your photography at the same time on this site.  If you do not have web access, or you have left it too late to order online, please telephone 01223 861854.

When you arrive at the Briefing area (New Kings 1) you should be wearing the gown, but not the hood. Doctoral students should carry their red gown. Hats are not needed until the end of the ceremony when you process out of the venue.

Robes for the ceremonies can be collected approximately 2.5 hours before the start of your graduation ceremony.  Gown hire and photography staff will be on duty at the venue from approximately 8.30am daily.  

If you wish to keep your robes for longer the suppliers may be able to accommodate you. There may be an additional charge by the suppliers, depending on the length of extra time you require.
3. What should I wear to my ceremony?

Students can wear whatever they feel comfortable wearing, most are dressed in smart clothing. Military uniform or national costume (including full highland day dress) and/or Blues Medals may be worn.
4. Do I need a ticket of admission?

All guests must be in possession of a ticket to enter the ceremony venue.  Guest seating is on a first come first served basis. 

Please inform your guests that admission to the ceremony cannot be allowed after the Academic Procession has begun, and that punctuality is essential for them, to avoid disappointment. Doors will open approximately one hour before the ceremony start time. Those guests arriving late for the ceremony wil not be permitted entry.
5. Can my guests use cameras at my ceremony?

Members of the audience may take photographs, but they may not move about the venue in order to do so.  Please ensure that your guests are aware of this.
6. What if I have mobility or other difficulties?

If you or any of your guests require assistance and have forgotten to complete the appropriate form, please email graduation@abdn.ac.uk immediately and we will try to accommodate your request at this late time. 
7. What if I need to cancel my attendance at Graduation?

If, for any reason, you no longer wish to attend the ceremony, please email graduation@abdn.ac.uk now to that effect, and your name will be removed from the listings if they have not already gone to print. 

Please note that this means that you will NOT now have graduated and you must reapply when you are ready to graduate at a future date.

Your options are:

  1. Submit a new application for the next in absentia graduation which will be July 2025, or
  2. Submit a new application for the next in person ceremony in July 2025. You can defer your application for a ceremony on a single occasion only. Thereafter your application will go forward in absentia.

Your application will not be carried forward automatically.
8. When will I get my degree/diploma certificate?

Normally, your degree/diploma parchment will be issued to you as you descend from the stage after conferment of your Award.  A transcript of your results will also be included in the envelope (for taught programme students only). If you are expected to attend a ceremony and you do not turn up, your degree/diploma certificate will not be issued as you will NOT have graduated. You must reapply (see note 7 above).

 

Prior to the ceremony

Please arrive at the University in good time and collect your robes from James MacKay Hall in King's College Conference Centre (see timings below). 

  • After collecting your robes, you can have your photos taken too, if you have time. Graduating students should proceed to the Briefing Room in New Kings 1 an hour before your ceremony start time for check-in and the pre-ceremony briefing.
     
  • You will be allocated a specific seat in the Briefing Room (New Kings 1). Please ensure that you sit in your allocated seat - this is the order that names will be called to go across the stage to graduate. Once the briefing is finished, you will line up to process to the Ceremony Venue.
     
  • Handbags and valuables should be taken with you to the Ceremony Venue. There is a free cloakroom in the Linklater Rooms. Please make sure you do not leave any personal items, valuables, or bags behind in the briefing area.
     
  • You should be wearing your robes when you arrive at the Briefing Room, but not your coloured hood which will be put on once you have been capped on stage. Doctoral students should carry their robe.
     
  • The trencher (hat)/John Knox cap is not required until the end of the ceremony. Carry it with you - put it under your chair in the Ceremony Venue until the end of the ceremony. Trenchers/John Knox caps are only worn by graduates as they process out of the venue at the end of the ceremony. When everyone stands up to leave at the end of the ceremony you should put it on.
Timeline for ceremonies
  10.30am ceremony 1.30pm ceremony 4.30pm ceremony Comments
Collect robes and hat from Ede & Ravenscroft. 08.30-09.30
(E&R on duty from 08.30)		 Anytime up to 12.00 Anytime up to 15.00

You should have ordered your robes by now (Read section 2)

Robe hire 
Have graduation photographs taken by Ede & Ravenscroft. If not done by 9.00, suggest that photos are taken after the ceremony Anytime up to 12.00, or after the ceremony Anytime up to 15.00 Photo orders can be placed at the same time as ordering the robes, using the same website. Photo studios will close at 18.00.
Report to the Briefing Room for check in. 09.30 12.30 15.30  
Expected time to begin to process to the ceremony from the Briefing Room 10.15 13.15 16.15 Registry staff will alert you when it is almost time to process and will lead you out of your room.
Anticipated time of end of ceremony 11.45-12.15 14.45-15.15 17.45-18.15 Depends on the length of speeches and the volume of students graduating at your ceremony.
Return robes and hat by: 18.30 on the same day 18.30 on the same day  18.30 on the same day  

 

Procession and Ceremony

When all the checks have been completed in the Briefing Room, students will process to the Ceremony Venue. The student procession will begin about fifteen minutes before the start of the ceremony.

The Sacrists will lead the procession into the venue and usher you to your seats (please remain in the order you were seated in the Briefing Room).

Ceremony
  • There will be a welcome speech, sometimes followed by an honorary degree conferment. The student graduation will then commence, and you will be taken out half a row at a time to the side of the platform. 
     
  • Wait for your first and last names to be called before you start walking across the platform.
     
  • The Sacrist will take your hood (or gown for Doctoral students) off your arm as you pass him on the stage - just let him remove it from your arm and don't try to hand it to him. Stand and face the Chancellor or Pro/Vice-Chancellor, seated in the large chair in the middle of the stage. As the Presider says 'Et te creo' you should dip your head slightly and they will touch it with the cap - that is you capped. The Sacrist will put the hood over your head (or help you into your robe for Doctoral students), momentarily turn to face the audience, accept applause/cheering from family and friends, then exit the stage.
     
  • Off stage you will be handed an envelope containing your certificate and transcript. Research students do not get a transcript.  Please do not open the envelope until after the ceremony. Return to your seat. 
     
  • At the end of the ceremony you should remain standing as the Academic procession leaves the venue. You can now put on your hat/John Knox Cap. Make sure you have all your belongings with you - don't leave anything under the seat or on it. You will process out of the venue, a row at a time, behind the Academic procession.
  • Remember to collect any belongings left in the free cloakroom in the Linklater Rooms. Please make sure you do not leave any personal items, valuables, or bags behind in the briefing area.
Information for Guests

All guests attending the ceremony are required to purchase a ticket.

Please remind your guests that admission to the ceremony cannot be allowed while the Academic Procession is in progress.

Guests who arrive after the start of the ceremony will not be permitted entry until the Academic Procession has finished.

Members of the audience may take photographs, but they should not move about the venue in order to do so. Guests that they should remain in their seats.

Hospitality

On the day graduates and guests can visit the hospitality marquee where drinks, snacks and University memorabilia can be purchased.

If guests do not have a ticket, they can watch the ceremony on their devices within the marquee, or at one of our campus cafes.