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Before you graduate

July 2024 - are you attending?

You will receive your graduation invitation via email At the beginning of April 2024. You need to respond by Sunday 23rd June

It is important that you reply even if you do not wish to attend the ceremony in person so that we can make arrangements for you to receive your certificate.

If you are expecting to graduate and have not received an invitation to your Graduation Ceremony by 1st July  please email the Graduation Ceremonies team.

If you no longer have access to e:Vision please complete our online form (link) to provide your responses.

Book your Graduation gown hire and photography

To attend the ceremony you will need to wear the University of Bradford academic dress appropriate to your award. Please follow this link to Marston Events to hire your gown and photography session.

You collect your gown on the day of your graduation ceremony at Small Hall (Richmond Building ) after registering and collecting your tickets for the event at Registration (Social Learning Space, Richmond Building). Registration is open from 8am on the day of your ceremony, unless stated otherwise. 

You may choose to have your photographs taken before you graduate but please ensure you allow enough time to collect your gown, register and be seated on time for your ceremony in the Great Hall.

Your photograph will also be taken when on stage. Your guests may take photographs during the ceremony but should remain seated throughout.

Before you graduate - your checklist

  • Reply to your graduation ceremony invitation via e:Vision - you can book guest tickets (max. 2) and inform us of any seating adjustments in your response
  • No access to e:Vision? Complete and return our online form
  • Visit the 'Preparing for Graduation' tab for proceedings
  • Book your Gown Hire and choose any photography packages you might want
  • Plan your travel and any accommodation to arrive one hour before your ceremony

Not attending the graduation ceremony in person?

  • Reply via e:Vision choosing the option to defer or graduate in absentia
  • Use the form to let us know how you wish to receive your certificate if graduating in absentia. 

If you are due to graduate in July 2024 you should receive an invitation by email early in April. If you have not heard from us by this time please contact us via email.

Once you have received your invitation please log into e:Vision and complete the task. If you no longer have access to e:Vision please complete our online form.

Please complete your reply before the deadline of Sunday 23rd June.

It is important that you reply to your ceremony invitation even if you are not planning to attend the ceremony in person. If you don’t wish to attend you can choose to graduate in absentia or defer* to a future ceremony.

*You can only defer graduation once. If you defer to December 2024 you will not be eligible to defer again.

You can request up to 2 guest tickets when replying to your ceremony invitation. These tickets are free of charge.

You do not need to request a ticket for yourself, graduands will be seated in a separate part of the Great Hall from the guest seating area.

Additional tickets – If there are any spare tickets these will go on sale the week before the ceremony. The number of spare tickets that can be purchased is usually restricted to a maximum of 2 per person and are subject to capacity of the venue. We cannot guarantee any spare tickets will be available for our ceremonies. 

Screening tickets – the ceremonies are broadcast on a large screen in the Norcroft Centre (Auditorium) for guests who do not have tickets for the Great Hall. These tickets are free of charge and are available at registration on a first come first served basis.

All tickets are issued at the Registration Office (Richmond Building) on the day of the ceremony.

Children are welcome at the ceremonies; however the ceremonies may prove to be too long for younger children who may become restless.  

Children over two years old must have their own seat in the Great Hall and therefore must be included in your guest numbers. Children up to the age of two must sit on an adult's lap and do not require a separate ticket. This is due to health and safety regulations that require all participants and guests at the ceremonies to be seated.

Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times while on campus and within the Great Hall during the Graduation Ceremony. 

Please note: the guest seating area is in a separate part of the hall from the graduands’ seating area.  If graduands wish to bring children under the age of 16 they must be accompanied by another adult and cannot be seated with the graduands.

For the comfort of other guests, parents or carers may be asked to take any child who becomes agitated or distressed out of the Great Hall to the foyer area.

If you and/or your guests require seating adjustments for your graduation ceremony, please ensure you provide full details when completing the e:Vision reply task or the reply form.

Please read the guidance on disabled access on campus.

The graduation ceremonies are an official occasion and although there is no formal dress code smart dress is required. For ease of fitting your gown it is recommended that you wear a shirt/blouse with buttons.  Graduands must wear academic dress appropriate to their award in order to attend their ceremony.

Academic dress, ie gown and hat, should be ordered online and the deadline is Monday 8th July. To hire your gown and photography session please follow this link to Marston Events our official provider.

Gowns will be available to collect from 8.00am on the morning of your Graduation Day from the Small Hall (Richmond Building).

There are lots of hotels in and around Bradford.

Find more details on our local hotels page, and on the Visit Bradford website.

The graduation ceremonies are held on the University's main City Campus. 

When travelling to Bradford on the day of your graduation ceremony it is very important that you allow plenty of time to make your journey.

We recommend that you allow sufficient time to travel to the venue (Great Hall on City Campus) with ample time to collect your ceremony tickets, graduation gown and have any photographs taken.

Parking

There will be limited parking available on City Campus on graduation ceremony days and this is provided on a first come, first served basis. The post codes for the campus car parks are:  Sheerbridge – BD7 1PP and Longside car parks – BD7 1SA

Alternatively, please see information about local car parks in Bradford.

Parking is also available for guests who are Blue Badge holders.

If you have any queries regarding this please email us.

If you or your guests are travelling from overseas and require a letter in support of an application for a travel visa, please visit one of the MyBradford locations or email the MyBradford team

You will need to provide staff with the following information for each person travelling:

  • full name
  • date of birth
  • passport number
  • dates of travel (& duration of stay in the UK)

For details of MyBradford, including opening times, please visit their website.

If you are travelling during the discretionary period of your student Tier 4 visa, please refer to our Visa Support information for guidance.

The names of graduands are published in a Graduation booklet distributed to all graduands free of charge, and printed on T-shirts available to purchase at the ceremonies.

When you complete your e:Vision reply task, you will be asked whether or not you give consent for your name to be included in the booklet and/or on the T-shirt.

If you are attending the ceremony in person your photograph will be taken whilst you are on stage receiving your award. These images will be available to view on the day of the ceremony and may also be published online.

The ceremonies are broadcast on the internet, on a live link to external screens, and recorded for distribution. By attending the ceremony you and your guests are consenting to be included in this broadcast.

If you have any questions please email us.

You’ve got the degree, now buy the t-shirt! We’ve teamed up with the brilliant Campus Clothing to offer you the chance to celebrate your graduation with a ‘Class of 2023’ hoodie or t-shirt. All garments are fair trade, and already have your name and those of your fellow course mates printed on the back.  You can even add bespoke personalisation to make your memento that extra bit special.

The friendly Campus Clothing staff will have a stall at your ceremony,  but you can skip the queues and avoid disappointment by pre-ordering at CampusClothing/Bradford

Graduation privacy notice

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 provide for a number of different legal bases under which processing of personal data may take place.