Graduation is the highlight of the academic year and we are really looking forward to Degree Congregations in the Great Hall between Monday 9 and Friday 13 December 2024.
Invitations to attend a ceremony in December will be sent in September 2024 by email, with a deadline of 15 October 2024 to respond. We will also email our graduands with important information about the day, so it's really important that you keep your contact details up to date. Please add graduation@contacts.bham.ac.uk to your contacts list. You may also need to check your junk folder in case our emails have been redirected there.
The Degree Congregations will be webcast live so that anyone unable to join you on campus can watch online via the University's YouTube channel.
When is my ceremony?
Ceremonies will take place between Monday 9 and Friday 13 December 2024, more information on specific dates and times will be published on this website as soon as it is available.
How do I access the Student Gateway?
To access the Student Gateway you will need to use either your @student or @alumni email address and latest password. If you can't remember your password and are unable to access the Gateway, please go to the MyPassword website if you are a current student, or contact the IT Servicedesk if you are an alumni. If you missed the deadline to reply to your invitation please email us at graduation@contacts.bham.ac.uk to join our wait list and we will do our best to find a space for you.
To check your ceremony date and time via the Gateway, please click on ‘reply to Degree Congregation invitation’, which will be under ‘exams and assessment’. This will take you through to a screen on which you will be asked to select your programme of study. Check the box next to your programme and then ‘submit’. You will then be taken through to a screen that confirms which ceremony you are due to attend, subject to meeting the terms of your degree.
Tickets
Each graduand is allocated their own ticket to the ceremony plus two guest tickets, which will grant access to the Great Hall for your Degree Congregation. There is no charge for tickets.
When will I receive my tickets?
Your graduand ticket and two guest tickets will be available to collect from the ticket desk on the ground floor of the Bramall Music Building on the day of your ceremony. The ticket desk will open at 8.00am and close when the last ceremony has started each day. You need to check in at the ticket desk and collect your paper tickets before proceeding upstairs to collect your robes. To ensure that you have plenty of time to do this ahead of your ceremony, please arrive at the ticket desk two hours before your ceremony is due to start. Don't forget that the doors to the Great Hall close 15 minutes before the ceremony start time, so you need to already be in your seat before then. To help reduce waiting times and make the queues more manageable, we ask that only graduands join the queue for tickets in the Bramall Music Building where possible please.
You must collect your ticket in order to gain access to the Great Hall. Graduands with blue tickets should enter the Great Hall through the left-hand doors. Graduands with red tickets should enter through the doors on the right. Guests enter through the middle doors. You will be asked to show your ticket to the staff on the doors. Guests should then proceed to the front of the Hall to find an available seat - guest seating is not numbered. Graduands will need to check in at the desk inside the Great Hall before taking their numbered seat. This is crucial as otherwise you will not be presented for your degree in the correct order and you risk your name being crossed out of the list!
How many guests can I bring with me?
In the interests of safety, we will need to limit the number of guests who can join you in the Great Hall to two. Please note that this number includes children of any age as it relates to the capacity limit of the building and not to the availability of seats. No extra tickets will be available for the Degree Congregations (unless for a carer) but we may operate a queue outside the Great Hall prior to the ceremony, subject to capacity. Please see the section 'will any extra tickets be available' for further information.
You are welcome to bring as many additional guests with you to campus as you like. Any guests that we can't accommodate in the Great Hall can watch the ceremony from our viewing room in Lecture Theatre WG12, in the Aston Webb Building. No tickets are needed for the viewing room, for which seats are not reserved in advance. The ceremony will also be webcast so that anyone unable to join you on campus can watch online. The recordings will then continue to be available on the University's YouTube channel, should anyone miss them live.
Will any extra tickets be available?
Extra guest tickets for the Great Hall are not available in advance of the Degree Congregations, unless needed for a registered carer. Subject to guest numbers, a limited number of spare seats may become available in the Great Hall on the day. Where this is the case, we will operate a queue outside of the Great Hall and allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis before the ceremony starts.
What if some of my guests can't get into the Great Hall?
Any guests that we can't accommodate in the Great Hall can watch the ceremony from our viewing room in Lecture Theatre WG12, located in the Aston Webb Building. No tickets are needed for the viewing room, for which seats aren't reserved in advance. The ceremony will also be webcast so that anyone unable to join you on campus can watch online. The recordings will then continue to be available on the
University's YouTube channel, should anyone miss them live.
Will the Degree Congregations be shown online?
Yes, the Degree Congregations will be webcast live so that anyone unable to join you on campus can watch online. The recordings will then continue to be available on the
University's YouTube channel, should anyone miss them live.
Preparing for the day
There are always lots of questions when preparing for your graduation, so we've answered some of the most commonly asked ones below.
You should hire your academic dress with Ede & Ravenscroft. We will be in touch once gown hire opens for the December 2024 ceremonies.
Degree Congregations are formal events and graduands and their guests are encouraged to dress for such an occasion. Please be aware that when being presented for your degree you will climb a set of steps up to the Great Hall stage, so please bear this in mind when choosing your footwear.
The venues
Your Degree Congregation will take place in the Great Hall at the centre of our Edgbaston campus. Our students have been graduating from this iconic building since the early 1900s. After your Degree Congregation you and your guests are welcome to spend the day enjoying our beautiful campus, where you can take your own graduation-day photographs against the backdrop of Old Joe and the Aston Webb Building. Please see our Degree Congregations Campus Map (PDF - 67MB) for information on the location of all venues.
Where will my Degree Congregation take place?
Your Degree Congregation, or graduation ceremony, will take place on our Edgbaston Campus in the Great Hall (Aston Webb Building). It is really important that you and your two guests arrive in plenty of time for the start of the ceremony. The doors will close 15 minutes before the ceremony start time, after which point you will not be able to join the event. The doors will open 45 minutes to an hour before the ceremony starts. Graduating students have an allocated seat at the back of the Great Hall. Guest seating is at the front of the Great Hall and is unallocated.
Graduands with blue tickets should enter the Great Hall through the left-hand doors. Graduands with red tickets should enter through the doors on the right. Guests enter through the middle doors. You will be asked to show your ticket to the staff on the doors. Guests should then proceed to the front of the Hall to find an available seat. Graduands will need to check in at the desk inside the Great Hall before taking their numbered seat. This is crucial as otherwise you will not be presented for your degree in the correct order and you risk your name being crossed out of the list!
What if I have access requirements?
We have a dedicated Accessibility & Support at Graduations webpage that contains additional information about the day. If you are a graduand and have any access requirements that you would like to discuss with a member of the team, particularly with regard to your being presented for your degree in the Great Hall, please email gradhelp@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we will be happy to talk you through the options available to you. Please also get in touch with us if you require a ticket for a registered carer.
If you are driving to the celebrations, parking for blue badge holders is available on campus and is identifiable via the campus mobility map. Some disabled parking may require you to enter restricted campus areas. If this is the case, please press the buzzer to speak to security, who will be able to open the appropriate gate for you. Please ensure that you display your blue badge clearly.
The campus mobility map also shows level access routes to the Great Hall. You should enter via the Bramall Building (reference R12 on the campus mobility map).
Can animals be brought into the Great Hall?
Animals can't be brought into the Great Hall unless they are a registered assistance animal. If you are a graduand and have an assistance animal that you plan to bring with you to the Degree Congregations, please email
graduation@contacts.bham.ac.uk so that we can discuss your requirements.
Where will photography take place?
Ede and Ravenscroft offer a range of photography packages, which can be
booked online using the same form as for hiring academic dress. Portrait photography will take place in the
Nuffield Building.
Is there somewhere I can leave my coat?
A cloakroom will be available on the lower-ground floor of the Bramall Music Building. Space is limited so please do not bring bulk items with you.
Getting here
The following guidance will help you plan your travel to campus on the day of your Degree Congregation. Where possible we would encourage you to use public transport, as the area around campus can get very busy and parking spaces nearby are limited.
A limited number of parking spaces are available in the North East Car Park (B15 2SA). Parking for blue badge holders is available on campus and is identifiable via the campus mobility map. Some disabled parking may require you to enter restricted campus areas. If this is the case, please press the buzzer to speak to security, who will be able to open the appropriate gate for you. Please ensure that you display your blue badge clearly.
Is any accommodation available on campus?
Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre is the University of Birmingham’s hotel, and is just a short walk from the main campus. Opened in 2018, it has 172 bedrooms, an on-site bar and restaurant, plus car parking. Those guests looking for overnight accommodation should contact the hotel directly on +44(0)121 414 8888 or visit the website.
Important information
Please note that students who may be eligible to graduate in December 2024 are emailed an invitation to attend. Only students graduating from the University of Birmingham with a Degree of the University listed under Ordinance 4.1.1 who meet the terms of that degree will be eligible to actually attend the December graduations. Some students will receive the email inviting them to attend but will not be eligible to graduate by the time of the ceremony (if, for example, you have not yet submitted your dissertation, you have not paid all of your tuition fees, or you are resitting any examinations). This is particularly common for research students, whose examination (viva) and correction processes can vary considerably.
It is important to remember that communications about your ceremony and related activities do not confirm successful completion of your degree and should not be taken as proof that you are, or will be, eligible to graduate. You will be able to access your official progress and examination results online through the 'Exam marks and progress decisions – end of year marks' link in the 'Exams and Assessments' column of the Student Gateway. Please note that there are additional requirements for research students. You can find out more by reading the Terms and Conditions.
The information provided on this page is subject to any changes in COVID restrictions and government policy. In the event of the Degree Congregations having to be cancelled, delayed, postponed or curtailed due to circumstances beyond the control of the University, the University shall give as much notice as is reasonably practical to students of such cancellation, delay, postponement or curtailment. Circumstances that would constitute a force majeure may include, but are not limited to: fire, flood, explosion or any other incident that renders the venue in which the Degree Congregation is due to be held unsafe to use; terrorist act (or threat of a terrorist act); natural disaster; pandemic; industrial action; or a period of national mourning. The University will not be liable for any losses, direct or otherwise, incurred by students or their guests in the event of the University of Birmingham’s graduation ceremonies being cancelled, delayed, postponed or curtailed due to circumstances beyond the control of the University.