Skip to main content
Graduation – Bath Spa University

Celebrate your academic achievement with friends, family and fellow students. 

The next opportunity to attend graduation will be the winter ceremony, which will take place on 30 January 2024.

The summer 2024 graduation ceremonies will take place between 22–24 July 2024. Both ceremonies will take place at the Forum in Bath.  

Any student eligible to attend graduation will be emailed an invitation nearer the time. For the winter ceremony, invitations will be sent in November 2023. The invite will contain a link on how to register your attendance.

Once you have registered, you will be sent another email which provides different links to book your registration, tickets, order academic robes and photographs. Please refer to this email to book everything related to graduation.

Which ceremony can I attend?

The ceremony you can attend is determined by when you complete your studies, your school and your course. If you're eligible, you'll be sent an invitation by email and by post at the appropriate time.

Major/minor or joint awards

If you're graduating with a major/minor or joint (equally balanced) combined degree which has been taught across two schools/fields, you'll be able to choose which of the schools/fields you wish to graduate with.

Combined awards

Combined awards will be presented as a single group within each school/field, e.g. if you've studied Geography and History, you'll graduate with other Combined awards from the field of Culture and Environment, not with BSc Geography or BA History.

Specialised Education awards

All students on a Specialised Education course (also known as the ‘3+1’ of Primary/Secondary pathway, which provides support for entry onto PGCE courses) will graduate with the School of Education, regardless of whether they do a combination of subjects within this course.

Preparation

Am I eligible to attend?
  • The following awards are presented at graduation: BA or BSc degrees (with or without Honours), PGCE (Primary or Secondary), PGDip, MA, MSc, MRes or MTeach, MPhil, PhD
  • If you achieve an appropriate award, or are expected to achieve an appropriate award, between January and July, you'll be invited to our July graduation ceremonies. Awards made or due after July will be invited to our Winter ceremonies.
  • Students undertaking a degree or a top up degree at one of our partner institutions may be invited to our graduation ceremonies depending upon our partnership arrangements, or invited to ceremonies held by their institution. In some exceptional cases, students may be eligible to attend both ceremonies.
How do I book guest tickets, and how many can I have?

Tickets are booked online via Ticketsource.

Your invitation will include the booking link, and will tell you the opening and closing dates for booking and how many guests you can bring.

What if I don't pass my course in time for Graduation?

Should you not complete the course in time to graduate at your expected ceremony, you can obtain refunds on any of your purchases by contacting each of the services involved.

Please don't wait until you've passed your course before obtaining your tickets as the closing date for booking falls before some results have been announced.

Should you complete your course after your expected graduation, your certificate will be issued within six weeks of when the award is achieved, and you'll be invited to the next ceremonies.

I'm an international student - do I need to make special arrangements?

We're not able to provide letters to help your guests arrange visas for their travel, but you can write one yourself. Please email: immigrationadvice@bathspa.ac.uk for more information and help on what to include in your letter.

If you require a letter to confirm your completion of studies please contact the Student Information Desk (SID) in Commons or via MyServices.

What do I wear?

You must wear the correct academic robes in order to take part in your ceremony. These may be hired or bought from our official suppliers, Ede and Ravenscroft.

Graduation is a formal event, and we advise that you dress to suit the occasion in clothing which will be manageable and comfortable beneath your robes.

On the day

What time do I need to be there?

You'll need to register for your ceremony and collect your academic robes before your ceremony starts. We recommend you allow at least two hours for this.

What happens during the ceremony?

Before the ceremony, while guests and students are taking their seats, live music is played.

The ceremony will begin promptly at the advertised time, and it will not be possible to admit late arrivals.

After welcomes from a senior member of staff, the academic procession enters.

The Order of Ceremonies is as follows:

  • Ceremony is declared open
  • Vice-Chancellor’s address
  • Presentation of honorary awards (if applicable)
  • Presentation of student awards
  • Ceremony is declared closed.

For the presentation of your award, stewards will direct you to the side of the stage at the appropriate time, your name will be read out by a member of staff from your department, and you'll cross the stage to be congratulated in the centre by the Head of your School or another senior member of staff. You then leave the stage on the opposite side, and stewards will direct you back to your seat.

At the end of the ceremony, the academic procession will leave first.

We expect each of our ceremonies to last about 60-90 minutes.

Can I film the event?

The use of cameras and video recorders during the ceremony is strictly prohibited (this includes mobile phones) as they distract those taking part and spoil the enjoyment of other guests.

You may of course take photographs before and after the ceremony.

Contact the Graduation Office

The Graduation Office is open all year round to hear enquiries from students. 

  • Email: graduation@bathspa.ac.uk 
  • Post: Graduation Office, Bath Spa University, Newton Park, Newton St Loe, Bath BA2 9BN

Edit section | Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk