Unicaf Spring Graduation

The Spring graduation ceremonies are for Unicaf students whose awards are conferred in the Winter and Spring conferral points.

For Winter conferral, students who have completed their studies and had their award agreed by an assessment board by Friday 13 December 2024 will be contacted by the Graduation Office in December and asked to complete the Graduation Registration form in OASIS by noon on Tuesday 14 January 2025.

For Spring conferral, students who have completed their studies and had their award agreed by an assessment board after 13 December 2024 and by Friday 4 April 2025 will be contacted by the Graduation Office from March onwards and asked to complete the Graduation Registration form in OASIS by noon on Tuesday 15 April 2025. 

Please ensure you complete your registration as soon as possible after receipt of your invitation email, and by the deadlines noted above.

Whether you wish to attend your ceremony or not, it is important that you complete your online Graduation Registration so that we have a correct record of your name and address. If you do not complete the graduation registration form, we will not post your certificate.

Students whose awards are being conferred at the Autumn conferral point will be invited to attend the graduation ceremonies taking place from Saturday 18 to Wednesday 22 October 2025 at the University of Suffolk on the Ipswich Waterfront.

Guest tickets

All guest tickets cost £10 each and must be purchased in advance through the Marston Events booking portal (www.marstonevents.com/suffolk). Each graduating student can purchase up to two guest tickets for their ceremony in the initial allocation. You will not be able to purchase your guest tickets until you have completed the graduation registration form and received your email confirming that you can log in to the Marston Events booking portal. The deadline for you to purchase your guest tickets is noon on Wednesday 23 April 2025. 

All children attending your graduation ceremony must be accompanied by an adult guest. Children under the age of 5 years do not require a ticket and will be expected to share a seat with an adult guest. Children aged 5 years and over do require a ticket and are included in your count of three guest tickets.

If any guest tickets remain after the deadline to purchase the initial allocation of tickets (noon on Wednesday 23 April 2025), additional tickets for your ceremony may be offered for sale on a first come, first served basis. All students who have placed an order via the Marston Events booking portal will be sent an email to let you know whether additional tickets are available for your ceremony and, if so, details of how to purchase them. Please note that there is no guarantee that there will be additional tickets available for any ceremony and additional tickets cannot be reserved.

If you have purchased guest tickets, you will be sent a confirmation email from Marston Events containing your e-tickets a few days before your graduation ceremony. Please remember to bring a copy of this email and the e-tickets with you to your graduation ceremony as your guests will require their e-tickets to gain entry to the marquee.

While friends and family may accompany you to the Waterfront for photographs, only guests that you have an e-ticket for will be allowed entry to The Hold for your graduation ceremony. There are a number of open-air seating areas as well as cafes, bars and restaurants along the Waterfront where anyone who does not have a ticket can wait while the ceremony is taking place.

Please see the Spring Graduation Guest Ticketing Policy for more information.

Live-streaming

All of the graduation ceremonies will be recorded and live-streamed. If you have friends and family who are not able to attend the graduation ceremony in person, they will be able to watch a live-stream of your ceremony from home via the University's website. Downloads of the ceremonies will be available on the website after all graduation ceremonies have concluded.

Gowning

All graduating students attending the graduation ceremonies must wear the correct academic dress for their award. Your academic dress (gown, hood and mortarboard) must be ordered in advance from Marston Events and will be available for collection from the gowning area in the foyer of the Waterfront Building, on the day of your ceremony. Marston Events will have staff in attendance to hand you your gown and advise you how to put it on.

After the ceremony all gowns should be returned to the gown return station in the foyer of the Waterfront Building (unless you selected to extend your hire when you pre-ordered your gown) no later than 2 hours after your graduation ceremony. If you are attending the last ceremony of the day, gown returns will close at 6pm.

Photography

The studios for portrait photographs taken by Marston Events, the official photographers for the day, will be located in Lecture Theatre 2 on the ground floor of the Waterfront Building. Marston Events offer a number of photography packages for graduate and/or family portraits, which are available for pre-order when you order your gown. If you don't pre-order there will be the opportunity to order on the day if required, but please be aware that you will incur a non-refundable £15 studio session fee. You are therefore strongly advised to pre-order your chosen photography package. There will be time before and after the ceremony to have your official photographs taken. Please note that the photography studios will close at 6pm.

There will also be a photographer from Marston Events taking a photo of every graduate as you cross the stage to have your award conferred during the ceremony. A copy of your award photograph will be available to purchase from Marston Events after the ceremony either in the foyer of the Waterfront Building or online.

Your graduation ceremony will start at the published time. If you are late for the ceremony you may miss your opportunity to cross the stage, so please ensure that you allow plenty of time for your journey and aim to arrive at least an hour before your ceremony is due to start. This will give you time to register, gown and have any photographs taken.

On arrival at the Ipswich Waterfront you should go to the registration desk in the foyer of the Waterfront Building (IP4 1QJ). The registration desk will open an hour and a half before your ceremony is due to start. When you enter the Waterfront Building, you will be greeted at the registration desk where your attendance will be registered. You will then be directed to the gowning area where you will collect your gown. If you have booked to have any official photographs taken, there will be a number of studios available in Lecture Theatre 2 on the ground floor of the Waterfront Building.

Once registered and gowned, you should then make your way across the road to The Hold, where the graduation ceremony will take place in the Auditorium.

The doors to the Auditorium will open one hour before the published start time of the ceremony for graduands and guests to start taking their seats. Please ensure that you and your guests arrive together so that you can be checked in and your e-tickets scanned. You must have purchased tickets for your guests in advance, and only guests who you have an e-ticket for will be allowed entry to the Auditorium

Each graduating student will be allocated a specific seat in the graduands’ seating area, and your seat number will be shown on your graduate e-ticket. Graduands are seated alphabetically within each course. It is important that you sit in your allocated seat to ensure that the correct name is called when you cross the stage.

On arrival in the Auditorium, you will need to check-in with a steward. You will then be directed to your allocated seat. All graduating students should be sitting in their allocated seat at least 15 minutes before the ceremony is due to start.

Guest seats in the Auditorium are not allocated, unless you have told us when you purchased your tickets that your guests have an accessibility requirement such as space for a wheelchair. Your guests will be able to choose where to sit within the guest seating area, so the earlier you arrive the more choice there will be. Only guests who you have an e-ticket for will be allowed access to the Auditorium.

The Ceremony
The graduation ceremony will begin at the published start time and last approximately 30 to 45 minutes. The congregation are asked to stand on entry of the procession. Once the stage party are in position, the congregation will be asked to sit and the ceremony will be opened with a welcoming address. If there is an honorary award, an oration will be made and the recipient will then make a response.

Graduands will then be called to the stage for their awards to be conferred. A steward will ask a row of graduands to leave their seats and line up in the left-hand aisle. Another steward will tell you when to go and wait at the bottom of the ramp for your name to be read out. Once your name is called, go up the ramp and cross the stage. As you go across the stage you will be greeted by the conferring officer (normally the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, or Pro-Chancellor) signifying the conferral of your award. A photographer from Marston Events will take your picture as you are greeted by the conferring officer.

When you leave the stage you will be directed to the back of the marquee to collect your certificate. You will then return to your original seat.

Guests are allowed to use handheld cameras to take photographs and/or video while the ceremony is taking place but are asked to be considerate of people who may be seated behind them so as not to obstruct their view. Cameras which require tripods are not allowed as the walkways need to be kept clear for the procession and for health and safety requirements.

After all awards have been conferred, one of the new graduates will then give a short vote of thanks on behalf of the graduates present at that ceremony. The conferring officer will then formally close the ceremony.

At the close of the ceremony the stage party will leave the stage and process out of the Auditorium. The new graduates will be then be directed, a row at a time, to process out.

Guests will be directed by stewards to the exits and out in to The Hold to meet up with the new graduates for a post-ceremony drinks reception.

Disclaimer
Please be aware that there will be a photographer present at the graduation ceremonies who will be taking photographs for promotional purposes to be used in future University of Suffolk publications, on the University of Suffolk website and alongside relevant press coverage. If you have any objections to your photograph being taken and used in this way, please make a member of staff aware at the earliest opportunity.

Car Parking
If you are travelling to your graduation ceremony by car, you are advised to use the public car park in Duke Street (IP3 0AQ). Please do not park in the University car parks. Only graduates or guests who are current students at the University and hold a valid 24/25 permit for the car being used are allowed to park in the University’s car parks. Please be aware that the University car parks are managed by Ipserv and have automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. If you do not have a valid permit for your car and you use the University car park, you will be fined.
More information about car parking and public transport in Ipswich is available on www.ipswich.gov.uk

For Winter conferral students, if you completed the graduation registration form, your certificate will have been sent to Unicaf Headquarters in February/March, and Unicaf will contact you to arrange delivery.

For Spring conferral students, if you attend your graduation ceremony you will be handed your certificate on the day once you have left the stage. If you do not attend your ceremony and have completed the graduation registration form in OASIS, your certificate will be sent to Unicaf Headquarters in February/March, and Unicaf will contact you to arrange delivery.

There will also be the opportunity for you to collect your certificate in person from the Waterfront Building in Ipswich from Monday 3 February to Friday 14 February 2025 (for Winter conferral) or Monday 12 May to Friday 23 May 2025 (for Spring conferral). Provided you have completed the graduation registration form and have no outstanding tuition fees, any certificates that are not collected during this period will be sent to Unicaf Headquarters in the four weeks following the collection period, and Unicaf will contact you to arrange delivery.

We will not post certificates you have completed the graduation registration form.

Please note that the name shown on your certificate will be your full name as held on your student record. When you complete the graduation registration form you will be asked to confirm that your name is correct or to let us know if any corrections are required. It is your responsibility to ensure that your name is correct before your award is conferred. The University will not reissue a certificate to change a name once the award has been conferred.

It is not possible for certificates to be issued before the awards have been conferred. 

Am I eligible to attend a graduation ceremony?

• You will only be able to attend the Spring graduation ceremonies if your award is being conferred at the Winter or Spring conferral points and if you have settled all outstanding tuition fee debts.

Where and when is my graduation ceremony?

• The Spring graduation ceremonies will take place on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May 2025 at the University of Suffolk and The Hold in Ipswich.

Is there anything I must do in preparation for my graduation?

• You must complete your graduation registration form in OASIS as soon as possible after receiving your invitation email and by noon on Tuesday 14 January 2025 for Winter conferral and noon on Tuesday 15 April 2025 for Spring conferral.
• You must ensure that you have no outstanding tuition fee debts to Unicaf

How many guests can I bring?

• Each graduating student can purchase up to two guest tickets for their ceremony in the initial allocation. All guest tickets cost £10 each and must be purchased in advance through the Marston Events booking portal (www.marstonevents.com/suffolk). You will not be able to purchase your guest tickets until you have completed the graduation registration form and received your email confirming that you can log in to the Marston Events booking portal. The deadline for you to purchase your guest tickets is noon on Wednesday 23 April 2025.
  All children attending your graduation ceremony must be accompanied by an adult guest. Children under the age of 5 years do not require a ticket and will be expected to share a seat with an adult guest. Children aged 5 years and over do require a ticket and are included in your count of two guest tickets.

What if I want to bring more than two guests?

• If any guest tickets remain after the deadline to purchase the initial allocation of tickets (noon on Wednesday 23 April 2025), additional tickets for your ceremony may be offered for sale on a first come, first served basis. All students who have placed an order via the Marston Events booking portal will be sent an email to let you know whether additional tickets are available for your ceremony and, if so, details of how to purchase them. Please note that there is no guarantee that there will be additional tickets available for any ceremony and additional tickets cannot be reserved.

One or more of my guests will be coming from overseas; what can I use to support their visitor visa application?

• You can give your guests a copy of the email inviting you to complete the graduation registration form or the email confirming that you have completed the graduation registration form as evidence that you are invited to your graduation ceremony, and this can be included with their visitor visa application. These emails are sent to your personal email address and your @uos.ac.uk email address, and you can also download a copy from your correspondence history in OASIS. You can also include links to the information on the graduation webpages (www.uos.ac.uk/graduation) as evidence of the date, time and venue for your graduation ceremony. We do not routinely provide students with invitation letters as these are not listed as a requirement for a visitor visa application on the UKVI website, and we do not provide letters naming guests. However, if you are specifically asked by your embassy for an invitation letter, please email the Graduation Office. Please note that we also live-stream each ceremony so that guests who are not able to attend in person will be able to watch you graduate from home via the University's website.

How long will the ceremony last?

• The ceremony will last approximately 45 minutes.

When do I need to arrive for the ceremony?

• You are asked to arrive at the Waterfront Building at least an hour and a half before the ceremony is due to start to allow time to register and gown. This also allows plenty of time for photographs and to get across the road to the Hold to be seated before the start of the ceremony.

What should I wear?

• You are asked to dress smartly, and all graduates attending their graduation ceremony must wear the correct academic dress for their award. Gowns must be hired in advance from Marston Events, the official supplier of gowns for the University of Suffolk. 

I am not sure if I have any outstanding debts to Unicaf, should I check?

• Yes. Any student with outstanding tuition fee debts will be unable to attend their graduation ceremony and their certificate will be withheld.