Before your graduation

You must register, even if you are not attending or if you think you may not complete successfully. 

Your options are to:

• attend

• defer (postpone until the next available ceremony, please note you will not receive your certificate until it has been conferred). 
  
  
• graduate in absentia (graduate without physically attending, this means you will not be able to attend a ceremony in the future for this award).

Please note if you do not register for your ceremony via our ticketing system by TBC you will be automatically conferred in absentia and will not be able to attend a ceremony in the future, for this award.  

Your log in will be the personal email address you have registered on KentVision and your student ID number.  

Defer: you can select this option and then you will be contacted again prior to the next available set of ceremonies. 

Absentia: Provide your address and your certificate will be sent to you after the ceremony.

Attend: You will need to pay the £50.00 graduation fee.  As part of this fee, you can attend your graduation ceremony and you will be able to add up to 2 guest tickets.

Please note your space at the ceremony is not guaranteed until you register. We advise that you complete this as soon as we notify you as there is a capacity limit in the Cathedral.   

If this limit is reached before the registration deadline then your ceremony will automatically be closed and you may not be able to attend in November, but can choose to defer your ceremony to a future date.  

Extra tickets are not guaranteed for every ceremony and should not be relied upon when making plans to attend your ceremony. 

All registered and attending students who have paid their registration fee have now been advised by email when tickets will go on sale.  Please note that if you have not paid your registration fee you will need to do so before purchasing additional tickets.
Additional tickets are currently capped.  Please refer to the email for more information.

Please do not email graduations to ask for extra tickets.  

These will be sold online on a first-come, first-served basis. 

They are priced at £30.00 per ticket.

We welcome children at our graduation ceremonies; however, we advise that these are formal occasions, and the ceremonies are approximately 90 minutes long, this may not be suitable for all ages. 

Children aged 3 or under do not require their own ticket. However, they will be required to remain seated on a guardian's lap for the duration of the ceremony. 

There will be no admission to the ceremony for children under 18 without an appropriate adult accompanying them.  There are no crèche or childminding facilities available at either Canterbury or Rochester Cathedral.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are aware of our lost and found child procedure prior to attending this event. 

We understand that you may need to change your booking for your graduation.

All requests for refunds for Ticketing or from the Graduate Gowning Company will be accepted up until 1 week prior to your graduation ceremony. This includes your graduation fee, additional tickets and gown hire fee.

After this time, refunds will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. Requests should be emailed to graduations@kent.ac.uk and these will be reviewed. 

We reserve the right to refuse refund requests which could have been made prior to the deadline.

If you have booked for your ceremony, but then are no longer eligible to graduate either due to not completing your course in time or an outstanding debt then we will refund your booking for the ceremony automatically.

For University of Kent students only.
Please contact the Financial Aid team for  further support funding graduation, if you are in receipt of one of the following financial support packages:

• Care Leavers
• Young Independents
• Estranged Students
• Homeless/foyer Students
• Student Carers
• Article 26 Award

If you are not in receipt of one of these packages, but you have difficulties paying for your graduation then please see our graduation hardship fund. 

Your Division would like to invite you to a post or pre graduation celebration reception, they are an opportunity for you to celebrate on the day with your cohort and staff members from your School.  

For more information please click here.

Please note that the celebration reception is a different event to your graduation ceremony. 

If you or your guests have any access requirements, you will need to let us know no later than 3 weeks prior to your ceremony.

Further information can be found here.

Deadline: TBC

Please do not apply for a visa letter before you have received your invitation - requests made before invitations are sent will be deleted.

In order to attend the ceremony some students or their guests may require confirmation of their graduation invitation to obtain either:

• Exit clearance from their home country; or entry clearance to the UK.

The visa letter produced by the Graduation team will only confirm that the student has been invited to the Congregation ceremony to help your application for a visa. This should not be confused with a Tier 4 visa that Central Student Administration produce.

Visa applications can take up to six weeks for processing by the Embassy, please ensure you have allowed enough time for this process when applying. 

Please email graduations@kent.ac.uk for the visa letter form to be sent to you. Please note that we can only issue visa letters for the number of guests you have tickets for.

Deadline : TBC

Our gown supplier is the Graduate Gowning Company.  

Please hire your gown online before Friday 25 October.

You will need to know:

• your height
• your head size (circumference round your head, approximately 2cm above your ears)
• your student number 

You will not be able to graduate if you use a gown that is not supplied by the Graduate Gowning Company.

To hire your gown and check what colour your hood will be please click here.

The cost to hire your cap and gown are as follows:

• Before the deadline - £43
• On the day - £48

If you wish to purchase your cap and gown please contact The Graduate Gowning Company, this can also be done on the day. 

You can also purchase your cap on the day for £10.

There are strict rules governing your legal name which should appear in full on your certificate as on other legal documents. 

You will need to ensure your legal name is correct on KentVision as this is how it will appear on your certificate.   

Check your legal name on KentVision - this is how it will be printed on your certificate.

If it is correct? You do not need to do anything further regarding your legal name. 

If it is not correct, you must contact the Student Record Administration Office (SRAO). 

You must contact SRAO with a copy of your passport if your legal name is wrong before the deadline listed below. If you submit a name change after your ceremony, your certificate will not be reprinted. 

The deadline for changing your legal name is 23 October. 

Your degree certificate is a legal document, so must display your full legal name matching other documentation, such as your passport.

However, should you wish to have your chosen name read out at the graduation ceremony and displayed in the graduation programme, then please let us know when you register for your ceremony. 

Some outstanding financial commitments to the University may prevent you from graduating. 

If you have not cleared an outstanding debt by 18 October, then you will not be able to attend your ceremony in November.

Please see further information on outstanding payments. 

Please take a moment to read through our terms and conditions information.

Graduations: Terms & Conditions 

If you wish to opt out of having your name name included in the on the day printed Programme, or on the Campus Clothing merchandise then you must notify us in writing by 20 October to graduations@kent.ac.uk.