Before the day
Students graduate with their respective school only - if you are a Joint Honours student, please check with us which School's ceremony you will be graduating in.
You can choose to opt out of having your name displayed in our programme of the day, which contains the name and course title of each graduate (not your result). If you do not wish for your name to be published in this, please contact the Graduations team by Wednesday 23 October.
Additionally, you can have your details removed from our commemorative clothing. You would also be removed from this if you request for your name to be removed from the programme.
If you have a debt to the University you may still be invited to a ceremony but it is important to note the deadline for clearing debts.
If your outstanding balance is a fee debt, failure to meet the deadline will mean your results will be withheld and you will be excluded from graduating.
If your outstanding balance is an ancillary debt (i.e. not related to University tuition fees), failure to pay the balance by the deadline means the University reserves the right to revoke your invitation to attend the ceremony. Instead you will graduate in absentia and must provide a postal address where we will post your certificate.
Deadline to clear outstanding debt is Friday 18 October.
If you do not complete your course, you will be removed from the ceremony and invited to the next available ceremony following successful the completion of your course.
Please note that students will need to have a final result by our deadlines in order to graduate at the ceremony they have been invited to. If there are post result queries or resolutions that you need to make with your School, then this may mean that you will need to defer your ceremony.
If you have already booked
your graduation fee on Tempest Ticketing or hired your gown on the Graduate
Gowning Company, we will automatically issue a full refund.
If you receive your results and you would like to make an academic appeal, please follow the steps available here.
Please note that in some scenarios undertaking an academic appeal may impact your ability to graduate in the ceremony to which you have been invited, and you may need to defer your ceremony.
Your E-Receipt will be sent to all students a few days before your ceremony is due to take place. This will be sent to the email address that you registered with on Tempest Ticketing. You need to exchange this E-Receipt on the day.
We aim to hold graduation ceremonies as advertised. However, we reserve the right to make alterations if necessary.
In the unlikely event that a ceremony has to be cancelled or rearranged, the University will make every effort to contact you to let you know and we will publish updates on our web pages.
If the Awards Ceremony cannot take place or is delayed or the ceremony time needs to change due to circumstances beyond the control of the University of Kent, including (without limitation) fire, explosion, terrorist act (or threat of terrorist act), exceptionally adverse weather conditions or natural disaster, pandemic, national mourning (any member of the royal family), student registration exceeds our capacities or as a result of any industrial action or dispute involving the University of Kent, or the venue at which the Degree and Award Ceremony is due to be held, the University will not be liable for any losses direct or otherwise incurred by the graduands or their guests.
On the day
The Cathedral reserves the right to conduct bag searches.
There should be no suitcases, large luggage or other large items brought to the ceremonies or into the Cathedral. There are no storage places for these items and there is no space within the ceremony to bring these with you.
You may be advised that you cannot enter the ceremony if you have these items with you as we cannot store them for you.
Where possible, please do not bring pushchairs or prams. These will need to be folded up if brought into the Cathedral so as not to block the aisles.
- All graduands must graduate in academic gowns hired from the Graduate Gowning Company.
- Graduation is a formal occasion, so graduands are requested to dress smartly for the occasion. It is recommended that graduands and their guests wear shoes that they are comfortable wearing for walking to and from the venues and standing waiting to enter the Cathedral. National dress is welcomed.
- Please note if you have a reason why you will not be able to dress smartly, then please get in touch with us prior to your ceremony to make these arrangements.
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. As the seating in the cathedrals is not tiered, the view of the ceremony may be limited.
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.
Children must remain accompanied by a guardian within any of the venues designated for graduations.
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.
At any event
attended by children there is the rare possibility that they may become
separated from their parent or guardian.
Please ensure that you let your child know in advance that if they are separated from you during the event, that they should report to a member of staff in order for them to be safely and promptly returned to your party.
Our staff members will be in distinguishable uniform
and be wearing a University of Kent staff badge or name badge.
Graduands and guests should note that there is no parking in the grounds of the Cathedrals.
You can find information on surrounding car parks at the following websites:
Please see our Specific Requirements section for information about accessible parking.
Seating in the Cathedral is not pre-allocated to ticket holders, so seats are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that due to the design of the Cathedral, there are a number of restricted viewing seats. From these seats you can view televisions showing a live feed of the ceremony. It is important for guests to arrive as early as possible.
As a general rule, the queue will start building up around 90 minutes prior to the ceremony start time. We recommend that guests accompany their respective graduand to have group photographs taken and collect tickets if you have not already done so. However once this is done, we recommend you join the queue as early as possible.
Yes, the ceremony is filmed and, where possible, live streamed. If live streaming is available, this will be confirmed in advance and the links for each ceremony will be available on the ceremony dates page.
Attendees are asked not to move from their seats, take photographs or make
video recordings during the ceremony. Only certain members of the University,
journalists, the official photographers and a DVD company are authorised to do
so. The photographs and video recordings may be used for publicity and
marketing purposes to promote the University.
Guest seating within the Cathedrals is not assigned, so seats are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and is separate to the graduands.
Guest seating will begin 60 minutes before the ceremony start time, however guests typically begin queuing 90 minutes before the ceremony. You should take your seats no later than 30 minutes prior to the ceremony start time.
There are a few seating areas within the Cathedral, such as the central nave or the south aisle. There are differences in view between these areas, and some provide a view of the graduand walking down the central aisle whereas others can see them at the front. Some of the seats are located behind a pillar, and therefore have an obstructed view, please note that where seats have an obstructed view, there are screens displaying live streaming.
Ceremonies generally take around 90 minutes. Most ceremonies have an honorary degree awarded, which will take place midway through the ceremony. We request that guests remain in the Cathedral for the duration of the ceremony.
There are no toilets inside Canterbury Cathedral. Please ask a member of staff for directions.
In Rochester Cathedral, please ask a member of staff to direct you to the toilet.
Please be aware, guests will not be able to leave the ceremony 15 minutes before the end as the procession willl begin to take place.
No grades will be read out during the ceremony. Only the award title will be read by the name reader.