University of Bradford Graduation Guide

Bradford holds its ceremonies twice a year, in early July and early December, and every round follows the same pattern. The schedule is published first, invitations follow once it's confirmed, and from then on the deadlines arrive quickly. Most problems start in the weeks before the ceremony, not on the day: an invitation sent to an address you no longer check, a reply that misses its deadline, a fee balance still waiting to be paid.

At Bradford your ceremony depends on your programme. The bigger schools are split across two ceremonies, so the school name alone doesn't tell you which is yours. Type your programme or school below. Once the coming round's schedule is out, you'll see your date and start time and can add it to your calendar. Until then, the search shows when your programme graduated last winter, which gives you a good idea of how your day will be arranged.

The reply to your invitation decides everything that follows: your seat in the Great Hall, your guests' tickets, and what happens to your certificate. Use the graduation reply task in e:Vision. Every answer goes through it: attending, deferring to a later ceremony, or graduating in absentia. If you can no longer sign in to e:Vision, your invitation includes a link to a reply form you can use without logging in.

The deadline is firm. If you don't reply in time, you graduate in absentia and the university doesn't offer you another place at a ceremony. If the invitation never arrives, write to the graduation team with your name and UB number rather than waiting.

Every graduate is entitled to two free guest tickets, booked as part of the reply. If seats are left over after that, the university emails graduates a few weeks before the ceremony and sells extra tickets online for a small charge, possibly with a limit per person. Any still unsold are offered at the Payzone on the day, and you'll get a text if that happens. Guest tickets aren't numbered: stewards show your guests to their seats, in a part of the hall away from the graduates.

Anyone without a ticket can still watch. The ceremony is screened live in the Horton Barn, in the Horton D Building, with no ticket needed and seats on a first come, first served basis, and it's broadcast online for everyone watching from further away. Children are welcome, but any child over two needs a seat of their own and counts towards your two tickets. Under-twos sit on an adult's lap. Children under 16 need another adult with them, because they can't sit with you.

Almost everything happens inside the Richmond Building, which makes the day easier to follow than at many universities. The university asks you to arrive on campus two hours before your ceremony, which leaves time to register, get dressed, have some photographs taken and still be in your seat on time. Parking on campus is limited and first come, first served. It's simpler to walk the fifteen minutes up from the city centre or take the short bus ride from Bradford Interchange.

If you need a quiet space, there's a calm room in Room C50 of the Richmond Building during the ceremony, and you're welcome to use the Prayer Room in the Carlton Building on the day.

You can't attend without academic dress. The university asks you to wear the University of Bradford academic dress for your award. Its official supplier is Marston Events, and orders through them need to be placed at least two weeks before your ceremony. A few gowns are kept for hire on the day, but late orders can cost more, and anyone who arrives in the wrong academic dress is sent to the gowning area to hire the right set.

Bradford doesn't publish a description of its gowns and hoods, so the dependable way to get yours right is to hire a set matched to your award.

Don't leave it late: the most popular sizes go first as each round gets closer.

Attending depends on your outstanding fee balance being cleared in full by the deadline set for your round. A small amount left unpaid won't keep you off the stage, but your certificate and transcript stay with the university until the full balance has been received.

If you need more time to pay, the university's suggestion is to defer your ceremony, which you can do once. If you then can't attend the next set of ceremonies, you graduate in absentia.

You don't need to attend the ceremony to get your degree. If the date doesn't suit you, all you have to decide is how you receive your certificate, and whether you'd rather wait for a later round.

Graduating in absentia doesn't rule out official photographs, and every ceremony is shown online for anyone who'd like to watch.