What to do on the day of your graduation

Your ceremony ticket

Your own ticket will be issued at the Younger Hall North Street, immediately prior to your ceremony.  You should report at least half an hour before the start of the ceremony to the north-west door of the Younger Hall (i.e. the stage door nearest to St Salvator's Hall) where you will be issued with the ticket and any further instructions about the ceremony.

Guest and Graduation Reception tickets

All guest and Graduation Reception tickets, including any extras that you may have been successful in requesting, will be available for collection from Buchanan Lecutre Theatre, Ground Floor, Buchanan Building, Union Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9PH at the following times:

Extra Graduation Ceremony Tickets

Any remaining ceremony tickets will be distributed at 9.00 am on the morning of each graduation ceremony on a first come first served basis from Buchanan Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, Buchanan Building, Union Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9PH.

Additional Graduation Garden Party Tickets

Additional Graduation Garden Party tickets may be purchased where available through the Online Shop at a cost of £12.00 each.

Dress Code

Graduands are expected to arrive at the ceremony in their gowns and carrying the appropriate hood for their respective degrees.  Graduands hiring gowns and hoods from Ede and Ravenscroft should collect these from the Stewart Room at the north-west corner of the Younger Hall at any time from 8.00am on the day of the ceremonies.  Graduands are advised to collect their gowns in good time to avoid congestion at the collection point immediately prior to the ceremony.

Students who have not already hired their gown and hood will have the opportunity to do so on the day from Ede and Ravenscroft at the Stewart Room in the Younger Hall.

Please note that Ph.D. students will wear the blue academic gown at the graduation ceremony and M.D. graduands will wear the red academic gown at the gradution ceremony NOT the black gown. (this is a change in policy from June 2013).

Male graduands are required to wear a dark lounge suit or kilt, white shirt and white bow tie and dark shoes.

Female graduands are required to wear dark skirt or trousers, white shirt/blouse/top and dark shoes.

Please note that jeans, trainers or other casual clothing are not permitted; you may be excluded from the ceremony if you are not wearing appropriate academic dress.

Please note for health and safety reasons we may ask you to remove items that could cause you harm or interfere with the proceedings. Mortar boards are not worn at the University of St Andrews graduation ceremonies.

Chapel Services

There will be a short service of thanksgiving held in St Salvator's each morning. If you are graduating in the morning, it is recommended that you collect your gown before the Chapel service begins.  If you wish you may wear your gown to attend the service, but please note that hoods should not be worn.

All graduands and their families are very welcome.  The service will take approximately 30 minutes.

Further information can be found on the Thanksgiving service webpage.

Procedure at Graduation

Please note that graduands should not sit next to their guests. All graduands will be seated together on numbered seats at the front of the hall. Graduands, at the appropriate signal from the usher, will file out from the left hand side of the hall and ascend the steps to the entrance of the stage door.

A representative from Ede & Ravenscroft will assist graduands with their hoods before walking across the stage.  When his/her name is called out by the Dean of their Faculty, the graduand will then move forward to the centre of the stage and hand his/her folded hood to the Bedellus, ensuring that the collar end of the hood is proffered.  The graduand should then kneel on the cushion of the graduation dias in order to be capped and the hood is slipped over his/her head. 

Once this is done, the graduand stands up, takes one pace back and bows to the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor (depending on who is presiding at the ceremony), who returns the salutation.  The graduand will leave the stage by the East stage door, collect his/her certificate and HEAR documents in the anteroom and then return to his/her place.  All graduands will be reminded of these instructions by an usher prior to the commencement of the ceremony.

At the close of the ceremony, the new graduates will join the end of the academic procession as it leaves the platform and process along North Street, through the arch into the Quad to disperse.

Photography

We strongly recommend that you make arrangements for graduation photography with a reputable photographer.  In recent years some of our graduates have experienced difficulty, and disappointment, as a result of aggressively marketed but unreliable photography services offered by independent operators.  You should ensure that your enjoyment of this unique and very special occasion is not spoiled in this way. 

You will have the opportunity for photographs to be taken by the University’s official photographers Tempest, who will be situated in Parliament Hall, South Street, St Andrews on during the graduation week from (TBC).  Presentation photographs are also taken as you cross the stage and these can be viewed and purchased at St Salvator's Lawn (adjacent to the Younger Hall) and collected from their studios in Parliament Hall.  They will also be available online 72 hours after the ceremony.

Graduation Live Video Web Link

For relatives and friends who are unable to attend the cermeonies, a live screening will be shown in School III in St Salvator's Quad, North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9AJ (no ticket required).  Alternatively a live broadcast can be found on our website.  The URL of the video feed will be published through the graduation web page.

Security and Safety

Due to space restrictions and for safety and comfort in the Younger Hall, we do not permit you or guests to bring any bulky items such as bags or suitcases into the ceremonies and nothing should be left in an aisle causing an obstruction.

Cancellation

If, for any reason, you are not in a position to attend the graduation ceremony or your attendance is in doubt please contact the Graduation Office on + 44(0)1334 464104, please leave a voicemail if the call is unanswered.

Graduands who have booked to attend but fail to appear in person, arrive late, or inappropriately dressed will automatically have their degrees conferred in absentia.  In any of these cases there will be no subsequent opportunity to graduate in person and degree certificates will be sent to the address on record.