• Dates and eligibility
• Information for Postgraduate research students
• Deferrals
• General ceremony information
• Registration troubleshooting
• China celebration events
• Awards, certificates and transcripts

Dates and eligibility

When and where will my graduation be?

Graduation ceremonies will take place in the Great Hall, Wills Memorial Building, as follows:

Description of cohorts and when they will graduate

Degree congregation	Cohort award dates
July-August 2024	Undergraduate students with degrees awarded by 10 July 2024 inclusive Postgraduate students with degrees awarded by 10 July  2024 inclusive Students with Postgraduate Certificates and Postgraduate Diplomas awarded by 10 July 2024 inclusive

Eligibility to graduate in July-August 2024 also depends on any outstanding tuition fees being paid by the applicable deadline - date to be confirmed.

The schedule of ceremonies for July-August 2024 is now available.

Information about when registration for the July-August ceremonies will open, as well as all further details about the ceremonies, will be available on our website in due course.  

Please ensure your personal email address is up-to-date in Student Info, as this is the address we will be using to contact you for registration.  If you can no longer access Student Info you will need to contact your faculty administrators to update the information for you.

Requirements for graduation in July-August can only be arranged when registration opens.  Please only contact us about your invitation email if you do not receive it when registration opens.

Postgraduate research students - graduation date, invitations, eligibility

Graduation date

The date of your graduation depends on when your degree is awarded at a Research Degrees Exam Board (RDEB) (including being awarded subject to the correction of minor errors).

There are 6 RDEBs per year.  You can check the RDEB dates here, as well as the additional deadlines by which examiners must submit their report to the Postgraduate Exams Office, so that your degree can be considered at an appropriate board. 

Please note that if you are told you have passed your viva, your examiners’ reports still have to be submitted in time and your degree confirmed at the RDEB in order for you to be eligible to graduate.

If you have any questions about the exam board, the process of examination or required paperwork, you should contact the Academic Quality and Policy office.

Graduation invitations

You will be sent an invitation to register for graduation if your student record indicates that you are potentially eligible to graduate at the congregation concerned.  This would be information suggesting that your degree could be awarded at an RDEB in time to meet the eligibility criteria for the congregation, e.g. your expected end date or thesis submission date.

Most invitations are sent to students who do not yet know their result.  If you receive a graduation invitation email you should complete the registration form, giving your intentions for your graduation ceremony in the event that you will be eligible to graduate at that congregation.

You should not ignore the invitation email even if you think you have been sent it in error, to avoid graduating in your absence unintentionally.

Eligibility

If you register to attend the ceremony or graduate in absentia, you will then need to meet the eligibility criteria for that congregation in order to actually be able to graduate (either in person or in absence).

The eligibility criteria are:

• having your degree awarded at a Research Degrees Exam Board by the deadline that is set for the congregation – this includes your degree being awarded subject to completing minor corrections
• having no outstanding tuition fees by the deadline that is set for the congregation

General eligibility information can be found above on this page, and full eligibility details for a specific congregation will be available on our Eligibility webpage when registration opens for that congregation. 

If you have any doubt as to whether you will be eligible or not you should complete the registration form.

• If you register but then do not meet the eligibility criteria, you will automatically go forward to be invited to register for the next congregation, once we’ve received confirmation via internal channels that your degree has not been awarded by our deadline for the currrent congregation.  We will send you an email as final confirmation of this once all our checking procedures have been completed, about a week before the ceremony.

• If you do not register and then do meet the eligibility criteria to graduate at the congregation, you will graduate in your absence by default and would then not be able to attend a future ceremony for the same degree.

Please note, you do not need to inform us if you have registered but will not be awarded in time, as we will receive this information via internal channels and will put you forward to the next congregation automatically .

Deferral

If there is any doubt as to whether you will be eligible or not but you want to attend a future ceremony rather than the ceremony you have been invited to, you should register to defer in case you do meet the eligibility criteria, so that you do not graduate in absentia unintentionally.

If you register to defer but are then not eligible to graduate, this does not constitute your one chance to defer your graduation as you will automatically be put forward to be invited to the next congregation in any case.

Any questions about graduation should be sent to the Graduation Office at graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk.

Summary

• If you are sent a graduation invitation, do not ignore it
• Register your intentions for your graduation ceremony in the event that you will be eligible to graduate
• Check the eligibility criteria and process for your degree to be awarded, to find out if you will be able to attend/graduate in absentia
• We will email you with confirmation either way about a week before your ceremony
• Contact graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk with any questions about graduation
  

Deferrals

What if I can't attend my scheduled ceremony – can I defer to a later date?

Graduands who can't attend their scheduled ceremony can request to defer their graduation to a future congregation, by selecting the deferral option on the form by the registration deadline for their congregation.

We cannot guarantee deferral requests that are made after the registration deadline.

Deferral arrangements can only be made when registration opens for your congregation and invitations have been sent out.

Our deferral policy

You can only choose to defer your graduation ceremony once.

Deferral cannot be offered after your graduation ceremony has taken place.

Deferral is not offered to summer congregations.  Students who defer will be invited to register for the winter congregation following their original scheduled ceremony.

When will I receive my certificate if I defer?

If you defer you will receive your certificate at the time of your deferred ceremony, according to the procedures that are in place for that congregation.  You can request a verification of award letter if you need evidence of your degree before your certificate is available.  See our Certificates and transcripts webage for further information.

When will my deferred ceremony take place?

If you have deferred from the February 2024 or July-August 2023 congregations you will be invited to register for graduation at the next winter congregation, the date of which is to be confirmed.

Please note that you have not been automatically registered for that congregation and will need to register again when your receive your invitation for your deferred ceremony. 

General ceremony information

When will I receive more detail on the timings and programme for the day?

Further information on the details of the day including timings, guest tickets, travel to the venues, gowning, photography and official merchandise will be posted on our website when we send out official invitations to register for your congregation, so please check regularly for updates.

Can I book my travel and accommodation now for my ceremony?

We recommend waiting until the date of your ceremony is confirmed and you have received confirmation of your eligibility to graduate, and official registration and ticket details, to book travel and accommodation.

We strongly recommend that you do not make travel arrangements for extra guests on the basis that extra tickets may not be available.

How do I request tickets?

You will be able to request tickets on the registration form via the link in your invitation email, when registration opens and invitations are sent out.  Specific information about tickets for the July-August 2024 congregation will be available on our website in due course, so please check regularly for updates.

The ceremonies will be screened live in the Richmond Building for guests who are with you on the day but do not have a ticket for the Great Hall, and livestreamed for guests that are unable to attend in Bristol.

I/my guests have accessibility requirements – how do I let you know?

You will be able to indicate this on the registration form, and will then be contacted about your requirements.

Once registration has opened, if you need accessibility arrangements but have not requested this via the registration form, please contact graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk.

I want to book gowning and photography for my ceremony – can I do this now?

Information aobut gown hire and photography for the July-August 2024 congregation will be available on our website when registration opens in due course. 

I need to update my contact details. How do I do this?

If registration has already opened for your congregation you will need to contact graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk to update your contact details.

If you are due to graduate at a future congregation you should update your personal email address in the home address section of Student Info before registration opens to ensure you will receive graduation correspondence.  Your faculty administrators can do this for you if you no longer have access. 

Registration troubleshooting

I have not received my invitation email

Check that registration is open and invitation emails have been sent out.

Check that you are eligible to register.

Invitation emails are sent to the personal email recorded under the home address in Student Info.

If you are eligible:

• Check your email spam or junk folders
• Check your email filters in case you have blocked certain emails or domains

If you still have not received the invitation email, contact graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk to make sure that your details match our records.

Add graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk to your address book to ensure you receive future communications.

I'm trying to register but my email address is not recognised

• Make sure you are registering with the email address that your invitation email was sent to
• Make sure your email address is typed accurately 
• Avoid copying, pasting or using autofill, as this may result in errors.

If you still can't register, contact graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk.

The links in the registration form aren't opening

Check that your web browser isn't blocking you:

In Microsoft Edge: open a new private window.

To do this, right click on the Edge icon and select 'New InPrivate window' or press CTRL + SHIFT + N.

In Google Chrome: open a new incognito window.

To do this, right click on the Chrome icon and select 'New Incognito window' or press CTRL + SHIFT + N.

On iPhone: Ask Siri for information on how to open a private web browser on your phone.

On Android: Open Google Chrome, click the 3 dots at the top right of the page and select 'open incognito browser'.

I'm not sure if I've registered

If you have registered you will see your registration confirmation if you log back into the registration form.

You should also expect to receive a confirmation email showing the options you have chosen once your registration form has been submitted. If you think you completed registration and submitted your form successfully but have not received a confirmation email, check your spam or junk folders and contact graduation-office@bristol.ac.uk as soon as possible if it is still not found.

China celebration events

Will the China graduation events be taking place and who is eligible to attend?

Please contact china-celebration@bristol.ac.uk for the latest information on these events.

Can I attend both a China celebration and a ceremony in Bristol?

Degrees are only officially conferred in Bristol, so if you don't attend a Bristol ceremony this means you will graduate 'in absentia' (in your absence).

As a result, you may attend both a Bristol graduation ceremony and a China celebration event. We work hard to ensure that our China events provide as much of a traditional graduation experience as possible, providing an excellent chance for you to celebrate your achievements with friends and family in person.

Awards, certificates and transcripts

Your award is confirmed when University Exam Boards meet and agree that you have met the required criteria to be awarded your postgraduate certificate or diploma or your degree.  Your school or faculty can tell you when your award is due to be considered at an exam board.

I am expecting to graduate in February 2024, when will my award be made?

July-August graduands will need to have awards confirmed at an exam board by Wednesday 10 July 2024, to be eligible to graduate at these ceremonies.  If you do not meet this criterion you will not be able to graduate in July-August 2024 and will be put forward to the next congregation, the date of which is to be confirmed but is likely to be in February 2025.

Any outstanding tuition fees must also be paid in full by the applicable deadline in order to be eligible to graduate in July-August 2024 - date to be confirmed.

What is the difference between my 'award' and 'graduation'?

Your award is when a Board of Examiners confirm that you have met the criteria to be awarded your postgraduate certificate or diploma or degree, and the date of this meeting is the date which will appear on your certificate.

This will be different to your 'graduation' date which relates to the ceremonial aspect where your degree is conferred at a degree ceremony.

When will I receive my certificate or transcript?

Check our certificates and transcripts webpage for information.

What date will appear on my certificate?

The date on your certificate will be the date on which your award is confirmed by the exam board. Your graduation date will not appear on your certificate.