Graduation

Here is the full graduation 2025 schedule: Graduation Schedule 2025

It is unfortunately not possible to change to a different ceremony. If the date or time is not convenient for a graduating student, they will have to graduate in absentia (i.e., not attend).

In some exceptional circumstances, students may be able to defer their graduation for one year, although this is not guaranteed.

For students to be eligible to attend the October 2025 graduation ceremonies they must meet the following criterion:

• Have formally completed all required elements of your course/programme and received your final Progression & Award Board letter confirming your completion by 1 September 2025; and
• Have no outstanding financial debts to the University by 5 September 2025 (please refer to the Fee Regulations for further guidance); and
• Have successfully completed a full programme of undergraduate study, including Pass Degrees, Foundation Degrees and Higher National awards, or a recognised postgraduate award.

Please note that Certificate of Higher Education and Diploma of Higher Education awardees are not eligible to attend graduation.

All eligible students will receive their official graduation invitation via email between 14 July and 1 September 2025. The exact date the invitation is sent will depend on which Progression & Awards Board the student’s final award is being conferred at – these occur throughout the summer.

This invitation will include further details about how to register attendance, hire gowns and purchase guest tickets.

All communications will be sent to students Unimail and personal email addresses. We recommend that graduating students add graduation@winchester.ac.uk onto their list of safe senders.

To help graduating students and their guests prepare for the ceremony, we have put together a handy Graduation Information Brochure. It’s full of useful information, including details on what to wear and suggested timings. You can find this information here: Graduation Information Brochure 2025

Any students awarded between September 2024 and May 2025, will have their degree certificate posted to their home address as shown on My Record.

Any students awarded from May 2025 onward, will receive their degree certificate at their graduation ceremony. If they do not attend graduation, their certificate will be posted to their home address.

All degree certificates are printed with the student’s full name, as recorded on their student record. This should match the student’s full legal name (i.e., the name on their passport, birth certificate, driving licence, etc) at the time of study.

If a student is changing their name due to gender identity, we encourage them to get in touch with us so we can make sure their record correctly reflects their new name.

It is students’ responsibility to make sure their full name is correct on My Record before they finish their studies. If any students find their name is incorrect, they should email graduation@winchester.ac.uk with a copy of their official ID.

Please note that once a certificate has been printed, it will not be possible to change the name – except in exceptional circumstances.

All graduating students will be required to wear academic dress to take part in their ceremony. This will cost between £45.00 and £55.00 to hire, dependent on level of study.

Once graduating students have completed graduation registration, a link will appear on My Record which will take them to the Graduation Attire booking portal to place their order. Graduation Attire (part of the Evess Group) is the university’s preferred gown supplier. 

You can find illustrations of all student gowns here: UoW - Official Gown Design 2025
There is further information about gown hire available in the Graduation Information Brochure, which is available to view under the ‘Updates & Communications’ tab on this webpage.  

Any graduating students who would like friends or family to attend their ceremony will need to purchase guest tickets. These will cost £20.00 each, and each student will initially have the opportunity to purchase up to 3 guest tickets.

Once graduating students have completed graduation registration, a link will appear on My Record which will take them to the Graduation Attire booking portal to purchase their e-tickets. Graduation Attire (part of the Evess Group) are the university’s official ticket supplier. 

Extra tickets: An email will be sent to all graduands during the week commencing 22nd September to confirm if any extra tickets are available and how these can be purchased, if applicable. Please note that ceremonies are busy so it is unlikely that extra tickets will be available for all dates/times. 

The University is pleased to be continuing the Graduation Assistance Fund for the 2025 ceremonies. This fund is designed to provide financial support to students who might otherwise not be able to attend their graduation.

You can find further details about the fund, including eligibility criteria and application details here: Graduation Assistance Fund 2024-2025

Visa application letters: If either a graduating student or one of their guests requires a letter to support a visa application, the student should email graduation@winchester.ac.uk to request this. Please note that we can only generate letters for those students who have already received their official graduation invitation.

Ceremony length: We anticipate that ceremonies will last between 60 and 75 minutes.

Live stream: We will be live streaming all ceremonies into the Guildhall and on the University website. The link to view the live stream will appear on this webpage during the week of graduation.