Graduation day

You are welcome to gather and meet with your friends briefly outside the main entrance and take photos in front of the fountain. There will be a stand with AUB memorabilia available for purchase and a refreshment cart where your guests may purchase refreshments while they wait till the Pavilion doors open for seating (30 minutes prior to ceremony start time).

Please cross the barrier marked 'Graduand and Academic Access Only' to join the queue for Graduand gowning (signposted). Once you enter this area, you may not exit again. There is a cloakroom available in the Pavilion, but we recommend leaving any valuables with your guests before joining the queue to be owned.

Please be prepared to queue for a while outside in all weathers. Graduands will enter the gowning room in small groups at a time to reduce crowding. Gowns will have pockets so you can keep your phone there and keep it with you.

Once inside, you'll be asked for your name at the door and then enter the Ballroom to be gowned. Please make sure you bring your Marston Events confirmation, given when hiring your gown. Staff will assist you to adjust your cap and gown.

You'll have time to drop off any (non-valuable) belongings at the cloakroom, use the washrooms, and grab a drink of water if needed, whilst waiting for your course usher to gather your group.

Course ushers will gather in the Ballroom with signs displaying each course name. They'll call out for you to head towards the course usher, so please listen carefully.

Your course usher will give you your name card and line you up in alphabetical order. You must keep hold of this card as you'll pass to the Orator on stage who will call out your name.

Thirty (30) minutes before the ceremony begins, course ushers will lead you into the theatre where you'll be seated.

1. Your course usher will get you up in plenty of time to lead you over towards the stage. Graduands are announced alphabetically in their course groups. We don't announce what level of degree you have been awarded.
   
2. You’ll be invited to climb up the stage steps and wait there until the name announcer signals for your name card
   
3. You’ll be invited to hand your name card to the announcer.
   
4. As your name is called you'll cross the stage, pause centre stage in front of the Chancellor. Smile! Your video clip will be taken at this time and available shortly after the ceremony.
   
5. To minimise physical contact, in lieu of a handshake this year you'll be asked instead to pause midway across the stage, make eye contact and doff your cap to the Chancellor Sir Christopher Frayling as a formal gesture. Then continue to cross to the other side of the stage where you'll go down the steps.
   
6. At the bottom of the steps, you’ll be directed out into the corridor and around to re-enter the theatre through a different entrance and be directed to an available seat (note this will be a different seat than the one in which you were originally seated).
7. Please note that you'll not be handed your scroll or certificate on stage at graduation, instead you can collect this in the Pavilion foyer as you return to take your seat. Please keep noise to a minimum in order to avoid any disruption to the ceremony proceedings.

There will be a staggered departure from the theatre. Once the stage party has left the stage, graduates will be invited to leave the theatre, head down the corridor and down some flights of stairs to exit the building straight out onto the lower terraces meeting point.

Guests will then be invited to exit the theatre and directly outside onto the West Terrace, then down a flight of steps to the lower terraces where they'll reconvene with graduates at the dedicated meeting point which will be signposted. Guests and graduates will reconvene at the rear of the building.

After exiting, you can follow the signs to the photography studio at Pavilion Dance to have your pre-booked photos taken (this will involve queuing) and/or follow AUB staff directing you to walk to the Beach Marquee (approx. 15-minute walk) where the post-ceremony Reception takes place. Please note that last entry is 15 minutes before the end of the reception.

Your reception ticket is needed for entry and entitles you to one glass of champagne. A live band will be performing. No ticket, no entry, no exceptions (this includes graduates!)

View our map for more information.

Before you leave the event, please remember to return your gown to Marston Events (if hired from our recommended supplier Marston Events) at Pavilion Dance by 18.00 at the latest.