Graduation terms and conditions

It’s possible for you to cancel your registration and guest ticket(s) in the event you and/or your guests are unable to attend graduation. Please contact Marston Events to cancel your registration and/or guest ticket(s).

We'll supply a full refund up to seven days before your ceremony date for any guest tickets bought. If you let us know less than seven days prior to your ceremony date, unfortunately, we are unable to refund you for your guest tickets, except in exceptional circumstances.

Please note, gown hire and photography are provided by third parties and will have their own refund terms and conditions, please refer to these on your booking as admin/cancellation fees may apply.

Children 3 years old and under may attend graduation if one of the guests is holding them on their lap. Children over 3 years of age must be seated in their own seat and will be counted as one guest and therefore require their own ticket. All children must be always supervised by an adult.

We are carefully checking Government guidance about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and will follow any mandatory or recommended safety precautions as may be required of hosting large, indoor events. Maintaining the safety and wellbeing of our graduands, guests and staff is of paramount importance to us.

This may include cancelling/postponing graduation in the event of nationwide lockdown; seating graduands and guests in a physically distanced manner, which may mean having to relocate guests to a separate venue to watch the proceedings remotely via live video stream in order to observe the venue’s seating capacity; encouraging all attendees to take a lateral flow test before coming to graduation; asking all attendees to wear face masks/coverings while indoors; using increased ventilation and cleaning procedures; offering hand sanitising stations throughout the venues, etc.

For guidance, we encourage the use of face masks, particularly in indoor venues, use of sanitising points throughout the venues and regular handwashing.

If you can't attend your graduation ceremony on the scheduled date, unfortunately, you can't defer to another year. This is the only date on which you can graduate.

Student email + text alerts if we have a mobile number on file for you

We will send reminders about graduation and any updates. You'll receive a Final Information email from us shortly before graduation with all the final details.

“If the graduation ceremony cannot take place or is delayed or the ceremony time needs to change due to circumstances beyond the control of AUB, including (without limitation) fire, explosion, terrorist act (or threat of terrorist act), act of God, pandemic, national mourning (any member of the royal family), student registration exceeds our capacities or as a result of any industrial action or dispute involving AUB, or the venue at which the graduation ceremony is due to be held, AUB will not be liable for any losses direct or otherwise incurred by the graduands or their guests.”

The data relating to your booking will be held on a secure server at AUB. All data will be held in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act 2018.

It will only be accessible to staff/external partners for the purpose of processing your booking.

Arts University Bournemouth will take all steps to ensure the data is used solely for the purposes they are intended. If you become aware that the data is being used inappropriately you should inform Arts University Bournemouth immediately.

This data will be held for 1 year.

For more details on your rights, please visit the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office or contact us at dp@aub.ac.uk.

Once you receive your invite to register for graduation, you can book your gown, hood and cap at the same time. We recommend hiring these directly through Marstons Events by the booking deadline.

Costs to book your gown (2024)

Undergraduate (BA) Gown - £24
Postgraduate (MA) Gown - £24
PhD Gown - £36

Gown hire opens on 18 March 2024 and the deadline for gown hire is 7 July 2024.

A guest ticket costs £25 each and includes entry to the ceremony and a glass of champagne at the post-ceremony reception at the Beach Marquee. Each graduand is guaranteed two guest tickets each.

If we're in a position to offer further tickets, this will be on a first come first served basis and we'll inform everyone in advance of the on-sale date. Please don't email us making requests as we won't be able to accommodate them.

Entry to Bournemouth Pavilion and the Marquee Reception is strictly by e-ticket only and no exceptions will be made. Keep your e-tickets safe and accessible as we need to view them in order to gain access to each venue, your ticket will also be scanned at the marquee.

Each guest will have been pre-allocated a seat number that will be shown on their ticket. Guests must sit in their allocated seat. Seat numbers are allocated randomly during the booking process, you can't select where the seats are located.

However, if booking your original permitted two tickets, then both seats will be allocated next to each other. If you secure extra tickets above the two, please note additional seats won't be allocated together with your original booking due to how the system works.

If you have an access or support requirement, please inform us in advance of the ceremony so that appropriate arrangements can be made. A minimum of four weeks advance notification must be given. Please email graduation@aub.ac.uk.

Due to health and safety reasons, guests who arrive at Bournemouth Pavilion without e-tickets will not be admitted under any circumstances. The event will be live-streamed for anyone that doesn't have a guest ticket. Please refer to the live steaming section for information.

Unfortunately, there are no storage facilities available in Bournemouth Pavilion. Guests are recommended to keep coats and bags to a minimum.

Please do your best to arrive early/on time for graduation. If you arrive late, we can't guarantee you will still take part in the ceremony.

We ask graduands to arrive up to 90 minutes before their ceremony start time to queue for gowning.

Guest seating begins 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony.

Please ensure you arrive early / on time. We can't guarantee you can still take part in the ceremony if you arrive late.

Bournemouth is typically busy in the summertime, so if arriving by car please allow plenty of extra time to arrive in town and find parking. There's a convenient passenger drop-off area in front of the Pavilion Theatre.

Please keep your tickets safe. Guests need their tickets to enter both the ceremony and reception. Graduates will need a ticket to enter the reception only. No replacement tickets are available on the day (or before). No ticket, no entry, no exceptions!

“We reserve the right to refuse entry or remove any graduand or guest where it appears to us in our sole discretion to be necessary for the good conduct of proceedings and/or safety, health and wellbeing of all our graduates, guests and staff.”

You'll not be able to graduate if you have a tuition fee debt or any other outstanding University fee debts. These must be cleared 4 weeks before your ceremony.

AUB will have event photographers and a video crew roaming between the Pavilion and Marquee to capture memorable moments of graduation.

By taking part in this event, you and your guests grant the University full rights to use the images resulting from the photography/video filming, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for marketing and publicity in our publications, on our website and in social media or in any third-party publication.

We share a selection of these photos in a photo gallery on the graduation webpage, available for free download. Unfortunately, we can't guarantee that all photos taken will appear in the gallery.

You’ll be able to register for graduation and purchase guest tickets from 18 March 2024. The closing date is 31 May 2024. You won't be able to register or buy tickets after this date.

Each graduand is guaranteed two guest tickets. If you’re unsure of how many guest tickets you may need, we’d recommend that you buy two at the time of booking. Overbooked tickets can be refunded but not bought later. An email notification will be sent when booking goes live to your student email address with a link to the registration site.

In the event of cancellation, the University does not accept liability for any costs/expenses incurred by those due to attend graduation. We suggest that you do not book any travel or accommodation until graduation dates are confirmed. Always read the cancellation policy when booking any travel or accommodation arrangements.

We are carefully monitoring Government guidance about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and will follow any mandatory or recommended safety precautions as may be required of hosting large, indoor events. We realise we all need to work together to reduce transmission. Maintaining the safety and wellbeing of our graduands, guests and staff is of paramount importance to us.

We recommend any travel plans/accommodation bookings are made with caution and, where possible, allow for free cancellation, if necessary.