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Graduation

Celebrating your achievements

Graduation terms and conditions

Please read this section carefully as your registration and (if applicable) purchase of guest tickets for your graduation ceremony is your acceptance of these terms.

It’s your responsibility to inform us in advance if either you or one of your guests has an accessibility requirement. If not, we cannot guarantee we will be able to accommodate you/them on the day.

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 graduation@aub.ac.uk to cancel your registration and/or guest ticket(s).

We'll supply a full refund up to 7 days before your ceremony date for any guest tickets bought. If you let us know less than 7 days prior to your ceremony date, unfortunately, we are unable to refund you for your guest tickets, except in exceptional circumstances.

To process your refund, we must receive your unused guest ticket(s) before your ceremony date. If they’ve been posted to you, please return them to the Graduation Office via post or drop them off in person at Campus Halls Reception.

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.

You must hire a gown to attend graduation with the AUB colours on the hood. Without a gown, you cannot cross the stage.

Our recommended supplier is Ede & Ravenscroft. This is a separate company from AUB. The cost of hire is as follows:

BA Gown - £45
MA Gown - £51
PhD Gown - £58

Gown hire opens on 27 March 2023 and the deadline for gown hire is 29 June 2023.

www.gownhire.co.uk

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. Unfortunately, there will be no further tickets available.

Entry to Bournemouth Pavilion and the Marquee Reception is strictly by ticket only and no exceptions will be made. Keep your tickets safe as we do not issue replacements.

Seating is on a first-come-first-served basis for the ceremony. Unfortunately, seats can't be reserved, unless you have an accessibility requirement. If so, 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 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.

For those graduands collecting their tickets on the day, please go to the Ticket Collection desk at the front of the Pavilion Theatre. You'll need to show your photo ID to collect your tickets.

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 20 March 2023. The closing date is 12 May 2023. 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 AUB/BPC 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.

Explore more

A theatre full of people in graduation dress, viewed form the back with a stage blurred in the background.

Overview

AUB's graduation ceremony is a great time to celebrate your achievements with your family and friends
A large crowd of people, many of them in graduation dress, gather on a beach in front of a pier for a photo.

Graduation FAQs

We've answered some questions you might have about our graduation ceremonies
Two people lift up a person in graduation dress and pose as a photographer takes their photo on a beach.

Costs – planning ahead

Please be aware there are some additional costs associated with participating in Graduation. We appreciate that students are often on...
Students at their graduation celebrating on Bournemouth beach

Guest tickets

Each graduand is entitled to bring a maximum of two guests to attend their ceremony. These guest tickets can be purchased for £25 each...
People in graduation dress gathering on Bournemouth's pier approach.

Gown hire and photography

Once you receive your invite to register for graduation, you may book your gown, hood and cap. We recommend hiring these directly...
Image of the outside of a theatre building with bushes and palm trees in the foreground. The word "Pavilion" is on the outside of the building.

Venue and live video stream

Graduation ceremonies will be held at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre which is in the town centre. A Video live stream will also be...
Five people in graduation dress stand on a beach and pose for a photo.

Graduation day

Graduation Day is a milestone event and most guests and graduands choose to wear smart attire to commemorate the importance of the day.
People in graduation dress throw mortar board hats into the air.

Filming and photography

We'll have our in-house photographers circling throughout the event capturing those special moments of your day.
Two people in graduation dress hug.

Archive

We've collected photos and videos of the AUB graduation ceremonies from over the years, which are free for you to download and enjoy