Postgraduates in red robes

What to wear


All graduands attending a graduation ceremony must wear academic dress. This is made up of a gown, a hood and a hat. It’s your responsibility to order the appropriate academic dress from the University's official gown supplier, Ede & Ravenscroft. You must order your academic dress by 12pm (GMT) on Friday 10 November.

How to order

Academic dress must be pre-ordered online from our official suppliers, Ede & Ravenscroft. You need to place your gown order online. 

Forgotten to order your gown?

A very limited number of gowns will be available for hire on the day.

How to collect your academic dress

Once you’ve pre-ordered your academic dress online, you can collect it on graduation day from the Windsor Building room 102/103 at the following times:

Ceremony start timeAcademic dress collection time
10am from 8.30am
12.30am from 11am
3pm from 1.30pm

Returning your academic dress

Please ensure that your gowns are returned no later than 90 minutes after the last ceremony of the day. Please return the gowns from the same place you collected them in Windsor 102/3.

Helpful tips

Graduation is a formal occasion, and you should wear smart clothing beneath your gown.

  • You will be required to walk quickly during the student procession, so make sure you wear suitable footwear.
  • It’s useful to wear a buttoned blouse or shirt, as this makes it easier to attach the hood of your gown to your clothing.
  • It may be helpful to bring safety pins to ensure the hood stays in place, as well as hair grips if you have long hair.
  • You won’t be able to carry any personal belongings with you during the ceremony, so please leave handbags and any other items with your guests if you can.
  • Please have your head circumference and height measurements on hand when you go through the booking process, as you will need these to order your academic dress.