Your graduation
Graduation is a significant milestone and is an opportunity for the University to formally recognise your accomplishments. We are excited for you to join us at this special time with family and friends, who can watch from near and far to celebrate your achievements.
The next graduation ceremonies will take place on: 2 July 2026 and 3 July 2026
If eligible, you will be invited to attend a graduation ceremony taking place on either 2 July 2026 or 3 July 2026.
Your invitation to graduate will be sent to your primary email address on 6 May 2026. It is essential that you keep your primary email address up to date on the VLE as this will be the core method of communication regarding graduation.
Your invitation will include a link which will take you to the Ede and Ravenscroft graduation hub. From there, you will be able to confirm your attendance and place an order for robing and photography.
Dates and eligibility information can be found in the Eligibility & Invitations table at the top of this page.
Key information
Eligibility and invitation key dates
Graduation Expected Ceremonies
Graduation FAQs
Everything you need to know
Whilst an enjoyable and celebratory occasion, attendance at a graduation ceremony is not compulsory. When invited to graduate, you have three options.
Option 1: Attend – Register to attend your graduation ceremony by the registration deadline.
Option 2: Defer your attendance – Request to defer your attendance, once, to the next session.
Option 3: Graduate in Absentia – Request to graduate in absentia, with your degree officially conferred in your absence. Your certificate will be posted to your primary address following the ceremony.
University of the Built Environment graduation ceremonies, along with post-ceremony celebratory drinks receptions, are held within the Concert Hall at Reading Town Hall, Blagrave Street, Reading, RG1 1QH.
Robing and photography take place next door in Saint Laurence Church, Friar Street, Reading, RG1 3EJ.
Due to the central location of Reading Town Hall, parking is not available at the venue. However, there are several large car parks within walking distance, all equipped with ample disabled and family spaces.
There are a limited number of on-street disabled parking spaces adjacent to the main entrance of Reading Town Hall. However, these operate on a first come first served basis as they are public parking spaces and cannot be reserved.
University of the Built Environment graduation ceremonies take place twice per year, known as sessions, in January and July.
Session 1: January
January ceremonies typically take place within the last two weeks of the month, with the final week of the month being the standard.
Session 2: July
July ceremonies typically take place within the first two weeks of the month, with the first week of the month being the standard.
The session that you will be invited to is based on your award date and the subsequent internal ratification of your award. The ceremony you are invited to within the session is based on your programme.
Should you be unable to attend your graduation ceremony, you are permitted to defer your attendance, once, to the next session.
For example: If you are invited to graduate in session 1, January, and you are unable to attend, you may request to defer your attendance to session 2, July. However, if you then find you are unable to attend in July, you will not be permitted to defer to any other future sessions and ceremonies and will automatically graduate in absentia.
In order to be eligible to attend the July session, your award needs to have been confirmed between November and April. Students who requested to defer from the previous January session are also eligible.
Dates and eligibility information can be found in the Eligibility & Invitations table.
In order to be eligible to attend the January session, your award needs to have been confirmed between May and October. Students who requested to defer from the previous July session are also eligible.
Dates and eligibility information can be found in the Eligibility & Invitations table.
If you are unsure when your award will be confirmed, please visit the My Assessment page on the VLE.
You must register via the Ede and Ravenscroft portal following receipt of your invitation to graduate. The deadline to register will typically be three weeks after you receive the invitation. However, the specific deadline should be checked within your invitation.
After you register for the graduation ceremony, you will receive an email from Ede and Ravenscroft confirming your order.
Shortly following the closure of the portal, the University will email you a graduation information pack with further details regarding your ceremony.
Please check that your primary email address is up to date on the VLE. If it is correct, please contact graduation@ube.ac.uk for further guidance.
Please note, if you have outstanding fees, you will not be invited to attend graduation until the outstanding fees have been paid. To avoid disappointment, please ensure your account has been fully paid.
It will take 24 hours after payment before you will be able to confirm your attendance.
We do not produce invitation letters for visa purposes. Please contact records@ube.ac.uk in order to request a visa support letter. Please note, we are only able to provide visa support letters for the graduate. We are unable to provide any documentation for family members or friends who may be attending as guests.
If you have already registered for graduation and can no longer attend, please email graduation@ube.ac.uk as soon as possible.
You will need to confirm your attendance at graduation by registering to attend before the registration deadline, however, you do not need to purchase a ticket to attend your ceremony. Once you confirm that you are attending, your place at your ceremony and subsequent drinks reception will be booked.
Guest tickets are priced at £20 per adult and £10 per child (under 16). Guest tickets are used for entry to the ceremony and post-ceremony reception, where you will receive a complimentary drink.
Guest tickets are available on the Ede & Ravenscroft graduation hub as soon as you receive your invitation to graduate.
All graduands are able to purchase up to three guest tickets, inclusive of any required child tickets. Once the deadline to confirm attendance and purchase guest tickets passes, all remaining unpurchased guest tickets will be made available via a second sale on the portal. The second sale of guest tickets will be limited to up to two tickets per graduand and will be sold on a first come first served basis.
More information on ticketing and arrival will be circulated ahead of the ceremony.
Graduands will be seated separately from their guests and will be in the order in which their names are called to cross the stage. Each row will be directed to the stage at the correct time by University staff.
Guest tickets do not have allocated seat numbers and your guests will be directed to the best available seats on the day. If your guests arrive late or separately, it may not be possible to seat them together.
If you, or any of your guests have special seating requirements, please indicate these when purchasing tickets.
To avoid disrupting proceedings, guests are asked to remain in their seats for the duration of the ceremony.
Children are welcome at ceremonies, however they are long, formal occasions. Children/babies in arms under the age of two may enter free of charge and are required to sit on the lap of an accompanying adult guest. It is not possible for children, no matter their age, to be seated with graduates so please ensure they have a chaperone with them at all times.
The University reserves the right to ask any child or adult to leave the venue during the ceremony if they are making unnecessary noise which is disruptive to proceedings or other guests. If you require a refund on any (or all) guest tickets, please contact Ede and Ravenscroft.
If you require a refund on any (or all) guest tickets, please contact Ede and Ravenscroft before the refund deadline. Refund deadlines can be found in the Eligibility & Invitations. No refunds will be made after this date.
When registering for graduation on the Ede & Ravenscroft portal, you were asked to provide any accessibility requirements for you and your guests. If you have new accessibility requirements, please make them known to us as soon as possible by emailing graduation@ube.ac.uk.
Certificates will be collected once you have crossed the stage. If you choose to defer your graduation, your certificate will be sent to your home address.
From January 2026, all graduation ceremonies and award documentation will be branded as University of the Built Environment.
We do not announce award classifications at our graduation ceremonies.
The name read out at the ceremony will be your full, official name which also appears on your award certificate and ceremony programme.
However, if your name is long or difficult to pronounce, please ensure you have provided phonetic spelling via the Ede and Ravenscroft portal to assist the reader. Alternatively, you can ask for a shortened version of your name to be read out as you cross the stage.
As this is a formal event celebrating your academic success at the University, it is mandatory to wear academic robes. You must hire robes during the registration process on the Ede and Ravenscroft portal.
You can access the graduation live stream in the ‘Key information’ section at the top of this page. Previous ceremony recordings can be found on the University of the Built Environment YouTube channel.
Terms and Conditions
Graduation policies for University of the Built Environment
By registering to attend online, via the Ede and Ravenscroft portal, you, the graduand, agree to the following:
- To confirm your attendance and book guest tickets within the advertised deadlines schedule. Graduands who have not adhered to the deadline dates will not be admitted on the day. If you have not confirmed your attendance by the advertised deadlines, we assume you are not attending and will graduate in absentia.
- Your final award must be ratified by the University of the Built Environment Academic Board and must have been confirmed at a University Progression and Awards Board.
- To pay any outstanding fees in full .
- You and your guests to be seated in the auditorium prior to the start time of the ceremony. You are advised to allow 2 hours for robing and photography prior to being seated. If you/and or your guests arrive late, staff will endeavour to accommodate you, but please be aware that this may not always be possible. Late arrivals will only be admitted at certain times and into certain areas to minimise disruption to other graduands and guests.
- The University cannot be held liable for the cost incurred of any travel arrangements made by graduates or guests.
- The University cannot be held responsible for any guest arriving at a ceremony without having purchased a guest ticket.
- As this is a formal event celebrating your academic success, it is mandatory to wear academic robes supplied by Ede and Ravenscroft.
- Guest tickets are issued to the attending graduands and are non-transferable.
Failure to comply with any of the above terms and conditions may result in your entry to the ceremony being denied.
All venues where the ceremonies will be taking place comply with current legal requirements and undergo a thorough risk assessment.
A first aider will always be on duty. Should a student or guest require medical assistance, please speak to a member of staff from the venue or the University.
We ask that at the time of registering your attendance you make known any accessibility or additional requirements for yourself or your guests . Every effort will be made to meet your requirements; however, it may not always be possible for us to accommodate particular needs, especially without advance notice.
Please note that in providing details of any accessibility or additional requirements, you consent to these details being passed to the venue to enable any appropriate adjustments to be made. Personal data will be handled in compliance with privacy law.
Please note that graduation ceremonies of University of the Built Environment are regarded as public events.
This means that the names of graduands, along with the award, are published in the graduation brochure and audio-visual images of the ceremony are publicly available, e.g., online streaming and ceremony recordings.
The names and awards printed in the brochure are supplied to an external company and are correct at the time of going to print.
We are unable to discuss details of a student’s graduation ceremony with anyone else, unless we receive written permission from the student concerned.
During the day professional photographers will be taking photographs and these may be used in the University’s future promotional literature.
We would like to inform you that University of the Built Environment graduation ceremonies will be photographed, videoed, streamed live online and/or otherwise captured in image form. These images and video content may then be used by the University for publicity and promotional purposes such as film, prospectuses, advertising campaigns, websites, exhibition stands, posters, leaflets, national or local press articles, etc. It is important to note that if any images are published on the internet, they will be accessible to users from all over the world.
Due to the scale of these events, we are unable to obtain written consent from each individual attending or working at the events. Therefore, we will assume that whilst participating in these events all persons agree to their image(s) being captured for the purposes stated above.
If you object to the publication of any of your personal data or your images being used as described above, you must inform graduation@ube.ac.uk of your objection, in writing. Measures to manage objections are likely to prevent your full participation in the event.
If the graduation ceremonies cannot take place or are delayed due to circumstances beyond the University’s control, including (without limitation:) fire; explosion; terrorist act (or threat of terrorist act); act of God; pandemic; industrial action, national mourning (any member of the Royal Family) or dispute involving the University or the venue/s at which the ceremonies and other graduation services are due to be held, the University will not be liable for any losses direct or otherwise incurred by graduates or their guests by the said cancellations, rescheduling or postponement. The University will, where at all possible, make alternative arrangements for any graduands affected, but graduands and their guests should ensure that they have sufficient insurance protection to cover any losses they might suffer as a result of ceremonies being cancelled or delayed.
USEFUL CONTACTS
Alumni Association