Frequently Asked Questions

For full details on how to graduate, key dates and where to submit applications to please refer to the Prepare for Graduation page.

• Visit the Find my Ceremony page to find out more details.

The Graduation ceremonies will be held at the Old Aberdeen Campus, University of Aberdeen.

Please be aware that graduation briefings and ceremonies can often be noisy environments. With large numbers of fellow graduates and families in attendance, you should be aware that there will be lots of clapping and cheering taking place.

If you're sensitive to large crowds or loud noises, please let the graduation team know on the day or email graduation@abdn.ac.uk so that we can do our best to support you.

If you wish to bring more guests than you can obtain guest tickets for, we still warmly welcome your friends and family to campus and there are several options available to you:

• Hospitality Marquee
  Your guests can locate themselves in the Hospitality Marquee, open from 8.30am and can watch a live screening on their mobile device. They can then join you at the Hospitality Marquee after the ceremony, where light refreshments and drinks can be purchased
  
  
• Live Screenings
  Our in person ceremonies will be live-streamed and can be watched in the King's College Auditorium, at the Students' Union or the Sir Duncan Rice Library. You do not need to purchase tickets for live screenings on campus. Seats cannot be reserved for live screenings and are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
  
  
• Returned or Unsold Tickets
  If there are any remaining guest tickets for a ceremony, they will be available to purchase using the online booking system.

Each Graduation Ceremony will be professionally filmed and live-streamed in its entirety. There will also be photography taken before, during and after the ceremony.  UoA may use footage and photographs from the Graduation Ceremonies for marketing purposes, including media postings and online postings.

Please see UoA student privacy notice for more information about how UoA manages student personal data.

If you graduate in person, you will receive your certificate at the ceremony.

Students graduating in-absentia will have their certificates posted to them. You can view approximate dates on the key dates section of the webpage.

If you are expected to attend a ceremony and you do not turn up or are turned away (because you are too late), your degree/diploma certificate will not be issued as you will not have graduated. You must reapply for a future graduation.

If you need to make any changes to your application to graduate after you have submitted it, please email graduation@abdn.ac.uk as soon as possible to notify them of the required changes.

You should check your results in your Student Hub.

If you do not appear to be eligible to graduate with the degree that you have applied for, please contact a member of staff in Registry as soon as possible to advise if you still wish to attend the ceremony with a lower degree e.g. designated instead of honours.

We cannot assume that you will want to do so and the Team will be unaware if you are taking resits.

There is no fee for the graduation ceremony.

Graduating students will need to hire a robe and have the option of purchasing photography as well.

If you apply after the deadline there is no guarantee that your application will be accepted. So, do not wait until you receive your results, assume you will pass and apply before the deadline.

If you owe the University money for any reason (fees, library fines for unreturned books, etc.) you will not be permitted to graduate, so please ensure that you have cleared any debts. Any money you owe will normally be displayed on the Application to Graduate form. However, as the Graduation Team receives notice of debt daily from various sections of the University it may not be displayed on your form.

If you receive a letter or email saying that you owe money or have unreturned library books please do not ignore it even if you think the information is wrong. Contact us immediately to resolve the issue.

If you continue to owe money your application will be kept on hold until the debt is paid. The onus is on you to advise the Graduation Team that the debt has been paid.

To be included in graduation you will need to clear any debt and notify graduation@abdn.ac.uk

Please be aware that when you finish your studies at the University of Aberdeen, your IT account will close. You will receive an email notification 30 days prior to this closure date. You may have already received this.

Once your account has closed, you will no longer have access to the following systems and services:

• MyAberdeen and other VLEs
• MySkills Portfolio and MyAberdeen Area
• Your University Email and OneDrive
• MS Office applications on your personal devices
• Your Home (H:) drive
• Network access, including wireless
• Electronic resources (e.g. Library catalogue)

Make sure you copy any files you want to keep from your mailbox, OneDrive and H drive. Should you have any questions please contact the IT Service Desk.

Please download any assignments or other work you submitted to the courses on MyAberdeen that you wish to retain - just revisit the assignment on MyAberdeen to download a copy.

Let us share your graduation successes.

We invite graduates to submit a photo and short message or a success story.

The local and national media also traditionally seeks out interesting stories regarding our new graduates. If you would like to take part in these opportunities simply complete this form.

*The Communications team cannot guarantee that every story will be followed up but they thank you for your participation.

You can also contact the Communications Office via email.

If you have applied to attend a graduation ceremony in person, you should note that your name may be published in an awards list that the University may release to the media for their onward publication. If you do not wish your name to be included you must notify graduation@abdn.ac.uk to this effect.

In addition, if you qualify for the award of a degree you should note that, unless you apply to the Registrar of the General Council for exemption on ground of conscience, you will automatically become a member of the General Council of the University, and your name will be included in the published Register of members of the Council.

Following graduation, your contact details and degree/diploma/certificate information are transferred to our alumni and development database where our alumni archive is maintained. The Alumni Relations and Development teams keep in contact with former students regarding further education and Continuing Professional Development opportunities, career mentoring and development, reunions, alumni and University events, University updates and fundraising initiatives.

Your contact details are only used for University-related activity and are not passed to any third-party organisations for other purposes. You can at any time opt out of receiving any or all of these communications by contacting our Alumni Relations Office at alumni@abdn.ac.uk

Advice and guidance on degree fraud for students can be found here