Your Graduation Day at Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is a magnificent setting for one of the proudest days of your life.

Preparing for the day

Confirm your attendance

You're required to complete an online reply form eight weeks prior to your ceremony. Whilst completing the online reply form you have the opportunity to purchase your allotted two guest tickets, priced at £22 per guest.

After the closing date for replies we will calculate if any additional tickets are available for sale. Information outlining the scheduled date and time for sale of additional tickets can be found on the Your Ceremony Details and Ticket Purchase  section. Tickets (if available) can be purchased by visiting the same web pages on the date of additional ticket sales.

Hire your academic gown

Graduations are an important celebratory event, and our experience is they are much appreciated by our students and their guests. Part of the celebration is for all those who are taking part in the ceremony to dress appropriately. Academic dress (consisting of robe, hood and hat which together we call a ‘gown’) is mandatory for those taking part in the ceremony. A student must wear a Canterbury Christ Church University gown appropriate to the level of qualification for which they are being presented, even if the student already holds a higher qualification. National dress may be worn.

Gowns are hired via our official suppliers, Ede & Ravenscroft. It is important to note Ede & Ravenscroft require 3 weeks’ notice to hire a gown so order yours in plenty of time. You should note that a student arriving in inappropriate academic dress or not gowned will be unable to join the procession and will not be presented for their award during the ceremony.

Visit the Ede & Ravenscroft website to hire your graduation gown.

You will have the opportunity to collect your gown and have photographs taken the evening before your graduation ceremony, to avoid queues on the day.

Term Time Photography and Pre-Graduation Celebration

We offer students and their guests the opportunity to celebrate and have their photographs taken prior to/after their ceremony date so that queues for photography on the day can be avoided. Term time photography also enables students unable to attend the actual graduation to still have professional photographs taken. 

At these sessions Ede & Ravenscroft will supply the appropriate gown for your award and refreshments and nibbles will be available.

There is no additional cost for this provision. If you wish to attend a term time photography session please indicate this in your online reply form and the graduation team will contact you to make arrangements.

Term time photography sessions will be held on 2 September 2017 and 13 January 2018.

Accommodation

Accommodation is available at Petros Court, located just outside the city centre and only ten minutes’ walking distance from Canterbury Cathedral.

All rooms at Petros Court have en-suite facilities and a 4ft small double bed making them suitable for single and double occupancy.

Tariffs offered to our graduands and their families are:

• £ 75.00 per room per night

In order to book, please email  canterbury.conferences@canterbury.ac.uk

On the day

Timings

Canterbury Cathedral graduation ceremonies start at 09:45, 12:30 and 15:15 and last approx. 1hour 15mins.   

Please refer to the timetable included with your ticket pack for specific timings for your ceremony.

Celebratory drinks follow the ceremony in Anselm on the North Holmes Road Campus.

Getting to the venue

No parking is available on campus or at the Cathedral. Please  visit the Canterbury City Council website  to find out the location of pay and display car parks and Park and Rides across the city.

View University site maps and travel information.

What to do if you are running late

If you are running slightly late you should make your way to be gowned in Augustine House (AH3.31) and head to the cathedral as soon as possible, please note that students arriving late are not guaranteed to graduate.

In the case of emergency or for any reason you are sure to miss the ceremony do not panic. Log a call with the i-zone and we will contact you after the ceremonies regarding the option of deferral.

You are able to defer/postpone graduation and attend another event generally within a year. If you choose to defer, this can only occur once you have received your invitation. It is at the discretion of the Graduation and Events Office as to which date you may defer to.

To update your details or request a deferral please contact i-zone on 01227 782222 or email i-zone@canterbury.ac.uk

Graduation gowns

Gowns should be pre-ordered via the Ede and Ravenscroft website. For details of your gown, check the  Your Ceremony Details and Ticket Purchase  section.

Your gown will be ready for collection on the day of the event and staff from Ede and Ravenscroft (the gowning suppliers) will be available to help you dress.

Gowns will be available to collect from Augustine House (AH3.31)

Visit the Ede & Ravenscroft website to hire your graduation gown . 

You will have the opportunity to collect your gown and have photographs taken the evening before your graduation ceremony, to avoid queues on the day

Photography

On the day of your graduation photography studios will set up in Augustine Hall and the Laud building. The studios will be available to visit both before and after the ceremony. Our photography suppliers will also be present inside the cathedral to capture the moment you receive your award and these photos will be available after the ceremony. Photography packages can be pre-ordered via Ede & Ravenscroft . Alternatively you can pay on the day or order your photographs retrospectively via Ede and Ravenscroft’s website.

Seating at the Cathedral

Students will be seated in a separate area to guests. In ticket packs sent out prior to the ceremony, students will receive a procession card indicating their seat number. Students will grouped alphabetically (surname order) by programme of study.

Guests are not allocated specific seats for ceremonies. Most of the seats in the nave of the Cathedral have a view of the presentation area, but some have a restricted view. We regret that we cannot guarantee that you will have a full view of the proceedings. We recommend you arrive well in advance of the ceremony as queues form early. Space for a wheelchair/mobility scooter should be booked in advance via the online reply form in order to ensure that we can accommodate your requirements. 

Children and babies

The ceremony may not be suitable for infants and young children and we therefore would recommend that children do not attend.

If you do decide to bring your children they must hold a ticket. This ensures that the congregation numbers remain within the Health and Safety guidelines, set down by both the Dean & Chapter for the Cathedral and the University.

If your child becomes distressed, we may ask you to leave the ceremony for a short period, so that other people are not disturbed.

We offer live streaming, detailed below, which may be more suitable.

Live streaming

If your friends and relatives are unable to attend the ceremony in person, live coverage of your ceremony will be available to watch online.

If your family and friends are joining you for your special day but are not able to attend the ceremony, there will be live coverage of the graduation ceremony streamed in our Students' Union, St George's Centre.