Graduate route visa
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Last updated: 17 April 2025
The University of Gloucestershire graduation ceremonies will take place from Wednesday 19 November to Friday 21 November 2025.
The graduation ceremonies will take place at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse, GL50 4SH (view location on Google Maps).
If your award will be confirmed by an award board by the end of October 2025 and you studied with the University of Gloucestershire, you are eligible to attend.
We welcome some of our collaborative partner graduates to celebrate with us, if they do not attend a ceremony held by the partner. If you have not received an email inviting you to book, please check with your administrator at the partner institution to see if you are eligible to attend.
No, attending the graduation is not mandatory for graduate students, but it is a chance to celebrate your achievement at the University of Gloucestershire.
Certificates are not handed out at or during the graduation ceremonies; they are posted to the graduate’s home address following the award boards held throughout the year. The team aims to get these to graduates as quickly as possible following an award board (normally 2 to 3 weeks following when you receive the email confirming your award has been made). Please make sure your home address on your student record is up to date.
Students who live outside of Europe will receive their award documents by DHL and will receive a DHL email notification when it has been sent.
If you have studied with a collaborative partner of the University (e.g., IDM, LEB, UEF, SGS), your documents will be sent directly to the partner for them to forward to you.
The graduate ticket and any guest tickets can be booked via Student Records Online. The deadline for confirming your attendance and booking guest tickets is Thursday 25 September 2025.
If you have received an email from us regarding the graduation ceremonies (which will go out from April), then your account will be reactivated when booking for the tickets goes live in June. From this date you will be able to access Student Records Online to book, but may have to reset your password for this to work.
If you have not recently accessed your account or you have forgotten your password, please follow this password re-set link. If you have not accessed you account before you may find the guidance here useful. If you continue to have problems accessing Student Records Online then the IT Helpdesk will assist you.
Initially, you will be able to purchase up to four guest tickets (in addition to your free graduate ticket). We will let you know in early October if further guest tickets are available, when we have received all initial bookings for the ceremony. Please note we do not have a waiting list and any additional tickets will be released on a first come, first served basis through Student Records Online.
We do not have a separate streaming room at the racecourse, as anyone wishing to enter the venue will require a graduate/guest ticket, which allows access to the main ceremony auditorium.
However, we will live stream your graduation ceremony online, so that anyone who cannot attend can watch. Links to this will be available on the day from our graduation page. We also use a company called Stageclip (who if you choose to sign up to when your book) will provide a short video clip of you crossing the stage in the week following the ceremony, that you can share with family and friends.
Children ages 5 and under do not require their own ticket if they sit on an adult’s lap during the ceremonies. Children over 5 will require a guest ticket, however, there are no concessions for children’s tickets.
Please note the ceremony can be quite long (around 1 hour 30 minutes in length) so we do ask if you are bringing small children to sit near an exit (there are a number into the auditorium) and if they become restless you are able to take them out so as not to disturb the proceedings for other guests.
If you think you (or one of your guests) will find the noise or busy environment of a typical graduation event overwhelming, you may instead prefer to attend a quiet ceremony. These will take place in the same week as the main ceremonies, but be done on an individual basis e.g. just you, your guests and a University representative.
If you are interested in this alternative ceremony, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.
The racecourse venue has wheelchair / easy access (via both flat access and lift systems) throughout the complex. The main foyer area and majority of the seating within the auditorium is at ground level. There are lifts available to provide access to the various levels of building if needed. Please let us know in advance if you need wheelchair access to enable us to reserve you appropriate seating.
The Centaur is a concert venue and consequently has lots of end of row and floor seating. If you arrive early at the venue, guests will be able to choose the best seating to suit your party.
There is also a hearing loop in the main auditorium for those with hearing aids.
If there are any other requirements you are concerned about, please contact the graduation team via [email protected].
E-tickets will be sent to the email address (you gave when you booked your place) around 3 weeks before the ceremonies. We are unable to issue anything before this time.
If you require a letter in support of your visa application to attend the award ceremonies, you can download this when you have booked your place by going back to the dashboard.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide invitation letters for guests attending the ceremony. If your guests require visas in order to attend, we advise that they include a copy of your invitation letter with their visa applications. If you will be in the UK at the point your guests apply for their visas, you may also wish to write your own letter of invitation.
Find out more and view detailed information about inviting relatives and friends to visit.
If you have further visa queries relating to attendance at your award ceremony, we recommend you email the University’s Immigration Compliance Team: [email protected].
Gowns can be hired through the University’s official supplier Ede & Ravenscroft.
When booking through Ede & Ravenscroft, you will need to specify that your award is from University of Gloucestershire, the date of your ceremony and the level of your award (e.g. Bachelor’s, Master’s, Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma).
While other gowning providers are available, the University strongly recommends that you hire your gown through the approved supplier, Ede and Ravenscroft. Using the approved supplier will ensure you are gowned appropriately, with good quality academic robes from a reputable dealer whose products the University has confidence in.
By choosing Ede & Ravenscroft:
Official photography on the day is provided by Ede & Ravenscroft* and is available throughout the day. You can book this at the same time as booking your gown.
The busiest times for photography are just before and just after a ceremony – please factor this in when deciding what time to arrive at the venue.
Your photographs will be sent to you by Ede & Ravenscroft around six weeks after the ceremony. If you have any questions, you can find out more on the Ede & Ravenscroft website or by email: [email protected].
*The University receives commission from Ede & Ravenscroft gown bookings and photography products. All commission received is reinvested into the ceremony and used to subsidise guest ticket prices.
Gowns are available to collect on the day of your ceremony in the Betting Concourse at The Centaur.
Although it is not mandatory to wear a gown to the ceremony, the majority of graduates choose to as this is a part of the experience of graduating.
Any graduate needing help with the cost of graduation can get in touch for advice by emailing [email protected]
The University has teamed up with GradFinale to produce your yearbook, which will give you the chance to reflect on the good times you had at Gloucestershire and to share some of your fondest memories with your friends.
Creating your yearbook entry is really simple – all you need to do is fill in some questions about your time at Gloucestershire and upload a photo. You can choose to receive a high quality digital or premium softback or hardback faux-leather edition of your yearbook.
Other graduation merchandise is available through the SU shop – www.uogsu.com/shop
Tickets are sent out to your nominated email address three weeks before your ceremony. Please check your spam folder in the first instance for the e-ticket. It will have been sent from [email protected].
If you still haven’t received your tickets, please check that you have received confirmation of your award. If you have received confirmation of your result, please email [email protected].
You can cancel your place at the ceremonies and any guest places via your Student Records Online. If this is before 18 November, a refund will be issued for any guest tickets purchased.
You can cancel any guest tickets via your Student Records Online. If this is before 18 November, a refund will be issued for any guest tickets purchased.
Please allow plenty of time to ensure that you arrive no later than an hour before the ceremony start time. Please note if you are attending the afternoon ceremonies, we may not be able to admit you to the main racecourse area before 1.30pm due to the morning ceremony taking place.
| Morning ceremony | Afternoon ceremony | Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| 8.30 – 10am | 1.30 – 3pm | Registration, Gowning, Photography & Refreshments |
| 10.10am | 3.10pm | Be seated in auditorium |
| 10.30am – 12pm | 3.30 – 5pm | Ceremony Times (approximate) |
The ceremony takes place in the Centaur auditorium and will last for approximately one and a half hours. Please ensure that you are seated 15 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony.
There is ample free parking on site. When you arrive, follow the signs to the Members’ Car Park and/or the directions of the car parking stewards. The stewards will also be able to advise regarding disabled (Blue Badge) parking which is available close to The Centaur entrance. There is also a drop-off point available by the main Centaur doors for those with less mobile guests but no Blue Badge.
Unfortunately, there are no storage facilities for coats, bags or luggage at the venue.
Students (graduates) are allocated a specific seat next to other students from their course. Seats must not be swapped as this will disrupt the running order of the ceremony and may mean that your name isn’t read out at the right time.
Ushers are on hand throughout the ceremony to guide you – please ask anyone if you are unsure where you should be.
Guests may use any of the unallocated/unlabelled seating in the auditorium. Access to the balcony areas is available from the Hall of Fame.
Yes, you will be able to change the name you want to be read out at your graduation ceremony when you book (although your certificate will remain in the official name you have registered with us) and tell us about any pronunciations.
You will be able to add a recording of you pronouncing your name via your Student Records Online or give us details of how to pronounce it.
Your award is when a Board of Examiners confirms that you have met the criteria to be awarded your degree, Master’s or other qualification and the date of this meeting is the date which will appear on your certificate.
This will be different to your ‘graduation’ date which relates to the ceremonial aspect where your degree is celebrated at a degree ceremony.
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