All School staff who have had a student facing role during the students' academic journey, regardless of staff type, are eligible to join the Graduation Procession and sit on the Platform.

A fundamental review of Graduation, taking into account feedback from Staff and recent Graduates, took place in January 2024 and a number of changes, designed to enhance the overall experience, have been made. The decision to extend the invitation to Process to all School staff who have had a student facing role during the students' academic journey, regardless of staff type, came from that review. Therefore, you may not previously have received an invitation to Process but are now encouraged to do so.

Since the changes to the Graduation Procession were brought in in 2024, Heads of School have been asked to help us identify staff who have had a student facing role during the students' academic journey and would not have previously been invited to register. If you feel that you should have been included in that email, we encourage you to contact your School Office to check your eligibility. 

If you are not employed by a School but have a close link to the academic career of a student who is graduating and would be keen to celebrate with them, please contact events@qub.ac.uk and we will assist where we can.

Summer Graduation 2025 will take place between 26^th June and 4 July. The full schedule of ceremonies can be seen here.

The Graduation Portal, where staff can indicate their intention to participate in Graduation, can be accessed using this link. The Portal will open for registrations on Friday 9^th May 2025 and close on Friday 23^rd May 2025.

We encourage staff to attend any ceremony where they have a link to the graduating students and you can attend as many ceremonies as you like over the Graduation period.

You will need your QUB Staff Number and password to access the Portal. You will then be prompted to provide a range of information, including details which will ensure that you receive the correct Academic Costume. 

Staff at Stranmillis University College and St Mary’s University College all have QUB staff numbers and are able to register on the portal as normal. If you are unable to access the portal, please try the below steps.

If you do not know your staff number, please call the IT helpdesk on the number: 028 9097 5050

To reset your password, please use this link: Self Service Password Reset | Information Services | Queen's University Belfast

All participants will be supplied with Academic Costume (gown and hood) to wear on the day. Information on your degree will be requested when you register to attend. We ask that staff dress smartly on the day as you can still see your normal attire under your gown when you are seated on the stage.

If you require academic costume from another institution, we will endeavour to source it for you.  We can however, only source from UK/Ireland institutions and it should be noted that in some cases where our supplier has difficulty sourcing your costume, a generic costume may be sent as an alternative or the nearest equivalent QUB gown will be provided.

The University will cover the cost of the hire of academic costume for all staff participating in an academic procession. This applies to both Queen's costume and costume sourced from other universities.

All School staff who have had a student facing role during the students' academic journey, regardless of staff type or educational attainment, are eligible to join the Graduation Procession. A staff member who does not hold a University degree will be provided with a black gown with no hood.

No. We ask all staff taking part in the Graduation Procession to wear Academic costume.

The Academic Costume Hire Service is located in the South Dining Hall. Academic Costume will be issued from here for most staff unless otherwise advised. Staff who have been asked to complete duties will pick up from the Black and White Hall whilst others may be robing in the Old Staff Common Room or VC’s office. Full details will be provided in the Marching Orders.

All academic costume must be returned to the Academic Costume Hire Service promptly after the ceremony. Please ensure the label on the gown remains attached and intact. Hire fees will apply if your academic costume is not returned in a timely manner.

In the days leading up to your chosen ceremony, you will be notified by email that your Marching Orders are ready to download. The Marching Orders will give you a complete overview of the timings of the ceremony, what will happen during the ceremony and where you will sit on the stage. Please note that due to last minute changes, the Marching Orders may change right up to the start of your ceremony, so they are intended as a guide to the day. Graduation staff will hold the Master copy and will advise of any changes on the day.

On the day, you should report to the Black and White Hall at the main entrance to the Lanyon Building, no later than 20 minutes before your chosen ceremony start time. You should already be dressed in your Academic Costume and as there is no storage in the Hall, please ensure that you do not bring any loose personal possessions. On arrival, please await instructions from the Graduation Team, who will ensure that you are lined up in the appropriate position before the Graduation Procession begins. The Graduation Procession will depart from the Black and White Hall and make its way to the Whitla Hall, where you will find your seat on the stage for the ceremony.

Smile and applaud! This is a celebratory occasion for the graduands and their families so we ask you to be mindful that you can been seen for the duration of the ceremony both by the audience in the Hall and on the live YouTube stream and ask you to engage by smiling and applauding at the appropriate times.

There are staff on the stage and in the Hall at every Graduation, including the Security team, who are well briefed in what to do if there is an incident of any type during a ceremony. If an incident occurs, please remain seated on the stage until you are instructed otherwise.

Yes. All of the Graduation ceremonies are live streamed on the QUB YouTube channel and you can watch videos of previous ceremonies there.

Ceremony lengths vary depending on the number of graduands and speakers. However, we usually expect a ceremony to last approximately 45 minutes.

In most cases, yes. However, for Health and Safety reasons, there is a maximum capacity on the stage and if a ceremony reaches that capacity, a waitlist system will be introduced on a first come, first served basis. Therefore, early registration is encouraged.

Yes. Staff taking part in the Graduation Procession are also invited to attend the Garden Party for that ceremony and do not require a ticket to do so. We encourage you to use this time to interact with the graduates and their families.

The Graduation Ceremony is an important part of the day and staff attendance during that event is critical to its success. Therefore, we do not give out tickets to the Garden Party to staff who only want to attend that element of the day. Garden Party tickets can be purchased from the Welcome Centre for £11 each.

To ensure maximum utilization of the Hall and to give students the opportunity to celebrate with as many of their family and friends as possible, extra ceremony tickets for staff will be extremely limited and allocated after student requests have been fulfilled. If any are available, they will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis by contacting Student Registry Services, reghelp@qub.ac.uk. Those taking part in the academic procession do NOT require a ticket for a seat in the Hall or a Garden Party ticket.

Of course. Please let us know of any access requirements when registering to take part in the academic procession and a member of the Events team will contact you.  Alternatively you can email the team: events@qub.ac.uk, at least 48 hours before your ceremony.

Please contact events@qub.ac.uk as soon as possible to advise us of the change. We will amend the Marching Orders and stage layout to remove you from the Procession and ensure there are no empty seats on the stage.

To ensure there are no empty seats on the stage, the Graduation Team will assume any staff member who has not arrived to the Black and White Hall at least five minutes prior to the ceremony start time is not attending and your seat will be removed from the stage. Any latecomers after this time will not be permitted to process or sit on the stage. If this happens, the team will do their best to find you a seat in the audience.

Please send your enquiry to the Graduation Team at events@qub.ac.uk and we will aim to get back to you as quickly as possible. Please bear in mind that the team are very busy in the lead up to Graduation and we will reply as soon as we can.