Get ready to graduate

Am I eligible to graduate?

The Class of 2023 graduation is for final-year students who will have successfully completed all elements of their undergraduate or postgraduate programme between 14 September 2022 and 12 September 2023.

Graduation will be on Friday, 22^nd September 2023. There will be two graduation ceremonies.

Courses graduation in the morning and the afternoon:

Morning 11:15am

For graduands from the following undergraduate courses:

Animals
Applied Life Sciences
Business and Agri-Food
Countryside, Environment, Wildlife and Geography
Food
Veterinary Nursing
Veterinary Physiotherapy
Programmes run with Beijing University of Agriculture
Programmes run with Huazhong Agricultural University

and for graduands from the following postgraduate courses:

Aquaculture
Food Industry Management
Food Business Management
Data Science for Global Agriculture, Food & Environment
International Agri-Business and Food Chain Management
Meat Business Management
Poultry Production
Ruminant Nutrition
Veterinary Nursing
Veterinary Pharmacy
Veterinary Physiotherapy
Cognate PhD, MRes and MPhil awards as determined by Research and Taught Postgraduate Office and advised to individual graduands

Afternoon 3:15pm

For graduands from the following undergraduate courses:

Agriculture
Engineering
Land and Property Management

and for graduands from the following postgraduate courses:

Agricultural Law
Agricultural Sciences and Production Systems
Agro-ecology
Applied Mechatronic Engineering (with Industry Research Project)
Applied Mechatronic Engineering
Conservation and Forest Protection
Ecological Applications
Engineering
Engineering Business Management
Entomology
Forestry Management
Forest Protection with Conservation
Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest, Weed & Disease Management
Plant Pathology
Plant Health and Biosecurity
Precision Farming
Rural Estate and Land Management
Rural Property Management
Cognate PhD, MRes and MPhil awards as determined by Research and Taught Postgraduate Office and advised to individual graduands

If you are uncertain whether you are eligible to attend, please contact graduation@harper-adams.ac.uk, setting out your full name, your student ID number and the reason for your query.

We are not able to allow graduands to defer their graduation ceremony. We structure our events around the courses and year groups which means we are not able to accommodate individual requests for deferrals.

Tickets and guests

Register online

You are required to register online and state whether you plan to attend or not.

Online registration is through the Student Dashboard.

Registration opens Monday 17^th April and closes 5pm Friday 21^st July.

Your place at graduation is not automatically allocated. If you fail to registration a place by the closing date you may not be able to attend.

Accessibility

If you or any of your guests have any mobility or accessibility requirements such as accessible parking, seating, or other arrangements (for example, a hearing loop), please advise us during online registration.

Your ticket

You will receive a confirmation email once you have registered for your ticket. Please carefully check the details. If anything is incorrect please contact graduation@harper-adams.ac.uk, setting out your full name, your student ID number and correct details.

Guest tickets

Graduands are entitled to a maximum of two complimentary tickets for their guests, which must be requested when you register. Once registration has closed, no further tickets can be allocated.

Guest tickets will grant entry to your graduation ceremony, and to all-day access to the Graduation Village where they can exchange a voucher for the complimentary glass of fizz.

Note: we are unable to supply any additional tickets for the 2023 graduation ceremonies.

Babies and children

No ticket is required for infants under two if seated on the lap of an accompanying adult.

Ticket collection

Collect your tickets from the Weston Building on the day. Graduands will have to collect all tickets on the production of ID and their registration e-receipt. Your guests will not be able to collect tickets themselves and should wait for you in the Graduation Village. See the On Graduation Day page for ticket collection opening times.

Transfering tickets to another person

Tickets are non-transferable and must be collected and used by graduands themselves.

What if I can’t come anymore?

If you have registered your intention to attend Graduation and are subsequently unable to attend, please sign into the Student Dashboard and update your graduation booking. If the registration window has already closed, please inform us via email at graduation@harper-adams.ac.uk.

Accommodation

Unfortunately, we do not have any accommodation available on campus for the graduation ceremonies in September.

Gowns

You should arrange to hire or purchase formal academic gowns from J Wippell & Co of Exeter to wear over your daywear.

Your academic dress consists of a gown, hood and mortar board and there are specific Harper Adams University academic dress styles, which are bespoke for each award.

You will be asked to confirm the timing of your graduation ceremony when you book your gowns. There are two ceremonies on graduation day:

Morning ceremony: take your seats from 10.00am for the ceremony to start at 11.15am
Afternoon ceremony: take your seats from 2.00pm for the ceremony to start at 3.15pm

J Wippell & Co will be on campus on graduation day to distribute gowns and assist you with putting on your robes correctly. Please ensure that you arrange to hire or purchase your academic dress in advance, as spare sets will not be available on the day.

Do I need to dress formally?

You should be smartly dressed, and most people will tend to wear either business dress, a suit, smart dress, smart shirt with chinos, or similar. Jeans, shorts and trainers are not appropriate. You should also note that you will walk up a ramp onto the stage and then back down, so please take this into consideration when selecting shoes for the ceremony, particularly the height and stability of heels.

You MUST book your gown in advance. Failure to do so will mean you will not have a gown for your graduation day. Online ordering will close at 10.00 on Friday 8^th September.

Photography

If you wish to have a photograph taken in your academic dress, a photography service provided by Ede and Ravenscroft, will be available for both single and family photographs between 08:00 and 18:00. Please be aware that at busier times (especially 12:30 - 14:30) you may have to queue.

Please note that the official photographers use mock scrolls for the photographs. Therefore, you can have your photograph taken before the collection of your actual degree certificate.

We are planning to include a photographer who will capture your moment on stage. These photographs will be available to purchase after the graduation ceremony directly from the Ede and Ravenscroft website. You are not committed to buying the photographs but they are available as an additional memento of your achievement. Further information will be provided on the day.

Pre-book

To reduce your queuing time on graduation day and avoid disappointment, it is strongly recommended that you pre-book your photography package with Ede and Ravenscroft. Booking deadline is Friday 15^th September.

Some tips on how to navigate their website:

Hover your cursor over the main picture and a grey banner will appear
Press the grey banner ‘Find out your options’
That takes you to a new page: click on ‘Attending a Graduation Event’
Then enter Harper Adams in the ‘Enter Institution Name’ – it should come up as an option. Press continue.
Then choose your ceremony from ‘Please select’. Press Continue.
Then click ‘All Awards’ – it doesn’t give you any other options.
Then on the next page scroll down to Photography and view the options.