Frequently asked questions

To be eligible for Commemoration Day 2025, graduands must meet the following criteria:  

• They are an undergraduate with a date of conferral of Monday 1 September 2025 or before, and they have not been invited to graduation before    

• Any outstanding tuition fee debt owed to the university has been cleared and paid in full by no later than Friday 18 July 2025. Graduands with tuition fee debt cleared after this date will not be eligible to graduate at Commemoration Day 2025 or any future graduation ceremony. If a graduand requires further information as to how a tuition fee debt to the university may affect their graduation, they should contact the Student Credit Control team via email at student.creditcontrol@imperial.ac.uk 

Please note, CertHE, DipHE, PGDip and PGCert award recipients are not currently eligible to attend an in-person graduation.   
 
If you have any questions regarding eligibility, please refer to the event Terms & Conditions. 

All tuition fees must be paid before the repayment deadline to be eligible for your graduation ceremony. This deadline will be communicated in advance to all graduands who have outstanding debt. 
   
For Commemoration Day 2025, the repayment deadline is Friday 18 July. All graduands with debts cleared after this date will not be eligible to graduate at Commemoration Day 2025 or any future graduation ceremony. 

If you have a query regarding an outstanding debt on your account, please contact the Student Credit Control Team as soon as possible. 

There is no connection between the graduation ceremony and receiving your certificate. Certificates are not given out at graduation or collected on the day of graduation. The university sends certificates to graduands directly.  

Certificates are normally issued three months from when a student is conferred. If you have not received your certificate or have a question, please email: certificates@imperial.ac.uk.  

No, you do not have to attend a ceremony to graduate. Your degree will still have been conferred by the university following your marks being passed by your department to Registry.  

Attendance at a graduation ceremony is entirely optional.  

There is no charge for graduands to attend their graduation ceremony or the Faculty Receptions taking place at various locations across the South Kensington Campus. However, there are additional costs associated with graduation that are listed below:  

• You must wear academic dress to process and graduate in the Royal Albert Hall. Hiring academic dress from our official gowning partner, Ede & Ravenscroft, costs from £53. 
• Guest ceremony tickets for the Royal Albert Hall cost £24.99 per guest. 
• Guest Faculty Reception passes cost £15 per guest. 
• Purchasing photography is entirely optional. Packages from our official photography partner, Tempest Photography, start from £25. 

We aim to make graduation accessible to all. As such, there is financial support available to those who need it, and Imperial can help with guest ceremony ticket(s), academic dress hire, guest reception passes, photography, and UK travel to and from the ceremony. 

For details on how to apply, and more information, please visit:   
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/students/fees-and-funding/financial-assistance/student-support-fund/  
 
Please note the deadline for applying for financial support for Commemoration Day 2025 is Friday 19 September.  

Eligible graduands will be invited directly by email in early August 2025. This email will have instructions and a link to register and book your place at your graduation ceremony. You need to complete the registration form, whether you plan to attend or not. 
 
After you register, you can: 
· Buy two (Faculty of Engineering) or three (Faculty of Natural Sciences and Faculty of Medicine) guest ceremony tickets from the Royal Albert Hall.  
· Hire your academic dress.  
· Reserve your Faculty Reception pass and buy two (Faculty of Engineering) or three (Faculty of Natural Sciences and Faculty of Medicine) guest passes. 

If you or your guests need a letter to support your visa application, please visit the Visa Support Letter Information page. 

If you believe you were eligible for a past ceremony and have missed an invitation, please contact the Graduation Events team using: graduation@imperial.ac.uk. However, please note that if you did not respond to a previous invitation, you will not be eligible to attend a future ceremony except in serious extenuating circumstances.  

If you cannot attend your ceremony in person, you can choose to defer your attendance or to graduate in absentia.  

Please note, you still need to complete registration if you decide to defer your attendance or graduate in absentia. 
If you do not complete registration within the allocated registration period, you will not be invited to future graduation ceremonies.  

 
Deferring your attendance 
If you cannot attend your ceremony on this date, but would like to do so in the future, you can choose to defer your ceremony. Graduands may only defer once and will be invited to graduate at a later ceremony. Graduands who wish to defer must let us know by completing the relevant section in their registration form by the registration deadline.  

Please note that we cannot guarantee which ceremony you will be deferred to, and you could be invited to any future ceremony that has capacity.  

Graduating in absentia 
Graduands who are unable/do not wish to attend their ceremony and would not like to attend a future ceremony can graduate in absentia. If they graduate in absentia, they will not be eligible to attend any future in-person ceremonies (for the same degree).  

If you graduate in absentia you can choose to have your name appear in the digital programme, but it will not be read out on stage.  

After each ceremony, graduands have the option to attend a reception on our South Kensington Campus. These 90 minute receptions are an optional extra, and provide space for graduands, family, friends, and academic staff to come together to celebrate after the ceremony, with drinks and light refreshments.  

You must book your complimentary place, and any guest passes (£15pp) during the registration window, as passes will not be available on the day.   

Staff attendance is voluntary, so we cannot guarantee that any specific team member will be in attendance. 

Faculty Receptions are held at venues across the South Kensington Campus. They are an opportunity for graduands, family, friends, and academic staff to come together to celebrate after the ceremony, with drinks and light refreshments. Faculty Receptions last for 90 minutes.  

Graduand passes to the receptions are complimentary, but you must book to attend during registration to secure your place. Once registration is open, graduands may also buy their allocation of guest passes to the Faculty Receptions.  

Guest tickets to the ceremony enable guests to watch the graduation ceremony inside the Royal Albert Hall. Graduands can also buy their allocation of guest tickets to the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall while tickets are available.  

Please note guest tickets to the ceremonies in the Royal Albert Hall are sold separately via the Royal Albert Hall Box Office. 

Guests can attend graduation ceremonies in the Royal Albert Hall, and/or they can attend the Faculty Receptions, which take place at various venues across the South Kensington campus.  
Please note that guests require separate tickets/passes for the Royal Albert Hall and for Faculty Receptions.

Graduands from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Natural Sciences can initially buy up to three guest tickets for the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall and three guest passes to the Faculty Receptions. Graduands from the Faculty of Engineering may buy up to two guest tickets for the ceremony and two guest passes for the receptions. Tickets and passes are subject to availability.  

All graduands can buy their initial allocation of tickets to the Royal Albert Hall ceremony, and passes for their Faculty Reception, during the registration period. If more tickets or passes become available later, we will email all registered graduands with details of how to buy more.  

Buying more Royal Albert Hall guest tickets or Faculty Reception Passes than allowed may prevent your fellow graduands from being able to buy their allocation. Anyone found to have bought more than their allowed allocation of tickets or passes will be considered to be intentionally breaking the Terms and Conditions of the event and all of their guest tickets and passes will be cancelled.

Graduation is a formal occasion and, as a result, may not be suitable for young children. Guest ceremony tickets for the Royal Albert Hall or guest Faculty Reception passes must be bought for any child of two years of age or older. Tickets are not required for children under two years of age if they do not require their own seat.  Guest Faculty Reception passes are not required for children aged five and under. 
 

Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult at all times whilst on the South Kensington Campus and at the Royal Albert Hall. Please note that it is not possible for a child to sit with a graduand at any time at the Royal Albert Hall and they must, therefore, be accompanied by one of the graduand’s adult guests.  

 Children must not be left unsupervised under any circumstances, and cover for any brief absences must be obtained. The responsible adult is required to pay particular attention during transit through the university campus, especially with small children, since the premises are designed for an adult population. It is advisable to keep the child in a pushchair or held by the hand / safety reins during transit.

Guidance on Children on campus can be found here: 
Children and young persons on campus | Administration and support services | Imperial College London

If you have bought tickets or passes in error or are now unable to attend, you must apply for a refund no later than 13.00 (BST) on Monday 22 September 2025 by using the Refunds and Change in Attendance form. 

All our graduation activities take place on our South Kensington Campus, and at the Royal Albert Hall, which is adjacent to the campus. 
If you would like information about planning your journey to South Kensington from within London and major London airports, you can visit our Plan your journey page.  

Our graduation ceremonies are held at the Royal Albert Hall. 
Check-in, gown collection, photography and Faculty Receptions all take place on our South Kensington Campus.

Timings for Commemoration Day 2025 will be shared with eligible graduands as soon as these are confirmed.  
Graduation activities (including check-in and post-ceremony Faculty Receptions) will take place between 07.00 and 22.00, and graduands will be informed of their timings well in advance.   

Graduands will be allocated a specific check-in and gown collection window so that each graduand has sufficient time to attend photography and their Faculty Reception (if applicable). 

Graduand photography is open to graduands and their guests from 07.00 - 22.00 on Commemoration Day 2025.  
There will also be the opportunity to have professional photography taken on the day before and/or after your graduation ceremony. More details will be shared with registered graduands shortly.  

Yes, we stream all our graduation ceremonies live here on our website and on the Imperial College London YouTube channel. 

Academic dress for graduands is compulsory to attend Commemoration Day 2025.  

The university's official robemaker and supplier of academic dress is Ede & Ravenscroft Ltd, and they will be the only provider of academic dress present on campus for all graduation ceremonies. You can see more details about academic dress here. 

Please note that we will only be able to help dress those who have hired gowns from Ede & Ravenscroft.

Graduation ceremonies are formal occasions and, therefore, smart clothing is required to be worn under your academic dress. We encourage guests to wear smart clothing and also welcome traditional or national dress. 

The university reserves the right to refuse admission to a graduand at Commemoration Day 2025 if they are not wearing academic dress or are inappropriately dressed.  

Professional photography will be supplied on the day by Tempest Photography. Graduands can have photos taken, in their academic dress, with family and friends, and stage photography will also be available to buy after each ceremony. 

There is no need to book an appointment, and you can find information on the available photography packages ahead of the day by visiting the Tempest Photography website and selecting 'Not Graduated Yet?'  

There will also be the opportunity to have professional photography on the day before and/or after your graduation ceremony. More details will be shared with eligible graduands shortly. 

You will need to check-in for your ceremony and collect your academic dress (if booked with Ede & Ravenscroft Ltd) ahead of the ceremony. This will take place on our South Kensington Campus 2-3 hours before your ceremony.  
 
There will be a number of informal photo opportunities around campus, for you and your guests, to help celebrate and record your special day. 
There will also be places to buy official Imperial College London Merchandise, as well as bars, cafes and pop-up food outlets for you and your guests to buy refreshments. 

There will be safety and security measures at the Royal Albert Hall on the day of your graduation. All bags are subject to search by security personnel on entry to the Royal Albert Hall, following ticket scanning.  

For everyone’s security and safety, the following items are NOT allowed inside the venue, and anybody found to be carrying them will be asked to leave them with security, or may be refused entry to or removed from the venue: 

• Flags (including items with flags on them such as: scarves, t-shirts etc.)  

• Sticks or rods   

• Confetti cannons   

• Tripods  

• Noisemakers or air horns  

• Alcohol  

• Helium balloons  

• Pyrotechnics  

• Laser pointers 

• Weapons 

• Paint, paint powder or similar substances 

• Any other items that may disrupt the ceremony  

All students are required to adhere to the guidelines set forth in the student code of conduct regarding their participation in the event. The detailed student code of conduct can be found here. 

Where applicable, all guests at Commemoration Day 2025 must comply with all safety guidance as may be imposed by the university and/or Royal Albert Hall and/or UK government with regard to preventing the spread of transmissible diseases.  

For current Imperial guidance, please see this link: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/about/covid-19/  

Before the big day, please make sure you watch this video, containing instructions on what to do, helpful tips and what to expect during the ceremony. 

Instructions for your graduation ceremony 
 
You can also watch previous graduation ceremonies, on the Imperial College London YouTube Channel, to see how the ceremonies look and feel.  

The Kensington Hotel, in partnership with Imperial College Business School, extends special rates to all Imperial College affiliates, including students, family members, and friends. The Kensington is just a 10-minute walk from Imperial College.

To learn more about the hotel and the preferential rates please view their offer here,  or visit The Kensington Hotel website. 

At graduation ceremonies we recognise final-year, university-level prizes. You will be announced as a prizewinner on stage during the ceremony. 

For a full list of prizes recognised at graduation ceremonies, please see the list of Graduate Prizes.

Please check the UK Government guidance on whether you need a visa to travel to London. The International Student Support team may also be able to provide guidance on submitting your application. 

If you or your guest(s) require a supporting visa invitation letter from Imperial College London, this can be requested in the Visa Letter Support form.

Please note, that only graduands who have been awarded in the university's systems, and invited to graduate, will be able to complete the form. 

Obtaining a visa may take several weeks and it is your responsibility to ensure you have completed all legal requirements before you travel. 

We want to ensure all our graduands and guests have the best experience possible as they celebrate completing their studies. 

The Royal Albert Hall is wheelchair accessible and has hearing loop capabilities.  

Please indicate your requirements when registering for the ceremony. If your guests have any additional accessibility requirements, please call the Royal Albert Hall box office when booking tickets to ensure seats are appropriate and they can plan for any assistance required. 

You can contact the Graduation Events team via email at: graduation@imperial.ac.uk for any queries. Please ensure you contact the team at least two weeks prior to the graduation ceremony. 

There are a limited number of car parking spaces available on campus, which are reserved for Blue Badge holders. Graduands must request car parking spaces when they register to attend Commemoration Day 2025.  

Please note that car parking spaces cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to accommodate. 

We want to ensure our graduands and guests can enjoy all aspects of the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall. We can make arrangements for BSL interpreters to be available, but we ask that you notify graduation@imperial.ac.uk as soon as possible. 

There will be information desks located at check-in and in the Imperial Main Entrance on the day. 
Please visit these desks if you have any questions or concerns on the day and a member of staff will assist you. 
 
Please note, we do not have wheelchairs available for hire on campus.  

If you are unable to find the answer to your question above, then please contact the Graduation Events team directly. Our office is open from 09.00 until 17.00, Monday to Friday.  

• Email the Graduation Events team. We aim to respond to emails within three working days.  

• For urgent issues that require a response within three working days, you can call the Graduation Events team on +44 (0)20 7594 6131.