Summer graduation on the day
Congratulations - your graduation day is finally here! Your graduation should be exciting, not stressful.
We’ve created a step-by-step guide to your graduation day so you can celebrate your achievements with no worries (you deserve it after all your hard work).
Prepare for the day
Before you arrive, there are a few things you’ll want to consider and be ready for, including what you're wearing, what you need to bring with you and how to get to your ceremony.
What you’re wearing
You might have had your outfit planned out weeks ago, but it’s always worth having a final check to ensure you’re ready to go. Graduation ceremonies are a formal occasion, so dress appropriately (shoes included!). We advise graduates to wear dark trousers or a skirt and a buttoned shirt or blouse to secure your graduation hood. If your clothes don’t have any buttons to secure the hood, make sure you bring pins with you as they will not be provided.
For those of you graduating in our summer ceremonies and planning on wearing a suit, you might not want to wear a suit jacket. Don’t forget that your graduation robes will add an extra layer and might make you too warm – our past few summer graduation ceremonies have occurred during heatwaves.
Think about the material you’re wearing and how your hood will be secured so it can’t move. We recommend bringing safety pins to secure your hood, so make sure the material you are wearing is strong enough that a safety pin won’t tear it.
Anyone considering wearing heels, you have to walk up a set of stairs, across the stage and down another set of stairs – we recommend choosing heels that don’t bring a huge risk of falling over in front of our audience.
What you need to bring
You’ll need to bring the following with you on the day:
- Confirmation/reminder email of your registration to graduation
- Your student ID card or another form of photo ID
- Your Ede & Ravenscroft reference number (if you’ve hired a gown) – sent to you via text message or by email from Ede & Ravenscroft
- Pins to secure your hood
How to get to your ceremony
You need to arrive at least two hours before your ceremony begins, so make sure you plan your journey in advance and leave plenty of time for any travel disruptions. You can find travelling guidance and venue information on our venue page.
Map of MediaCity
Map of The Lowry
Step 1: Check In for your ceremony
Time: Approximately 2 hours before your ceremony
Location: University of Salford building, MediaCity, M50 2EQ
The first thing you need to do when you arrive at MediaCity is to check in. Head to the check in desk in our University of Salford MediaCity campus building for this. If you don’t check in as your first step, you can’t pick up any gown you have hired and your name will not be called during your ceremony, which means you won’t graduate.
Only graduates are allowed in the check in area so we can reduce the amount of people queuing. Your guests can wait for you outside the building or make their way to The Lowry where they’ll be able to relax before the ceremony.
Note: the check in desk closes 30 minutes before your ceremony starts. Once it’s closed you will not be able to graduate.
Step 2: Collect your robes
Time: Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes before your ceremony starts
Location: Quays Theatre, The Lowry
Once you’ve checked in you can make your way to The Lowry to collect your robes. If you’ve hired a gown, you’ll need to collect it from the Quays Theatre. You’ll need to show a member of staff the ticket given to you at the Check in Desk and the reference number you received from Ede & Ravenscroft when you ordered your gown.
Please don’t bring your guests with you for this step (unless they are children and you are the only responsible adult). Guests aren’t allowed into the Robing area and you leave the area by a different route.
Haven’t ordered your gown in advance? You need to check in as early as possible so you can avoid a big queue at Robing. Ede & Ravenscroft spend most of their time serving graduates who have pre-booked their gown and have a very limited amount of time to serve graduates who need to pay on the day. If there are lots of graduates who haven’t booked then you risk missing the start of your ceremony and will leave your guests waiting in the foyer as you won’t pick your guest tickets up until after this step.
Step 3: Pick up your Guest Tickets
Time: Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes before your ceremony starts
Location: Ticket Desk in the Quays Bar, The Lowry
Following robing you will be directed into the Quays Theatre bar area where you can collect your guest tickets. We have your tickets ready to collect at the Ticket Desk - just show us a form of ID (like your Student ID card) when you arrive.
If you need more tickets, you can enquire whether any additional guest tickets are available for purchase when you’re at the ticket desk. These are sold on a first-come, first-served basis – but only if there is space in the ceremony.
Step 4: Stalls and photos
Visit our alumni and careers teams and other stalls
Time: Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes before your ceremony starts
Location: Stalls in the Quays Bar, The Lowry
After picking up your tickets you will make your way back down to the main foyer to meet up with your guests. On your way back to the foyer, you will find some information desks with our alumni and careers teams, as well as a few other stallholders. Pick up a flyer, have a chat to our teams and learn about all the benefits you have as a Salford graduate.
Take some photos and spend time with your loved ones pre-ceremony
Time: Approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes before your ceremony starts
Location: Studios, The Lowry
MediaCity is beautiful and there are some great spaces to take some photos with your loved ones as well as our official portraits run by Tempest Photography. Spend any extra time you have before being called into the ceremony taking photos, having some food or drinks and generally celebrating your achievement. We also recommend you take some time to head to the toilet before your ceremony starts.
Have your official portrait taken in the studio. If you want professional pictures to capture your day, you can visit the Tempest Photography stand in The Lowry. No booking is required. We highly recommend you do this before your ceremony to avoid the busiest period, which is just after your ceremony. For more details about professional photography, visit our photography page.
Step 5: Head to the theatre for your ceremony
Time: 45 minutes before your ceremony starts
Location: Lyric Theatre, The Lowry
You will be called to take your seat in the Lyric Theatre 45 minutes before your ceremony starts. Please have your ticket with your seat number (the one given to you at the check in desk) ready to present to the usher who will show you to your seat. You need to be seated at this time to ensure your ceremony runs correctly and on time.
Guests who are watching in the theatre will be called separately after you have been seated. Any additional guests can watch the live stream of the ceremony in the Digital Media and Performance Lab, which is in the University of Salford campus building (where the check in desk is). This is free of charge and no booking is required. Alternatively, guests can watch on our YouTube channel.
Top tip: Announcements made by the theatre cannot be heard outside of the Lowry building or in the Quays bar area, so make sure you’re close to the building an hour before your ceremony starts.
Step 6: Your Graduation ceremony
Your ceremony will include speeches from University leaders and is a celebration of your achievements. Courses are presented together, starting with doctorates and postgraduate awards before moving on to undergraduate awards. University staff will let you know when it is your turn to cross the stage. Make sure to contact the graduation team in advance if you have access requirements and can’t use stairs – they will arrange a slightly different route for you.
- Your row will be invited to move to a spot outside the theatre
- University staff will check you are in the correct order for the presentation of awards
- You will be guided in through the side door ready for your name to be called and for you to cross the stage. Enjoy your moment – you deserve it!
- You’ll be handed a scroll as you leave the stage. This won’t contain your certificate, as we post those to your permanent home address.
- Once you’ve crossed the stage, you will be guided back to your seat.
- Pay respect to your fellow graduates and try not to talk throughout the ceremony as it can be distracting. But please feel free to celebrate your friends and peers as they cross the stage. It’s exciting!
- At the end of your ceremony, you will join the official procession out of the theatre so guests can applaud you on your achievement and we can get a group photo of your ceremony.
Step 7: After your ceremony
Once the ceremony is finished, you’ll be in the official procession out of the theatre and into the Lowry Plaza area (directly outside the building), where we will get an official photo of everyone in your ceremony together. Your guests will follow shortly, so agree on a meeting spot for this point before the ceremony starts as it will get quite busy! You can then take more photographs and explore the merch shops and stands, celebrating with your loved ones.
Return your gown once you’re done with photos. You can return your gown at the side of the Lowry – the same place you went to pick it up. Make sure to return it before the end of the day.