Invitation Process and Ticket Information

Invitations are sent by post eight weeks prior to the ceremony, to your permanent address, as held on the University’s student record database. At the same time, the reply form and ticket payment will become available via the Your Ceremony and Ticket Payment section. This will need to be completed online before the stated deadline.

You will be invited to graduate, as long as:

• you have completed your Canterbury Christ Church University Award, which includes:
  • Bachelors (BA/BSc)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Speech & Language Therapy
  • Masters
  • MPhil
  • PhD
  • Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

You will not be invited to graduate if:

• you complete your university award via an Exam Board after the eight week invitation cut-off point.
• you have missed the reply deadline.
• you have any outstanding debt/ disclosure barring service/ qualifications/ occupational health.

Provisional invites are not permitted under any circumstance. If you are not eligible to graduate, you will be added to the next available date upon completion.  

You can find out what ceremony you are due to graduate in via the Your Ceremony and Ticket Payment section. 

Students do not pay to attend their own graduation.

Each student is guaranteed a maximum of two guest tickets. Guest tickets are priced at £22 per guest (£12 for award ceremonies). All tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and cannot be sold on.

Every guest must hold a ticket, this includes babies and infants.

The ceremony may not be suitable for infants and young children, therefore, we would recommend that children do not attend. We cannot permit them to sit on parents’ or relatives’ laps for health and safety reasons. No standing is permitted in the Cathedral or Augustine Hall, this is to ensure the congregation numbers remain within the Health and Safety guidelines as set down by both the Dean & Chapter for the Cathedral and the University.

We do offer live streaming in locations on campus as an alternative option for any guests with young children or who have been unable to obtain tickets. Visit the live streaming page for details. 

You must submit your online reply form to book your guest tickets and make payment prior to the closing date in order to graduate. You will need to complete a separate payment form to secure your graduation tickets. You will be prompted to do this, and a link will be provided, when completing your online reply form. The closing date for purchasing tickets is stated in the postal invitation and in the Your Ceremony and Ticket Payment section. 

Anyone can purchase tickets via the online site as long as they have the correct student identification number. 

No personal circumstances will be taken into consideration; every student has the same opportunity for obtaining ticket(s).

Payment for tickets can only be made via our online payment facility. To make your payment, you will first need to set up an account with the University’s Online Shop, if you have not previously done so. If you are having any difficulty trying to make payment for your guest tickets, please contact our Finance Department directly on 01227 782412.

At the time your invite is sent out you will also be invited to order your gown for your ceremony, as well as pre-order photographs to be taken on the day.

Once your payment for guest tickets has been successful you will receive an email from the Finance Store confirming that payment has been received. The email will be sent to the email address you provide when completing the payment form. If payment for your tickets remains outstanding your guest tickets will be withheld and potentially reissued to other guests. At the time your invite is sent out you will also be invited to order your gown for your ceremony, as well as pre-order photographs to be taken on the day.

If your student ID is not accepted by the payment system, check to make sure it is correct with no spaces before or after. If the problem persists please contact the i-zone via i-zone@canterbury.ac.uk or by calling 01227 782222. A call will be logged to the Graduation & Registry Events Office who will contact you accordingly.

We will calculate if any additional tickets are available for sale after the closing date for replies.

Information outlining the scheduled date and time for sale of additional tickets can be found on the Your Ceremony and Ticket Payment section.

Tickets (if available) can be purchased by visiting the same web pages on the date of additional ticket sales.

Additional tickets are subject to availability and there is no guarantee that any additional tickets will be available after the closing date.

You may only defer once you have received your invitation.

If you miss the closing date for replies or you are unable to make your graduation, you are able to defer/postpone graduation and attend another event generally within a year. 

It is at the discretion of the Graduation & Registry Events Office as to which date you may defer to.

To request a deferral please contact i-zone on 01227 782222 or email i-zone@canterbury.ac.uk in advance of the closing date for replies.

Please ensure that you keep the university updated with any change of contact details. Contact us straight away and before the closing date for replies if you believe that your classification on your invite is incorrect. 

Please note: the student name signed off at the time of the official exam board is the name which will appear on all official graduation/award ceremony marketing literature (including invites, ticket packs and the graduation/award ceremony programme). This is also the name which will be read out at the ceremony. If you have the relevant documentation to prove that your change of name occurred prior to the exam board and we receive this evidence in time, then we are able to update your details.

To update details or to provide evidence of a name change please log a call with i-zone 01227 782222 or email i-zone@canterbury.ac.uk.

We offer students and their guests the opportunity to celebrate and have their photographs taken prior to/after their ceremony date so that queues for photography on the day can be avoided.

Term time photography also enables students unable to attend the actual graduation to still have professional photographs taken. 

At these sessions Ede & Ravenscroft will supply the appropriate gown for your award and refreshments and nibbles will be available.

There is no additional cost for this provision. If you wish to attend a term time photography session please indicate this in your online reply form and the graduation team will contact you to make arrangements.

Term time photography sessions will be held on 2 September 2017 and 13 January 2018. 

Ticket packs are posted to the address supplied on your reply form the week following the closing date for replies (generally four weeks prior to the graduation/award ceremony).

We strongly advise that no travel or accommodation arrangements are made prior to receiving your ticket pack.

If you have not received your ticket pack: Please wait until the week of the event before contacting the i-zone.

If you believe the information to be incorrect: Please call i-zone 01227 782222 or email i-zone@canterbury.ac.uk