University of Sheffield Graduation Guide
Everything you need to know for your University of Sheffield graduation — registering, tickets, the day itself, academic dress and what happens if you can't attend.
Do you have to wear a gown at your graduation ceremony?
At the University of Sheffield, yes: if you attend your ceremony, you wear academic dress. What the regulations ask for, how to get the right set for your degree and faculty, the free gown scheme, and what to do if you'd rather not attend.
Short answer: yes. The University of Sheffield's rule is plain: if you want to attend your ceremony, you wear academic dress, in line with its regulations. What's less obvious is what "correct" looks like here. Sheffield's hoods change with your faculty as well as your degree, and you're free to get your set from any supplier whose dress meets the regulations. Here's what counts, how to sort it, and what your options are if you'd rather skip the ceremony altogether.
Part one
What counts as correct dress
Academic dress is the gown, the hood and the cap. The university's graduation FAQ puts it in one line: "If you wish to attend a ceremony you must wear academic dress, in accordance with University regulations." Those regulations set out exactly what each award wears, and the details are Sheffield's own.
For most graduates the gown is black, cut to one of two Oxford patterns: the Bachelor of Arts pattern for bachelor's degrees, foundation degrees and postgraduate diplomas, and the Master of Arts pattern for master's degrees. Doctors of philosophy wear something else entirely: a gown of fine scarlet cloth, faced with green silk, with bell-shaped sleeves.
Your set, by award
- Bachelor'sBlack gown; green hood, half-lined with white artificial fur, edged in your faculty's colour.
- Master'sBlack gown; green silk hood, lined throughout in your faculty's colour (in green for an MPhil).
- PG Diploma or PGDEBlack gown; green silk hood edged in your faculty's colour, with a neckband to match.
- PhDScarlet gown faced in green; a red silk hood of the Cambridge shape, lined in green.
- Foundation degreeBlack gown, and no hood.
The hood is where Sheffield gets particular. The green is the same for everyone; the colour that edges or lines it depends on your faculty, and sometimes your degree. It's crushed strawberry for Arts and Humanities (cream brocade for music degrees), purple for Engineering, apricot for Science and lemon yellow for Social Sciences. Health splits three ways: red for Medicine and Surgery, pale rose pink for Dental Surgery, cerise for everything else. A hood from another university, or in another faculty's colour, isn't the dress the regulations describe.
The non-negotiable
If you attend, you wear it.
There's no smart-casual alternative for graduands. The only way to graduate without academic dress is not to attend: your degree is conferred in absentia instead, and your certificate comes to you.
Sheffield academic dress at a glance
3 piecesgown, hood and cap
8faculty and degree colours
2Oxford gown patterns
1 greenhood for every faculty
Part two
How to get it sorted
You have a choice of supplier. The university says you can hire or buy from its official robe makers, Ede & Ravenscroft, or from "an alternative supplier that provides University Regulation compliant academic dress." Whoever you use, the set has to match your award and your faculty.
Official robes are collected on the day from Uni Central, on Level 4 of the Students' Union, any time from early morning until 45 minutes before your ceremony, and go back the same day. Orders close a few weeks before each round of ceremonies, cancellations are online only, and the university asks you to order with your personal email address, because university accounts close during graduation week.
What you need to book
- Your awardBachelor's, master's, diploma or doctorate: it sets the gown and hood.
- Your facultyIt sets the colour on your hood.
- Your heightFor the length of the gown.
- Your ceremony dateFor collection and return.
How it works with us: collect your set the evening before or on the morning of your ceremony, try it on without a queue behind you, and arrive on campus already dressed, skipping the robing queue on Level 4 entirely.
Whichever route you take, book early. Sizes run out as each ceremony round gets closer, and the window for ordering official robes shuts weeks before the ceremonies.
If cost is the problem
Ask about a free gown.
The university keeps a limited number of gowns free of charge for graduands who'd find the cost a barrier: students from under-represented groups, those facing financial hardship, and anyone whose personal circumstances make the cost hard to manage.
Applications close well before the ceremonies, so apply as soon as your invitation arrives. The details for each round are on the university's graduation pages.
Part three
If you'd rather not attend
The academic dress rule only applies to the ceremony itself. You can graduate without attending: choose not to attend when you register, give an address for your certificate, and your degree is conferred in absentia during the ceremony you were invited to.
If it's the date rather than the gown that's the problem, there's another route for some graduates. Anyone whose award is confirmed outside the registration deadlines is conferred at one of the university's scheduled in absentia dates, then asked whether they'd like an invitation to the next in-person ceremony. Say yes, and you cross the stage later as a presentation graduate, certificate already in hand. The Graduation Team can tell you what applies to you.
"If you wish to attend a ceremony you must wear academic dress, in accordance with University regulations."
— The University of Sheffield
Whichever you choose, check your name and contact details on your student record before the registration deadline. The name there is the one on your certificate, and the address you give is where it's sent.
Part four
What goes under the gown
The gown hangs open at the front, so your outfit shows: the neckline above the hood, everything below the knee, your shoes. The university's guidance is to wear something smart that you're comfortable in and that suits the weather, because part of the day is spent outside. Military uniform and traditional national dress are welcome.
Two practical details. You'll climb a short flight of steps onto the platform and doff your cap to the Presiding Officer as you cross, so choose shoes you can manage on stairs and fix the cap with a couple of hair grips. And a buttoned shirt, or a neckline with some structure, gives the hood something to sit against.
Sourced from the university
Everything here comes from the University of Sheffield's graduation pages and its academic dress guide (PDF). Check the current round's details at sheffield.ac.uk/graduation before you book.
Ready to book your gown?
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