Booking your Place
All graduands eligible to attend September’s graduation ceremonies will receive an email from the Graduation team, with the time and date of their specific ceremony and information on how to book tickets and academic dress. Our FAQ pages include an overview of ceremonies.
To book your tickets, please follow the link from your email or log into your SOLE page and find the Graduation link. This will take you through to a booking form where you can book your place and reserve guest tickets. You will be asked how many guest tickets you would like as part of the booking process. We are able to guarantee two guest tickets per student but if additional spaces become available, and you have reserved more than two guest tickets, we will contact you by email after the ticket booking deadline.
We plan to broadcast each ceremony via a live, online video stream, allowing friends and family who are not able to join to access this link from anywhere for free, including on a mobile device. This will be available to view on our website for two weeks after graduation week. All graduates attending the graduation ceremony will be filmed on stage as part of this live broadcast. We'll also be showing the live broadcastin our CharlesHastings Building at City Campus on the day.
The deadline for confirming your attendance and booking tickets is Thursday 3rd August 2023.
You will not be required to pay for your tickets until the Tuesday 8th August, once your final ticket allocation has been confirmed, and you will have until Tuesday 29th August to make this payment. Tickets for Graduates are free, guest tickets are £22.
Once you have booked your tickets you should book your academic dress as soon as possible, by Friday 25th August at the latest. Wearing academic dress is one of the highlights of Graduation and is required for all graduates attending a ceremony.
There is an optional professional photography service available on the day to take portraits. This can include a portrait of you wearing your academic dress and photographs with your family and friends. A photograph is also taken when you are presented on stage in the Cathedral. You should aim to book and pay for your photographs in advance too, as photography may be fully booked if you wait until the day to book this.
Please visit the Marston Events website for details of how to book your academic dress as well as official photography.
Planning your Day
The Graduation Schedule [PDF] provides an overview of the timings for each ceremony including arrival and gowning, travel to the ceremony, the ceremony itself and the reception.
Most graduates generally wear smart attire under their academic gown, such as a suit or a dress. You may find it helpful to wear a shirt or dress with buttons to help with securing the hood of your gown. There will be staff available to help you with your gown.
Graduates and guests will need to make their own way to the Cathedral from the City Campus and we are expecting most people will choose to walk. Although it’s only a 20-minute walk or wheel, you may wish to think about wearing comfortable, sturdy footwear and weather-proof clothing! You will need to access and exit the stage via a short ramp, so please remember this when choosing your footwear too.
We recommend bringing an umbrella, as you will wish to protect your gown on the walk to and from the Cathedral.
You can bring a small bag with you. If you bring a bag with you, we may ask to search this for security purposes.
Travel and Parking
Worcester is just off the M5 motorway and is accessible from Junctions 6 and 7. Under normal traffic conditions all University campuses can be reached in 15-20 minutes from Junction 7. The University is clearly signposted once you come off at Junction 7.
There is no parking or drop off available at City Campus or the Cathedral itself. If you are driving, you will need to park at a public pay and display car park.
The nearest car parks to the City Campus are Pitchcroft Car Park, Croft Road Car Park, Cattlemarket Car Park, The Moors Car Park and The University Arena Car Park.
The nearest car parks to the Cathedral are King Street (Sidbury) Car Park, Worcester Cathedral Square NCP, Clare Street Car Park and Copenhagen Street Car Park.
The City Campus entrance on Infirmary Walk is closed to vehicles.
If you need to be dropped off at the Cathedral, you are recommended to stop in the King Street Car Park and make your way up Severn Street to the ‘North door’.
Worcester has two train stations. Worcester Foregate Street is a 5-minute walk from the City Campus, while Worcester Shrub Hill is a 10-minute walk from the City Campus or 5 minutes by taxi. Please note, Worcestershire Parkway is not located within Worcester itself and is around a 20-minute drive into Worcester city.
The City Campus is a five-minute walk to the city Bus Station. Network West Midlands can help you plan your bus journey and find out when the next service will be arriving at the University of Worcester. National Express Coaches also serve the city of Worcester, arriving into Worcester Bus Station.