UAL expects a gown at its ceremonies: what its graduation page says, the set for your degree, the two ways to get one, the help with costs, and what happens if you skip the ceremony.
At UAL the short answer is that a gown is expected. The university's graduation page tells graduates they should hire academic robes, names its preferred supplier, leaves you free to use another one, and even helps eligible students with the cost. What it doesn't print is a formal rule about turning up without one, so if you're weighing that up, the person to ask is the Graduation Team. Here's what UAL's academic dress is, how to get yours, where the help with paying comes in, and your options if you'd prefer to skip the ceremony.
UAL's guidance is all in one part of its graduation page, under robes and photography. It says graduates should hire their academic robes from its preferred supplier, Ede & Ravenscroft. Asked whether another supplier is allowed, it answers yes: you're free to use one, because UAL can't restrict your choice. And for students eligible for financial help, it sends a single-use discount code for the robe once registration has closed.
The dress itself is UAL's own. Until 1993 its graduates wore the academic dress of the Council for National Academic Awards; when the London Institute, as UAL was then called, gained its own degree-awarding powers, it created its own dress, designed by Ede & Ravenscroft with Bobby Hillson of Central Saint Martins. Each level of degree has its own gown and hood.
That's how Ede & Ravenscroft lists UAL's dress for each award. UAL's own pages don't describe the colours of its hoods, so the reliable rule is simply this: the gown and hood you wear should be UAL's, for the degree you're receiving.
Everything UAL publishes assumes you'll wear one: it names a supplier, lets you choose another, and helps with the cost for those who need it. If something stands in the way of wearing a gown, raise it with the Graduation Team before the day rather than at the door.
There are two routes. You can hire from Ede & Ravenscroft, the supplier UAL names, which also photographs the ceremonies. Or you can hire from another supplier, which UAL explicitly allows. Either way, what you're booking is the same: UAL's gown and hood for your degree, with the right cap, in a length that suits your height.
Hiring from us: pick up your set the evening before your ceremony or that morning, try it on in peace, and walk into the Royal Festival Hall already dressed. It goes back to us in person once the day is done.
Whichever route you choose, don't leave it late. The most common sizes are the first to go as each round of ceremonies gets close.
Students eligible for financial help, such as those on UAL's hardship fund or bursary, are contacted after registration closes with a single-use discount code for the robe. It's for the robe only: you still register your own attendance in myGraduation, as everyone does.
The gown belongs to the ceremony, and the ceremony is optional: your award doesn't depend on crossing the stage. If you decide not to go, UAL posts your certificate to the certificate address on your portal (or your home address if that's empty); after the summer round, certificates go out from August. Your digital certificate comes through Gradintel either way.
You needn't miss the moment entirely, either. UAL streams its ceremonies live and puts the full recordings on YouTube afterwards, so you and your family can watch your College's ceremony from anywhere.
"Graduates should hire their academic robes from our preferred supplier, Ede and Ravenscroft."
— University of the Arts London
If your situation is unusual, whether that's a date clash, a question about your award or anything about what you can wear, write to the Graduation Team through its enquiry form. It's the route UAL gives for every graduation question.
UAL calls the ceremony a formal event and recommends formal wear, then leaves the decision to you. Because an academic gown is worn open, your neckline, the front of your outfit, the hem and your shoes all stay in view, so plan around those. A collar or a structured neckline gives the hood something to rest on.
Two practical details for the day. Bachelor's and master's graduates wear a mortarboard, so a couple of hair grips keep it steady across the stage. And the venue's rules apply to bags too: anything larger than 40 × 25 × 25 cm can't go into the auditorium, so leave the change of clothes at home.
Everything here is from UAL's graduation page, its certificates and transcripts page, its graduation programme, and Ede & Ravenscroft's listing of UAL's academic dress. For the current round's details, UAL's graduation page always has the latest.
Ready to book your gown?
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