All graduands attending a graduation ceremony must wear academic dress. This is made up of a gown, a hood and a hat. It is your responsibility to order the appropriate academic dress from the University’s only official gown supplier, Ede & Ravenscroft, ahead of your graduation ceremony.

All eligible graduands will be sent an email with full details on how to hire gowns and book your tickets (date to be confirmed).

Please make your booking before noon May 22 when the site closes. 

Graduation is a formal occasion, and you should wear smart clothing beneath your gown. Jeans, hoodies, tracksuits, trainers and flip flops are not encouraged.

• It is useful to wear a buttoned blouse or shirt. This makes it easier to attach the hood of your gown to your clothing. Magnetars will be available to purchase on the day to help your gown stay in place if your outfit does not have buttons.
• It may be helpful to bring safety pins to ensure the hood stays in place, as well as hair grips if you have long hair.
• You won’t be able to carry any personal belongings with you during the ceremony, so please leave handbags and any other items with your guests if you can, or you can use our cloakroom facilities in the Windsor Building.
• We strongly advise that if you choose to wear high heels, you pick block or wedge heels and not stilettos.

You must pre-order your gown hire online through Ede and Ravenscroft during the initial booking period. All eligible graduands will be sent an email in the near future with full details on how to hire gowns and book your tickets. The deadline for all bookings is still to be confirmed.

You can find a step-by-step guide for booking you gown and tickets here.

Please note in order to hire your gown and hat you will need to know your head circumference and height, please have this ready when placing your order. 

Once you have ordered your gown you will collect it on the day of your ceremony in the Windsor Building. Before you collect your gown, you must register your attendance and collect your red registration card. You can collect your gown during the following times:

If you miss the deadline to order your gown, you will need to contact us as soon as possible by emailing Student Services on StudentServices@rhul.ac.uk

A limited number of gowns will be available to hire on the day, provided you have contacted us ahead of the ceremonies

If you are hiring on the day, you should give yourself extra time as you will need to fill in an order form and complete your payment (card only). The correct size and type of gown cannot be guaranteed if you do not order in advance.