Ceremony invitations

Last Updated Friday 19th July

After your degree is conferred you will receive an email invitation to attend the next available graduation ceremony.

Attendance options

You can choose to:

Attend a graduation ceremony

  • Select this option to confirm that you wish to attend your graduation ceremony.
  • After registering your response you will receive an email confirmation. Please do not book travel until you have received confirmation of your ceremony date and time via email.
  • You will need to pay a graduation fee to attend. The graduation booking service will open in the week leading up to your ceremony date with information about booking tickets and your gown (known as ‘regalia’). You will be notified by email when the graduation booking service is open.

Not attend a graduation ceremony

  • Attending your graduation ceremony is not compulsory.
  • A physical copy of your graduation certificate/s (testamur) will be posted to your preferred mailing address (as listed in my.unimelb) following your conferral.

Postpone your ceremony to the next round

  • You may postpone your graduation to the next ceremony. You are only able to postpone your graduation ceremony to up to a year from your conferral date.
  • If you choose to postpone your ceremony, you will receive an invitation to attend another ceremony approximately eight weeks prior to the next ceremony round.

Postpone your ceremony for your honours year

  • If you go straight from your bachelors degree to your honours year, you can postpone your ceremony attendance. Once you have completed your honours year, you will receive another invitation to graduate.
  • If you're unsure whether you will be studying honours, you should accept your invitation to graduate. If you get accepted into honours, you can submit an enquiry to Stop 1 to notify the Graduations Office that you wish to postpone your ceremony.

PhD and higher doctoral ceremony invitations

Faculty ceremonies and PhD ceremonies

For some faculties, PhD and Higher doctoral graduates may have a faculty ceremony or a PhD-only ceremony. There are strict capacity limits for each ceremony.  You will be notified about your ceremony allocation when you receive your email invitation.

Supervisor invitations

As part of your ceremony invitation response, you will be invited to provide the names and contact information of any doctoral supervisor(s) that you would like to attend your graduation. We will then contact your nominated supervisors directly with an invitation to join as a seated guest or as part of the academic procession. If your supervisor has not received an invitation by the week before your ceremony, please contact us. Please keep your supervisors informed if you request any late changes to your ceremony date or are unable to attend.

How to respond to your invitation

Respond to your ceremony invitation using the link provided in your email invitation. You must respond to your ceremony invitation before the RSVP deadline. If you miss the deadline, you will be unable to attend the ceremony and will not be automatically invited to future ceremonies.

  1. Click on 'Respond to my graduation ceremony invitation' in your email invite.
  2. Choose whether you would like to attend, not attend, or postpone.

Ceremony invitations FAQs

  • My family plan to travel from overseas to attend my graduation ceremony. Can the Graduations Office send them an invitation for Visa requirements?

    The Graduations Office do not issue invitations directly to guests. The invitation is sent to graduates only.

    For more information, visit Visas for your family and contact the Student Visa Team.

  • Can I change from one ceremony into another in the same round? I want to graduate with my friends.

    Due to the large numbers of students graduating during a graduation round, we have limited flexibility with reallocating students to an alternative date and time.

    If you believe there are exceptional circumstances relating to your request to graduate on an alternate date/time, please submit an enquiry, providing appropriate evidence to support your request.

  • What are the costs/fees for attending an in-person ceremony?

    The fee for graduation ceremonies in 2023 is $243.00 (GST included).

    This fee includes:

    • Your admission to the ceremony
    • Entry into the post-ceremony function for you and your guests where refreshments will be available
    • 2 guest tickets (Bachelors/Masters graduates) or 5 guest tickets (Doctoral graduates)
    • Your use of Academic Regalia on ceremony day
    • A copy of the Graduations booklet
  • My family and I are overseas and waiting for the visa requirement to attend my graduation ceremony. When is the last day to defer my ceremony if visa is not granted on time and what happens if I’ve paid my ticket?

    You can submit an enquiry up to a day before your ceremony to let us know if you are no longer able to attend.

    If you have paid the graduation fee, your payment will be automatically refunded at conclusion of the graduation ceremony round.

  • My family is interstate/overseas and cannot attend. Can I postpone my ceremony?

    You may postpone attending your graduation ceremony by up to 12 months if you are unable to attend the original date.

Step 1, complete your degree. Step 2, ceremony dates. Step 3, invitations. Step 4, book tickets and gown. Step 5, graduation day!