Get Grad Ready in 30 Minutes!

Wake up! It’s Graduation Day! After countless seminars, assignments, zoom calls and hangovers, you’ve made it, and we couldn’t be happier for you.

Now it’s time to prepare you for a day that will be remembered for a long time to come. Get out of bed, grab some coffee, and we’ll take you through your 30-minute routine to get ready for Graduation 2022.

Step 1: Rise and Shine

By this point your multiple alarms will have woken you up bright and early, ready to kickstart your day. You are in for a long day of seeing friends, lecturers, and seemingly endless clapping, so a solid breakfast will get you off to a good start.

You should also make sure you have received your e-Ticket for the ceremony at this point, as they will be available to download 24 hours before your ceremony.

Step 2: What to wear

Having booked your academic dress and picked it up from the Spinnaker Sports Centre prior to the ceremony date (you can find information on booking here), you need to decide what you want to wear with it. Formal attire is required for the ceremonies, but ensure you are comfortable in what you’re wearing as it may be a long day.

It may also be a good idea to factor in the weather, especially in the summer months, so you may want to avoid wearing dark colours.

There is standing and walking too - so make sure you wear comfortable shoes!

Step 3: Travel arrangements

Venue doors open one hour before the start of your ceremony, so pre-booking a taxi for a specific time will ensure there is no stress about being late. The doors close at the ceremony start time and you won’t be able to join after that point, so make sure you’re on time.

If you’re driving to the venue, make sure you find a place to park before you leave, and have multiple options in case you can’t find parking in a particular place.

This is a really useful web page with all the places you can park in Portsmouth!

Step 4: Final preparations

Now that you’ve sorted out what you’re wearing and how you’re getting to the ceremony, you’re almost ready to go.

But first, now that the logistics are sorted, you can focus on the celebration – buy your tickets for the UPSU Graduation Party at The Astoria and Mr Miyagi's here.

Follow this final checklist to make sure you have everything you need for the day:

🗹 e-Tickets for all attendees 

🗹 Academic dress

🗹 Email confirmations (for photos, etc)

🗹 Student ID/Passport

🗹 Ticket for Grad Party 

All that is left for us to say is congratulations and have a fantastic day. This is a day to celebrate, so don’t stress, just enjoy it.