This guide contains the key information you need to know to get the best out of your day. Congratulations and enjoy your graduation!

Three steps to a successful day

Step one: check-in and collect your gown

Check-in and collect your graduation envelope from Ethos Sports Centre, Prince's Gardens. You have been allocated a specific check-in time slot to arrive. Please check your emails for further details. It is not possible to check-in or collect your gown before or after this time.

Once you have checked-in, you will move through Ethos, where you can collect your pre-booked Ede & Ravenscroft gown and meet with your Alumni Engagement team.

Step three: Arrive at the Royal Albert Hall

Arrive at the Royal Albert Hall in plenty of time for the ceremony – you should be seated 30 minutes before the start time of your ceremony.

Please note, you must enter through the door displayed on your graduand e-ticket. Your guests may need to enter through a different door.

During the ceremony, Tempest Photography will take a picture of each graduand crossing the stage, which you can buy after the ceremony in the City and Guilds Building Foyer, by the University Main Entrance.

Don't forget...

Don’t forget . . .  

  • your graduand e-ticket email, which includes: your QR code to check-in on the day, your graduand Royal Albert Hall ticket for your ceremony, your gown booking reference (if applicable) and your Faculty Reception pass (if applicable). 
  • your CID number. 
  • your photographic ID.  
  • safety pin(s) to hold your hood in place.  
  • to arrive in your allocated check-in slot. 

Please arrive on campus at least 90 minutes before your ceremony, or earlier if your check-in slot requires it, to ensure that you have enough time to collect your gown and your envelope. You will not be able to participate in the ceremony without your gown, graduand e-ticket and envelope. Late arrivals may be refused entry to the Royal Albert Hall. 

Before your ceremony

Graduand e-ticket email

Your graduand e-ticket email contains a QR code which you should use to:   

  • Check-in and collect your gown (if applicable) on the day in Ethos Sports Centre.
  • Access the Royal Albert Hall and see your seat number 
  • Attend your Faculty Reception (if applicable)  

Any guest Faculty Reception passes you bought were sent as a separate email, subject line: Guest Faculty Reception passes | Graduation Days 2026.

Your graduand e-ticket email was sent two weeks before your ceremony. All required information can be found within the body of the email. You need to show the entire e-ticket, so please have this easily accessible on the day. A downloadable version of your e-ticket can also be found via the link in your e-ticket email.  Search your mailbox for the email address: ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ-College@idloom.events or subject line: Graduand e-ticket | Graduation Days 2026.

Royal Albert Hall e-ticket for guests

Guest e-tickets are sent by email two weeks before graduation day. Search for the email address: e-tickets@royalalberthall.com. 

For any queries relating to your guest e-tickets please email contact@royalalberthall.com or visit the box office at Door 12 on the day. 

Check-in and guests

The check-in and gowning area in Ethos Sports Centre is only accessible to graduands. We kindly ask that your guests wait elsewhere on campus, or in one of the many cafes and bars that are open. Eastside Bar and Café is situated near Ethos Sports Centre in Prince’s Gardens and will be open from 07.30.

Venue  

Graduation Days 2026 opening hours 

Library Café, Abdus Salaam Library 

08.00 - 22.00 

Blackett Café, Blackett Building

08.00 - 17.00 

Chemistry Café, Chemistry Building

09.00 - 16.00   

Lumen Café, EEE Building

08.00 - 16.00 

Pret a Manger

08.00 - 18.00

Eastside Bar and Café

07.30- 19.00

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Business School Café

08.30 - 17.30 

La Cantina, Junior Common Room

11.45 - 14.30

Feast, Junior Common Room

11.00 - 14.30

Hao Chi, Junior Common Room

11.45 - 14.30

Loud Bird, Sir Alexander Fleming Building

08.00 - 16.00

Royal School of Mines Café

08.30 - 16.30

All buildings are marked on the Graduation Days 2026 map, found at the bottom of this page. 

Accessibility

We want to ensure all our graduands and guests have the best experience possible as they celebrate completing their studies.  

You were asked to indicate your requirements when registering for the ceremony. If your guests have any additional accessibility requirements, please call the Royal Albert Hall box office when booking tickets to ensure seats are appropriate and they can plan for any assistance required. The Royal Albert Hall is wheelchair accessible and has hearing loop capabilities.   
 
For more information on accessibility at our South Kensington Campus, please visit /estates-facilities/buildings/accessibility/ 

Please note our closest ‘Changing Places’ facilities are located at the

You can contact the Graduation Events team via email for any queries. Please ensure you contact the team as early as possible prior to your graduation ceremony. 

Take your professional graduation photographs

Professional photography will be offered by Tempest Photography in the Queen’s Tower Rooms, Sherfield Building, on Graduation Days 2026. 

You can visit the photography studio at any point after checking-in on your ceremony day. Queues are likely, so you must ensure that you have enough time to get to your ceremony. Academic dress will not be provided by Tempest, so you will need to collect your graduation gown at check-in before visiting photography. Family and friends are welcome to attend photography with you if you would like a group photograph. Photography is open as follows:

 

Opens 

Closes 

Tuesday 2 June 

07.30 

22.00 

Wednesday 3 June

07.30 

22.00 

For more information, please visit our dedicated Photography page.  

About photography at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ

There will photographers from ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ capturing images around the South Kensington Campus and the Royal Albert Hall on Graduation Days 2026. 

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ uses professional photography to communicate about and promote ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and its work. This includes, but is not limited to, publishing images on the university’s website, its social media channels, in its print publications and in other marketing material.

Our photography is stored in ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s Asset Library which can be accessed by members of the university community, who can download images for use in promoting ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and its work.

Use of and access to your photo will be in accordance with ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s retention policy.

You can contact photography@imperial.ac.uk at any time to stop using your images, or to have your image erased. Alternatively, if you are at an event please speak to the photographer.

To find out more about data protection and your rights please visit ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's Data Protection Policy.

During your ceremony

Arriving for your ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall

Please arrive at the Royal Albert Hall with your e-ticket and wearing your gown. Doors to the Royal Albert Hall open 45 minutes before your ceremony, and we recommend being seated 30 minutes before your ceremony begins. Note that the Royal Albert Hall reserves the right to search bags, so be prepared for your bags to be checked. To avoid delays, please do not bring large bags to graduation. Entry to the Royal Albert Hall after a ceremony has started cannot be guaranteed.

Cloakrooms and luggage

Our South Kensington Campus has no cloakrooms or left-luggage facilities, so please do not bring large bags or bulky items with you on the day. During your ceremony, you can use the Royal Albert Hall's cloakroom. To provide a safe and comfortable environment for all visitors, the Royal Albert Hall has a one bag per person policy in the auditorium. Bags should be no more than 25L in capacity (approx. 40cm x 30cm x 20cm). Acceptable bags include regular-sized handbags, satchels, briefcases, and small rucksacks. Any additional bags, or bags larger than allowed, must be checked into the cloakroom at £2 per item.

Important information

Out of respect to graduands and for the enjoyment of all our guests, we ask that you remain in the hall until the entire ceremony has concluded. Please keep mobile devices switched off or on silent mode. The use of flash photography in the Royal Albert Hall and the taking of selfies on the stage are not .

Graduands and guests are expected to behave respectfully throughout the graduation ceremony. Their behaviour should not disrupt the ceremony, negatively affect others’ experience, or reflect poorly on the university. 

The Graduation Events team may take action if these expectations are not met, which could include asking a graduand and/or guests to leave the ceremony or restricting access to graduation-related events. 

The team may also refuse entry to, or ask anyone to leave, if they appear intoxicated or behave inappropriately, including at ceremonies held at the Royal Albert Hall and Faculty Receptions on campus. 

 

Dress code

Graduation ceremonies are formal occasions and smart clothing is required to be worn under your academic dress. Traditional or national dress is also welcome if worn under your hood and gown. Shorts, jeans, and trainers are not permitted when crossing the stage. We also encourage guests to dress smartly during the ceremony. You can learn more about the gowns and hoods worn on the day on our Academic dress page.

Arriving late

If you arrive after check-in has closed for your ceremony, please make your way to Ethos Sports Centre and make yourself known to a Graduation Volunteer (look for their turquoise volunteer t-shirt) outside the venue. They will take you straight to the late check-in desk inside. We cannot guarantee entry to late arrivals.

Ceremony live streaming

Family and friends who can’t attend your ceremony can watch you graduate via the live stream on our website: www.imperial.ac.uk/graduation. The live stream will also be shown in G16 - Sir Alexander Fleming Building.

From ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Road, enter the building through the main entrance and walk straight ahead and up the stairs to the level 1 mezzanine. G16 is the second lecture theatre on your left. The venue is accessible, with an alternative step-free access route available via the main entrance.

Please note the live stream venue will operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and doors will open 45 minutes before the ceremony.

Safety and security

All graduands must follow the guidelines outlined in the Student Code of Conduct when participating in the event. 

All bags are subject to search by security personnel on entry to the Royal Albert Hall. For everyone’s security and safety, the following items are NOT allowed inside either the Royal Albert Hall or in the Faculty Receptions on campus. Anybody found to be carrying any of these items will be asked to leave them with security, or may be refused entry to or removed from the venues:

  • Flags (including items with flags on them such as: scarves, t-shirts etc.)  
  • Sticks or rods   
  • Confetti cannons   
  • Tripods  
  • Noisemakers or air horns  
  • Alcohol  
  • Helium balloons  
  • Pyrotechnics  
  • Laser pointers 
  • Weapons 
  • Paint, paint powder or similar substances 
  • Any other items that may disrupt the ceremony 

After your ceremony

Attend your Faculty Reception

Receptions will start shortly after your ceremony ends and will take place in the graduation marquee on Prince’s Gardens. Please note that passes must have been bought in advance; registration for these is now closed and you cannot buy Faculty Reception passes on your graduation day.

 

Tuesday 2 June

Faculty/Department

Timings 

Location 

Faculty of Engineering (Ceremony One)

Aeronautics, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computing, IMSE.

12.00 - 13.30

Prince's Garden Marquee

Faculty of Engineering (Ceremony Two)

Design Engineering, Earth Science and Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Grantham Institute (formerly Energy Futures Lab), Materials, Mechanical Engineering.

14.50 - 16.20

Prince's Garden Marquee

Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship, and Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication

18.15 - 19.45

Prince's Garden Marquee

 

Wednesday 3 June

Faculty/Department

Timings 

Location 

Faculty of Natural Sciences

12.00 - 13.30

Prince's Garden Marquee

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Business School (Ceremony One)

MBA, Finance Suites, and Doctoral

15.00 - 16.30

Prince's Garden Marquee

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Business School (Ceremony Two)

Management and Specialised Suites

18.30 - 20.00

Prince's Garden Marquee

 



Find the perfect ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ souvenir

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ merchandise and gifts will be available to buy at the following locations:
³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Union Shop, Level Two, Sherfield Walkway 
³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Union Pop-up stall, Dangoor Plaza
Annotated Studios, Level One, Sherfield Foyer
³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Flower stall, Beit Quad 

There will also be limited merchandise available at the Royal Albert Hall by Door 6.

Photo opportunities

There are plenty of photo opportunities around the campus on the day, which can be used as the perfect backdrops for your own personal photographic memories. These include: 

Photo opportunity 

Location 

Graduation flower wall 

Main Entrance 

Giant ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ letters 

Dalby Court 

Graduation wall sticker  

Faculty Building, Dalby Court 

Queen’s Tower (please note due to essential maintenance,  
the Queen’s Tower is currently encased in scaffolding)  

Queen’s Lawn 

Queen’s Tower lions 

Queen’s Lawn 

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Mascots 

Outside the Royal Albert Hall 

Share your day

Share messages on social media using #°¿³Ü°ù±õ³¾±è±ð°ù¾±²¹±ô to see them appear on our screens in the Royal Albert Hall.
Post photos on a public X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram account using #Our³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ to share your memories and your inspirations, and make sure everyone knows what graduation means to you.
 

Return your academic dress

You can return your Ede & Ravenscroft gown and hood to the drop off point in the City and Guilds Building, by the University Main Entrance.  
 
Gown return is open as follows: 

 

Opens 

Closes 

Monday 2 June

12.00 

22.00 

Tuesday 3 June 

12.00 

22.00 

 
Please make sure to return your academic dress on time to prevent any additional charges from the hire provider.  

Make the most out of being an ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ alumnus

As an alumnus, you can access a wide range of exclusive services and benefits, including careers support and networking opportunities, membership of ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ libraries, and the chance to keep in touch at events around the world. Visit the alumni stand after check-in and Gown Collection in Ethos Sports Centre or visit   to learn more.