Graduation FAQs

It is essential in most cases to apply to graduate before your final award has been released and visible via your online results.  For further information please see our 'When can I apply?' page.  If you are unsure whether you will be potentially eligible to graduate at the upcoming ceremonies you can speak to your Student Advisor or your Personal Tutor.

Please do not worry, you will still be able to graduate in person at a future ceremony, or in absentia.  Applications for attendance at the Summer ceremonies open around mid-April and applications for Winter ceremonies open around mid-September.  If you wish to apply to graduate in absentia, online applications open again the day after your award date (e.g. award date is 17 June, you can apply from 18 June).

If you have submitted an application to graduate but do not subsequently receive an award decision by the stated deadline you will not be eligible to graduate.  You will be contacted; your application will be cancelled and you will receive a refund of any fees paid.  The application is not carried over to a future ceremony.

If you have decided to leave the University before the end of your programme you should meet with your Student Advisor or Personal Tutor so you can complete the University Withdrawal Form.  If you are studying at the Malaysia campus, please complete the Malaysia Campus University Withdrawal Form.  Please do not apply to graduate before you have submitted your withdrawal form and spoken to your Student Advisor or Personal Tutor.  You will be informed if you are eligible for an award and advised of an award date.

You will not be able to apply to graduate or receive your award certificate if you have any outstanding fees due to the University.  You should contact the Finance Office to discuss any outstanding fees and the effect this may have on your eligibility to graduate.

If you submit an appeal following confirmation of your award, you will no longer be eligible to receive that award on the original award date you were notified of, even if you have applied to graduate.  This rule also applies if the appeal is concluded before the original award date.  Once the appeal has been concluded, you will be put forward to the next available award date.

All Heriot-Watt University awards are subject to the approval of the Senate.  Senate approval is granted on the date stated next to 'Award Date' on your results. Any notification of your award prior to this date will always state 'Subject to the approval of the Senate'.  You can find out more about Senate and it's remit, composition, powers and functions here

Your digital Academic Transcript will be sent to you after all the graduation ceremonies for your campus have concluded.  This will be emailed to your HWU and personal email address that the University has on your record.  If you need to update your contact details, you can do so via the My Student Record tile on the myHWU Portal.

The majority of graduation applications are made via our online graduation application form and this can be accessed via Student Self-Service (SSS), except for EBS online students who apply via the EBS Global Student Portal.  Further information is available on out 'How do I apply?' page.

The Student Self-Service graduation application will ask you the following information:

• Attendance Selection – you will need to select whether you wish to graduate in absentia or attend a ceremony (only available in Summer and Winter).
• Contact Details – active addresses/phone numbers/emails are displayed.  You are asked to update these if they are incorrect.  Updating them will redirect them to the ‘Update Personal Contact Information’ section in Student Self-Service.  You should then resume the application once complete.
• Certificate Name – You will be asked to confirm the name you would like on your certificate.  Any amendments to your name once confirmed may incur a fee.
• Use of Student Data – You will be asked whether you would like your name published in graduation lists, whether the University can inform your previous place of study (UK only) and whether you wish to be contacted by Alumni via email and/or phone or neither.
• Attendance – confirmation of attendance (absentia or in person).
• Item Order – You will be asked to select a delivery method if graduating in absentia or tickets if attending in person.
• Special Arrangements – You will be asked to inform us of any special arrangements required on the day for yourself or your guests e.g. wheelchair access.
• Summary & Payment – This page will show a summary of your order and you will either be asked to ‘Proceed to Payment’ if payment is required or ‘Complete Application’ if no payment is necessary.  If you proceed to payment, you will be redirected to the University online payment system.

Once complete you will receive a confirmation email of your application and order. 

In the unlikely event you experience technical difficulties with your application, you should contact student-records-awards@hw.ac.uk as soon as possible so that this can be investigated further.  Please do not delay contacting us as late applications are not accepted.

Holds that would prevent you from applying are for the submission of an academic appeal against your award or for outstanding tuition fees.  For further information on how an appeal will impact graduation please see the 'Student academic appeals' page.  All outstanding fees should be cleared in advance of applications opening to ensure you can apply during the application window (around 4 weeks).

Your application is not complete unless you have made payment (if applicable) and received your confirmation email.  Failure to complete your application before the deadline may affect your ability to graduate in person.

You can see the maximum guest ticket allowance per location by clicking on the links below.  

• Edinburgh
• Galashiels
• Dubai
• Malaysia

Guest tickets, which take the form of a wristband.  Tickets are not posted out, all ordered guest tickets should be collected during registration from the arrival time for your ceremony. Please check the relevant location: Edinburgh, Borders, Dubai and Malaysia.

You should arrive at the arrival times provided depending on the location of your ceremony.  Please check here: Edinburgh, Borders, Dubai and Malaysia.  You should be seated no later than 30 minutes before the start of your ceremony.

When you arrive at the venue, you should proceed to the Graduand Registration point.  This will be clearly signposted.  When you register you will be provided with a seat number/seat card.  You must ensure you sit in the correct seat.  Once registered you will be able to collect your gown and have the opportunity to have professional photos taken.  You should ensure you are seated no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony.  Please note that there may be some differences in the arrangements depending on the location, it you are unsure please approach a member of staff on the day.

Ceremonies are likely to last between 1 and 2 hours depending on the size of the graduating cohort, honorary graduate attendance and the number of prizes being presented. The reception (if applicable) will last around 1 hour and will start after the ceremony.  Please consider these timings when planning onward travel and any other arrangements post ceremony.