To be eligible for Graduation, you must be one of the following:

  • An undergraduate student who has achieved a minimum of 300 credits in the year that Graduation will take place, with at least 60 credits at level 6 achieved at the University of Portsmouth
  • A postgraduate (taught) student who has successfully completed your course in or before the year that Graduation will take place 
  • A research student who has submitted your final thesis by the 31 May in the year that Graduation will take place 

You’re not eligible for Graduation if you’re:

  • Registered on a short course (and none of the above apply to you)
  • Accepting an "exit" award (an award lower than the award you’re registered for)

There’s more information available on eligibility on the Awards of the University of Portsmouth (PDF). If you have any further questions about your eligibility, please speak with one of the MyPort Hubs.

Graduating from more than one course

If you’ve completed more than one eligible course, you can celebrate your achievements for each of your courses if they fall in the same year. You should receive an invitation to book a ticket for each course you have studied.

Studying at a partner institution

Some UK and overseas partner institutions hold their own Graduations. However, you may also want to attend a University of Portsmouth Graduation.

If you’re studying at a partner institution on a collaborative programme, you may attend University of Portsmouth Graduation, unless we tell you otherwise.

Please refer to your partner institution for more details, or contact the University Graduation team on graduation@port.ac.uk.

Outstanding debt and eligibility

You’re not eligible for Graduation if you have an outstanding debt with the University.

If you have debt, discuss the payment of this as soon as possible with our Finance Department via income@port.ac.uk. To make a payment, please go to the ways to pay page.

Deferring your Graduation

You cannot normally defer your Graduation ceremony to the following year.

However, we may consider a deferral for no more than 1 academic year under exceptional circumstances during the Graduation period.

Exceptional circumstances include (but are not limited to):

  • Bereavement
  • Illness (you or a family member)
  • Deployment
  • Jury service

As a general rule, a deferral will not be approved if you decide to attend another event (such as a holiday or wedding) rather than your Graduation.

Requesting a deferral

If you can evidence exceptional circumstances and would like to be considered for a deferral, you should do so via the MyGraduation tab on the student view. You will need to upload evidence to support your deferral.

You normally need to request your deferral to the next year's Graduation by 1 July of the Graduation year you were due to attend.

The decision is made on behalf of the Academic Registrar and is final.