Do you have to wear a gown at your graduation ceremony?

Yes — academic dress is required at every UCL ceremony. Here is exactly what counts, how to get it sorted, and what happens if you'd rather not.

Yes — and there is no way around it. Academic dress is mandatory when you are presented on stage at your UCL graduation ceremony, full stop. Show up without the right gown, hood and cap and staff will catch it before you reach the stage. The good news is it is the easiest thing on your list to tick off — once you understand what counts as "correct dress," booking it takes about two minutes.

Part one

What counts as correct dress

Academic dress at UCL is three pieces: gown, hood, and mortarboard. All three are required. Staff check before you are presented, and any of the three missing or wrong means you are not correctly dressed for the stage.

Critically, UCL's academic dress is specific to UCL. Bachelor's hoods differ from master's hoods, which differ again from doctoral hoods — each one reflects the level of the award.

The three pieces
  • GownBlack, open-fronted, mid-calf length.
  • HoodLined and trimmed in the colour for your award.
  • MortarboardThe square cap, worn flat across the head.

This means you cannot borrow a gown from a friend who graduated elsewhere — even if it looks similar from a distance, it will not be the right one. A generic black gown from another university is not the same as the UCL gown for your specific award, and staff know the difference.

The non-negotiable

No gown, no stage.

UCL's own rule is explicit: academic dress is mandatory for students when they are presented on stage. There is no casual-dress alternative, no exception for personal preference, no workaround.

UCL academic dress at a glance
3Pieces required
3Hood colours, one per degree level
~2h15Before, registration opens if hiring that day
£30From, for undergrad and masters with us
Part two

How to get it sorted

The simplest route is to book a rental in advance. Pre-booking before your ceremony date means you are guaranteed the right gown, hood and cap in your size, at the lowest hire price. You will typically need your height and head circumference when booking, so have those ready.

Hand-delivered in London
  • No queuesNo postal returns.
  • Picked up in central LondonHanded back the same way.
  • No couriersNo ceremony-morning stress.

If you leave it too late and do not pre-book, UCL's official supplier also offers hire on the day at the Royal Festival Hall. Expect to pay more, deal with limited availability in certain sizes, and lose time to a queue that could eat into your morning. Registration, including gown collection, typically opens about two hours and fifteen minutes before your ceremony.

What you need to book: your award level, sets the hood; your height in centimetres, sets the gown length; your head circumference in centimetres, sets the cap size; and your ceremony date, for collection and return.

Our setup: collection the evening before your ceremony, from our collection point in Bloomsbury. You try everything on at your own pace, get the hood pinned correctly, and head to the Royal Festival Hall the next day without rushing or queueing.

Avoid the morning queue

Two minutes online vs. two hours on the day.

Pre-booking is a two-minute job. Turning up to hire on the morning means arriving well before your ceremony, queuing with everyone else who left it too late, and accepting whichever sizes are left. The ceremony itself is the part that matters — do not spend the build-up to it standing in line.

Part three

If you would rather not attend

You can still graduate without attending the ceremony — the gown rule only applies to the in-person event. Attending is not mandatory at UCL and has no effect on your degree either way.

If you do not attend, your certificate and transcript are posted to the address on your Portico record, usually within three to five months of your award being conferred. There is no separate "in absentia" status to apply for; you simply do not need to be there.

Deferring your ceremony to a later date, on the other hand, is not something UCL can guarantee. Venue capacity means they cannot automatically offer it the way some universities do — if the timing genuinely does not work, the ceremonies team can tell you what is possible, but it is worth asking well in advance rather than assuming a later date is available.

"The gown is not optional — but the ceremony always was. If it is not for you, your degree arrives the same way either way."

A&F, six seasons in

Whichever route you take, make sure your contact details and address are up to date on Portico. The certificate goes to whatever address is on file the day it posts.

Part four

What goes under the gown

The gown is open-fronted and falls to around mid-calf, so your outfit underneath is very much on display. Your neckline, the lower part of your clothing, and your shoes all show, in person and in every photograph.

Dress formally. A suit, a smart dress, tailored trousers with a blouse — all work. National and cultural dress is welcome too. Jeans, trainers, t-shirts and casual wear are not, and they will draw attention from staff.

A practical tip from us: bring a couple of safety pins and hair grips on the day. They are invaluable for keeping the hood in position, pinning the gown front, and stopping the mortarboard sliding. UCL's hoods sit across the shoulders and shift during the procession — a discreet pin at the collar saves a lot of fiddling.

In short

Gown, hood and mortarboard are all required to be presented on stage — no exceptions. Book in advance for the right size and the lowest price. Not attending is fine and does not affect your degree; deferring is not guaranteed, so ask early if you need it. Dress formally underneath, and bring pins for the hood.

Ready to book your gown?

UndergraduateMaster'sPhD
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