Graduation at Greenlands

Greenlands Graduation Ceremonies 2023

We are pleased to confirm that the 2023 physical graduation ceremonies at the Greenlands campus will take place this autumn on Friday 15 September 2023

Invitations/Formal Registration

If you have completed or will complete your course or programme between October 2022 and July 2023 you will be invited to attend your graduation ceremony on Friday 15 September. Invitation/registration emails will be sent out in August 2023 to all eligible programme members who are due to formally graduate in September 2023. Invitations will be sent via graduands' university and personal email address details stored on their student records - please ensure this contact information is up to date. If you think you are due to graduate and you have not received an invitation email by Friday 18 August, please contact the Graduation Office as soon as possible by emailing graduation@henley.ac.uk. You will not be able to register for graduation on the RISIS Portal until you have received your invitation email.

Once you have received your invitation you should register via the RISIS Portal. Registration will close at 23.59 BST on Monday 28 August 2023.

View our Ceremony registration page for further information.

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Ceremony Schedule

The Ceremony Schedule has now been published and is available to view.

If you have any general questions or comments, please contact graduation@henley.ac.uk.

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Key deadlines

Please see below a set of key dates for formal graduation in September 2023:

Eligibility for Graduation

Programme members who have successfully completed an MA, MBA, MSc, DBA or PhD programme, or who have received a PGDip or PGCert as a final award at Henley Business School's Greenlands campus, or have studied a BA Apprenticeship programme, are awarded their degrees in a graduation ceremony held at our Greenlands campus in Henley-on-Thames.

Further information for Henley Business School students based at our Whiteknights campus can be found on the Graduation Office's website.

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On the Day

• View a graduation map of the Greenlands campus

Tickets

Each graduand can request two guest tickets if they register before the deadline. Extra tickets, if available, are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis on the day of the ceremonies and are released up to 90 minutes before each ceremony. Guests without tickets can watch from the nearby livestream room in the main house.

• View our Tickets page for detailed information.
• View the Greenlands Graduation Ceremonies online for guests who cannot travel to Henley Greenlands campus (please note this is video link is available on the degree day only and is shown live).

Arrival

Graduands

• Graduands should arrive 90 minutes before the start of their ceremony.
• On arrival you need to make your way to the ticket collection point, adjacent to the large marquees you will see on arrival, to collect any allocated guest tickets (number 1 on the Graduation map). It is here that you can also request up to two additional guest tickets, provided extra tickets are available on the day. Please be aware that there is no guarantee that extra tickets will be available for all ceremonies. They will be allocated on a first-come first-serve basis, with a maximum of two additional guest tickets per graduand.
• Once you have collected tickets you will need to collect your robes from the graduand robing room in the main house (number 13 on the Graduation map)
• You can then join your guests and fellow graduands in the pre-ceremony catering marquee for refreshments (number 5 on the Graduation map)
• You must be in the Processions Marquee (number 2 on the Graduation map) 45 minutes before the start of your ceremony, where you will be registered and lined up in procession order by a marshal. Please note the Processions Marquee will close 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony, if you are not in the Processions Marquee by this time you risk not being able to graduate in your ceremony.

Guests

• On arrival you need to make your way past the large marquees on the front lawn to the pre-ceremony catering marquee around the rear of the main house (number 5 on the Graduation map), while the graduands collect their tickets and robes
• Guests should make their way to the ceremony marquee (number 3 on the Graduation map) from 25 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony to be seated.
• Guests without tickets for the marquee are invited go to the livestream room inside the main house (number 12 on the Graduation map) to watch the ceremony live on a big screen.

Each ceremony lasts approximately 40-60 minutes. Guests should stay in their seats throughout the ceremony and be considerate to other guests if/when taking any photos during the ceremony

Guests with disabilities or mobility difficulties

We can reserve seats (or spaces for wheelchair users) in the marquee for guests with disabilities or mobility difficulties. Such requests are submitted via the registration process.

What to wear

You should hire your academic dress at least 10 days before your degree ceremony from our official suppliers Ede and Ravenscroft: www.edeandravenscroft.com/academic/. Please note you will not be able to hire your academic dress until the formal registration process has opened.

Graduation is a formal occasion, so you should wear smart clothing beneath your gown; no jeans or trainers. It is useful to wear something such as a shirt or blouse with buttons which will make it easier to attach the hood to your clothing. If a shirt is worn then this should also be accompanied by a tie. Smart but comfortable shoes are important.

Appropriate military dress or the national dress of your country is allowed to be worn underneath your gown.

Please leave handbags, mobile phones, etc. with your guests. You will not be able to carry them with you in your ceremony.

Please be aware, we reserve the right to prevent you from joining your procession and graduating on the day if you are not dressed appropriately in the correct academic dress. You would, in that case, graduate in absence.

Directions

Buses

The 800 and 850 buses run between High Wycombe and Reading, stopping just outside Greenlands on a regular basis. Please visit the ArrivaBus website for further information.

Car

If you arrive by car there is car parking available on the Meadow and you will be directed to a space by car parking attendants.

• View a map of Henley Business School

Taxis to airports, Henley or Reading stations can be booked at the Henley Business School Reception.

• View further detailed information on travelling to Greenlands Campus.

Food and drink

Complimentary teas, coffees and soft drinks will be available for graduands and their guests before the ceremony in the Pre-Ceremony marquee (number 5 on the Graduation map). After each ceremony graduates and their ticketed guests are invited to take advantage of a complimentary light lunch buffet from the Heyworth Room in the Main House (number 8 on the Graduation map). Wine and champagne will be available to purchase by the glass.

Souvenirs

There are souvenirs and merchandise available to purchase on the day from retailers stalls around the campus and on online before graduation:

• Photography is supplied by Ede and Ravenscroft. Studio photography and ceremony photography will be available in River House (number 19 and 20 on the Graduation map)
• Official Henley Business School merchandise from the HBS shop, will be available to purchase within the Pre-Ceremony Marquee (number 6 on the Graduation map)

Collecting your robes

You need to collect your academic robes on the day of your ceremony from the Greenlands Trust Suite at least 60 minutes prior to your ceremony (number 13 on the Graduation map).

Representatives from Ede & Ravenscroft will be on hand to help you robe. You should bring a record of your robe hire confirmation email with you.

Please leave your belongings (handbag, mobile phone etc.) with your guests as you will not be able to carry them with you in your ceremony.

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The ceremony

Graduands should go to the Processions Marquee (number 2 on the Graduation map) 45 minutes before the start of their ceremony, where they will be lined up in procession order by a marshal.

Please note the Processions Marquee will close 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony. If you are not in this marquee by this time you risk not being able to graduate in your ceremony.

Graduands will be given instructions and led to the ceremony marquee before the start of the ceremony. Graduands must sit in order or their names will be read out incorrectly. At the appropriate time, graduands will be directed by their marshal to process down centre of the marquee to the steps onto the stage.

Guests with tickets for the marquee will be permitted to enter 25 minutes before the ceremony and will be directed to their seats by ceremony marshals.

Guests without tickets to the marquee can watch the ceremony live in the Livestream room (number 12 on the Graduation map)

Processions

The Academic Staff Procession will enter the marquee and be seated on the stage. Chief Officers will then process in followed by the ceremonial Maces. Once the Procession is seated, the Presiding Officer will welcome graduands, guests and staff to Greenlands and to the ceremony. The University Orator will then declare the Congregation open for the conferment of degrees.

Presentation

Graduands will be presented individually by the University Orator. You will be guided by your procession marshal up the centre of the marquee and you will ascend a short flight of stairs after your name is called. You will shake hands or doff your cap with the Presiding Officer, walk across the stage as a graduate and descend via the stairs on the left hand side. You will be presented with your degree certificate on your way back to your seat. Please remember that you will be captured on the live web streaming.

Speeches

Once all the names have been called, you will then be seated for the remainder of the ceremony for a speeches by the Dean of the Henley Business School and the Presiding Officer. At the end of the ceremony, graduates will doff their caps to the Presiding Officer as they process out of the marquee. Graduates will then process out of the marquee following the Academic Staff Procession.

Please note, as it is a live feed, it is not possible for anyone to opt out of filming for the live web stream, therefore images recorded at Graduation will assume the permission of individuals pictured.

View the Greenlands Graduation Ceremonies live (Graduation day only).