Information about the MA Congregation

Arrangements have been made with Ede & Ravenscroft to deliver academic dress to the College for those graduands who wish to use this service. The advantage of this service is that you will not need to make a journey into the centre of Cambridge to obtain your gown, hood etc.  

To order your academic dress directly with Ede & Ravenscroft please use their online booking system or telephone 01223 861854 as soon as possible making sure that you adhere to Ede & Ravenscroft deadlines. Please note that Ede & Ravenscroft suggest booking academic dress 21 days before the ceremony date, as they cannot guarantee what date their website will close after this.

Please note that you should wear the gown and hood of the highest Cambridge Degree that you hold. For most of you this will be the BA – therefore you will wear the BA gown and hood – you cannot wear the Girton undergraduate gown.

If you hold a higher degree, e.g. VetMB, LLM, MEng, MPhil, that is the one you should wear.

For any purchase enquiries please telephone: 01223 350048

For hire orders please telephone: 01223 861854

Gowns, hoods etc. that have been ordered will be handed out on Saturday 6 April ahead of the rehearsal.  Exact times will be confirmed nearer the date.

Under these arrangements, graduands must either return their academical dress after the ceremony to a designated area at College, where it will be collected by Ede & Ravenscroft, or Downing Place United Reformed Church (next to John Lewis).

You may also hire or buy academical dress from the following supplier, but please note that if you are not using the Ede & Ravenscroft service, you are responsible for collecting and returning your academic dress:

Ryder & Amies
22 King’s Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SP
www.ryderamies.co.uk 
Email: sales@ryderamies.co.uk

Please make sure that you adhere to any suppliers deadlines for ordering academic dress to prevent delay in receiving it.

All graduands must wear the correct academic dress; i.e. all graduands must wear the appropriate hood and gown and those wearing a suit must wear a white bow-tie and bands. 

If you are not properly dressed (i.e. your dress does not meet the University’s requirements as set out in the Dress at Congregations document), the Praelector may have to withdraw you from the congregation and enter you for a future congregation where you would have the choice of graduating in person or in absence. 

It is always very unfortunate and embarrassing when this happens with graduands coming from a distance, so please make sure that you adhere strictly to the regulations: Dress at Congregations

Please note graduands will be expected to wear face coverings inside the Senate House, unless an exemption applies.  Face coverings must be plain (not patterned), and appropriate for a formal occasion.

If you have any queries about either the academic dress that you need to order or what you are going to wear with your academic dress, please email congregation@girton.cam.ac.uk as we can advise you.

On account of the large number expected to attend this Congregation, the order of Colleges means that Girton is not likely to be called to the Senate House before 2pm.

Please note that all timings will be confirmed approximately one week before the ceremony when you will be contacted via email with all the necessary details. Until this point we will not know the exact timetable for the day.

All Graduands will be taken down to the ceremony by coach from the back drive of College, next to Ash Court.  We are afraid that we cannot provide transport for the return journey to College.  Depending on the weather we shall either be dropped on Queen's Road and process from there to the Senate House, or be dropped close to the Senate House.  The Praelector will announce which during the rehearsal in Girton.

A full dress rehearsal will take place in College on Saturday 6 April shortly before graduands are taken down to the ceremony.  This must be attended so that we can make sure that everyone who is graduating is there, and appropriately dressed.  Attendance at the rehearsal is compulsory.  Further details about the rehearsal will be confirmed nearer the date.

So that your family and friends who cannot attend your graduation in the Senate House can see you graduate, the University will provide a livestream of the event (the link will be emailed to those attending shortly before the ceremony) so they can view the ceremony from home.

Please note that by attending the ceremony in person, you are giving your consent to being included in the livestream. It will not be possible to take part in the ceremony and not be part of the recording. 

Tempest, the University’s official photographers, will offer studio photography and certificate framing services on the day, as well as photographing you inside the Senate House as your degree is conferred.  

If you are having your degree conferred in person, your degree certificate will be handed to you at the Senate House.  

If you take your degree in absence, the certificate will be posted on to you using the address you provide in your application form.

For further details, please visit the Degree Certificates and Transcripts page on the University`s website.