Student Hub: Graduation

You have successfully completed your studies and approved as Graduand, congratulations! You'll be invited to attend the ceremony in your nearest state. For instance: If your mailing address state we have in the system is NSW, you will be invited to the Sydney Graduation Ceremony. Please see the table below for your reference:

Yes, you can change and attend to any location of your preference as long as you have been approved as a Graduand and met all the requirements.

You can request the change of location up to six (6) weeks before the ceremony. Please contact the Student Records to submit this request.

We highly recommend you to not do any travel arrangements until you have been approved as a graduand. 

The invitation to your graduation ceremony will be sent to your main email address we have in the system four (4) weeks before the graduation date. You will also receive an SMS notification so you are aware when the invitation was sent.

No, these letters are not issued by any of our colleges. Please refer to the Home Affairs website for further information. 

First of all, please check the e-mail address you have registered in the Student Portal, your invitation might have landed in your spam/junk folder.

If you didn't find it in there continue with the following checklist:

• Check your personal contact information is up-to-date in the Student Portal, such as mailing address, personal e-mail address and mobile phone.
• Check you completed the total number of subjects (core and electives) required to complete your award.
• Check you don't have outstanding fees with the university including Library fees.
• Check you provided all documents required for graduation, for example, your verified USI or placement completion documents (IF your award requires these documents).

If you are unsure about any of the options mentioned above, this might be the reason for you have not received an invitation. Please contact Student Services to request further information. 

You will receive an email with a link to register for your ceremony. Follow the 3 steps within the email to proceed with the payment of your graduation fee and guest tickets.

Please be aware that you need to register before the deadline otherwise you won’t be allowed to attend the ceremony.

The graduation fee for 2019 is $60 per student. This fee includes your place at the ceremony, hire of academic regalia and two (2) guests.

To find more information about academic regalia, please go to the 'Ceremony' tab.

You will have an opportunity to purchase additional guest tickets (limits per student apply), please ensure to register and make your booking as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

If more than two (2) guests are joining you at the ceremony, you will need to purchase extra guest tickets. Each extra guest ticket is $35, except children who are under the age of 5.

If you want to buy more guest tickets after you have registered, please go back to confirmation e-mail received after online registration and continue with the steps.

All children are welcome. There is no charge for children under the age of 5, however, you need to have a family member or friend to supervise them and look after them during the ceremony.

Please be mindful of the formal nature of the ceremony, this event can take up to two (2) and half-hours where children can get very tired.

Please contact Student Services.

On the day of the event, you need to come to the registration area where you will confirm you and your guests’ attendance.

Please contact Student Services.

If you forgot to RSVP or you do not want to attend your graduation ceremony, you do not need to worry.

If you are a Higher Education student, your documents will be sent after the ceremony to your international or domestic main postal address we have in the system. For further information, please check our 'Graduating in Absentia' tab.

If you are Vocational student who has been approved as Graduand and you have not received your documents yet please contact Student Services.

Please make sure your information is updated in the Student Portal / My Account otherwise we cannot guarantee the delivery of your documents to the correct mailing address (academic documents cannot be sent by e-mail).

The exact time schedule of the day will be sent after the RSVP has closed, however, the usual routine of the day is:

Registration: Check-in of students. Only students need to be present at the registration stage.

Gowning: After you have register yourself and your guests, you proceed to get the academic dress

Cloakroom: All Graduands are required to leave any belongings with friends, family or in the cloakroom. To prevent accidents while students walk up to the stage, only mobile phones are allowed to be held during the ceremony.

Rehearsal: After registration has been closed, all students are required to go to the main room where important information about the ceremony will be provided. No guests are allowed in the main room at this moment.

Guest Entry: After rehearsal has finished all guest are allowed to get in and take his or her seat. There are no allocated seats, however, if your guests include children, assistance dogs, guests in wheelchairs or with any disability, please let any of our friendly ushers know so they can help them with priority entry.

Please note that prams are not allowed inside the main room, they need to be left outside. Our friendly staff will take care of them

Ceremony: The ceremony will take about 2 hours. As a sign of respect to other Graduands, academics, speakers, and sponsors we required all attendees to stay until the end of the ceremony.

Light refreshments and Photography: After the ceremony, light refreshments (finger food and a beverage) will be provided to Graduands and guests.

A Professional Photographer will be available on the day and will take a photo of the Graduate receiving parchment and after the ceremony. If you want to take pictures outside the venue, you will need to return your academic dress first.

As this is a formal event, we suggest you wear smart casual attire that allows you to be comfortable the whole day with the academic regalia on top.

Please note that the graduation venue has varied surfaces and there are a number of ramps and stairs to negotiate during the ceremony, so please wear appropriate footwear. No thongs allowed.

Students are welcome to wear cultural attires that represent their cultural traditions and beliefs; however, they must ensure to wear their academic regalia too. 

The academic regalia is the academic dress you will wear to receive your award on stage. The robe is called gown and the hat is called mortarboard, the hood and stoles are to distinguish your faculty and degree.

Please find below the academic regalia depending on the course you are graduating from:

*Please note the academic regalia photos are for reference only

No. Please return the academic regalia you have rented for the day.

We know your academic dress means many memories and effort for you and your family, however, we appreciate you returning your academic dress one (1) hour after the ceremony has finished, otherwise you will be charged for the cost of the gown.

Please be mindful, we use this academic dress in all the ceremonies we have Australia wide, and other students would like to wear it as well.

If you want to wear your own academic regalia, we suggest you purchase one set in any academic regalia provider. You are welcome to use your own academic dress for this special day and we will provide you with the hood or stole depending on your degree. 

One week after the ceremony, all graduation ceremony professional pictures will be available.

An email with the link to the provider of the professional pictures will be sent to your email address where you received the graduation invitation. You will be able to purchase your pictures in that link.

Please join the Alumni Network

You can find the information on the Results page

Graduating in Absentia means that you are a Higher Education (HE) student and your degree will be conferred at the academic board OR graduation ceremony but you will not be attending in person.

Only Higher Education (HE) students who have been approved as Graduands.

This option is not available for Vocational (VET) students as their awards do not need to be conferred.

NO. Your degree needs to be conferred at the academic board OR graduation ceremony. The testamur and academic transcripts will be posted to the postal address you have registered in the Student Portal within 30 calendar days after the ceremony. 

NO. Students who graduate in absentia will not be invited to attend a future Graduation Ceremony for that same qualification.

Before applying you need to make sure:

• You have met all your course requirements.
• You have successfully completed your subjects/units
• You do not have outstanding fees with the university

Once you have completed the above requirements please fill your 'Application to Graduate in Absentia form' and send it to Student Records before the deadline (check Key Dates section on the right) so your award can be conferred on the next graduation ceremony. 

You can find the 'Application to Graduate in Absentia in the links below

Find TUA - 'Application to Graduate in Absentia' Form here

Find Think - 'Application to Graduate in Absentia' Form here

You will need to send your form before the deadline so your degree can be conferred at the next graduation ceremony.

NO, you just need to decline the invitation.

Any Higher Education student who does not attend the graduation ceremony that was invited to will be automatically graduated in absentia. 

Once you have met the course rules, you will be identified as a potential graduand. Your Program Director will review your completed subjects against the course rules and approve accordingly.

All students must go through this process and be signed off by our Examination Committee and if you’re a Higher Education student, also go through the approval of our Academic Board. We notify you via email once these approvals have been granted.

For more information please check our 'Invitations' tab.

Vocational students – Once you have finished your final subjects, our Examination Committee will finalize your results and determine the successful completion of your course. If successful, they will sign off your completion.

Your documents including Academic Transcript, Transcript of Results and Testamur will be posted to you within 30 days of approval.

Higher Education students – in order to receive your final documents, we need to ensure you have been through all of the appropriate approvals from our Examination Committee and Academic Board. Once these have been approved, your award will need to be conferred.

Conferral happens at our Graduation Ceremonies or at our Academic Board meetings. If you do not wish to wait until your allocated graduation ceremony, you can opt to graduate in Absentia, where your award will be conferred in your absence and it will be posted to you within 30 days of conferral.

All details surrounding completion documents are available on the Results page. 

You will receive a communication when you are approved by the Exam Committee to graduate which has all their ceremony options. Invites are sent 4 weeks prior to the ceremony.

For more information check our 'Invitation' tab. 

The registration fee covers the academic regalia hire and 2 guest tickets. Additional tickets can be purchased.

For more information check our 'Tickets' tab. 

It is not compulsory to attend a graduation ceremony, however, we encourage all graduates attend as it is a day of joy and recognition of your hard work and effort.

Graduation day is a special time to celebrate with all your peers, teachers, friends and family all students' achievements across Torrens University Australia and Think Education.

If you are a higher education student who does not wish to attend, you can have your award conferred in Absentia. Check our 'Graduate in Absentia' tab for all the information. 

Torrens University and Think Education graduations are organized at different times during the year in different locations:

• Sydney and Melbourne are usually in March/April
• Brisbane is usually July/August
• Adelaide is usually in November/December

Final dates for next year a usually published around December/January. The graduation ceremony dates for the current year can be found in our Key Dates section on the right side.

For more information check the 'Invitations' tab. 

On the Graduation day, after you have register yourself, you proceed to get the academic dress.

Check the Academic Regalia information under our 'Ceremony' tab.

The hiring of your academic regalia/dress (robe, hat and hood and/or stole depending on your program) is included in your Graduation fee.

For more information, check our 'Tickets' tab.