Applying to graduate
Learn everything you need to know about applying to graduate, including graduating in absentia and deferring until the next graduation ceremony.
How to apply
You will receive an email inviting you to apply for graduation. If you do not receive an email but intend to graduate, please contact graduations@napier.ac.uk by Monday 9 June.
If you are intending to exit with an award in Year 3 and not continue to Honours, please remember to inform your School Office that you wish to exit in addition to applying, so that they can process your award. You should also contact graduations@napier.ac.uk to ensure you receive an invite to graduate.
Attending students must agree to our graduation terms and conditions as part of their graduation application.
Please read our privacy notice which explains how your data will be used.
Attend in person
You must apply to graduate to attend the graduation ceremony at the Usher Hall. There is no graduation fee for students to attend graduation.
A degree will only be conferred once for a linked course, e.g. degree to honours degree. You will not be eligible to participate in a second graduation ceremony should you subsequently qualify.
I have not received an invite to graduation, what should I do?
We anticipate sending graduation invites from mid-April for the summer 2025 ceremonies, with the last batch being sent the end of April. If you have not received an email by Thursday 1 May but intend to graduate, please contact graduations@napier.ac.uk no later than Monday 9 June.
Graduate in absentia (if you're not attending the ceremony)
You need to apply to graduate in absentia and to get your award certificate sent by post after the ceremony. There is no cost to graduate in absentia. Your award certificate will be sent to your home address via Royal Mail. Award certificates sent to addresses outwith the UK will be sent by air mail. Please allow six to eight weeks from graduation for delivery.
You can request that your award certificate be sent via DHL by contacting graduations@napier.ac.uk before 11 July. There will be an additional cost for this service and requests received after this date may not be processed.
If you are planning to change your delivery address, please email graduations@napier.ac.uk before 11 July. We may be unable to make changes after this date.
If you would prefer to collect your award certificate in person, please email graduations@napier.ac.uk. Award certificates will be ready to collect from the Sighthill Campus approximately one week after the ceremony and you will be advised when your award certificate is ready to collect.
Defer until the next graduation ceremony
You may defer your graduation ceremony to another ceremony within a 12-month period starting from your proposed original ceremony, i.e. summer 2025 to either autumn 2025 or summer 2026.
In order to defer, you should inform us of your intention to defer, and to which ceremony, by emailing graduations@napier.ac.uk. The opportunity to defer is only offered once.
Please note that if you defer your graduation, you will not be able to receive your award certificate until the date of the ceremony you attend, which will be the date printed on your degree award certificate.
Further information
Mobility/Special Arrangements
During the graduation application and ticketing process, you will be asked if you have any mobility or other special requirements. If you confirmed that this is the case, a member of staff may be in touch to discuss what suitable arrangements can be made. Please email graduations@napier.ac.uk if any of your guests have any mobility issues or special requirements.
Cancellation of registration
Please email graduations@napier.ac.uk if you intend to cancel your graduation.
Data Protection
Please read our graduations information in our privacy notices which explains how your data will be used.
Extra financial support
After all of your hard work, graduating is the last step at Edinburgh Napier University. Graduating does come at a small cost, but if you are in financial difficulty then the Student Funding Team may be able to help with graduation costs.
If you are from the UK, have taken out a full student loan and have explored all other funding options, including taking out an overdraft then the discretionary fund may be able to help. You can apply to the Discretionary Fund for help toward your graduation costs. Please visit the Discretionary Fund page for more information on how to apply to the Discretionary Fund.