Your ceremony will be held in the Robert Blackwood Hall and will will run for approximately 120 minutes.
You and your guests must be seated in the hall at least 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony. This will ensure the briefing and ceremony start on time.
If you have any special requirements (e.g. assistance on stage or wheelchair access) and haven't let us know already, please do so as soon as possible.
All graduands and guests will receive a program at the venue. The program includes the order of proceedings, a list of graduands receiving their awards and a copy of the doctoral candidates’ thesis abstracts.
Ensure you have your graduand ticket with you when you enter the hall – it will show your assigned seat number. It's important you sit in your assigned seat to ensure your name is called in the correct order. Give all your personal belongings to your guests to take care of during the ceremony. This includes flowers, gifts, handbags, car keys and any other personal items.
Doctoral candidates
Doctoral candidates must be at the assembly point in the foyer of the Robert Blackwood Hall at least 30 minutes before the ceremony starts so they can join the formal academic procession. In some graduations, doctoral candidates sit on the stage with academics and dignitaries. The ticket you collect at registration will show if you are sitting on the stage or in the graduate seating in the hall.
Parents with children
You can’t take your children with you on stage and they can’t sit with you while you’re waiting to receive your award. If you'd like your children to attend, you'll need to organise one of your guests to supervise them during the ceremony.
To provide a more child-friendly ceremony, we’re live-streaming the ceremonies on the large screen in the Graduation Precinct.
The hall will open one hour before the ceremony starts and your guests can choose their own seats when they enter. If your guests prefer to take young children or babies to the hall, they’re encouraged to sit near the doors so they can take their children outside to settle if they become restless during the ceremony. For safety reasons, prams are not permitted in the hall, but may be parked in the designated area in the foyer.
Notice informing participants of visual and audio recording during function
Photographs, video recordings, audio recordings and live streaming will be undertaken during the course of this function. The recordings may be used, reproduced, published, communicated or broadcast for advertising, marketing, informational or promotional purposes and/or for teaching and research purposes. Photos may also be uploaded to social media pages, such as the official Monash University and the Monash Alumni community’s social media pages.
Ceremony proceedings
Once graduands and guests are seated, the academic procession enters the venue.
All graduands and guests are asked to stand.
The procession will enter in the following order:
- faculty managers
- doctoral candidates
- members of staff
- members of Council
- faculty academic and professional staff
- guest speaker
- President and Vice-Chancellor
- Manager, Ceremonial (bearer of the mace)
- Chancellor or Deputy-Chancellor.
The proceedings are as follows:
- the members of the procession walk on stage and take their seats
- the Chancellor or Deputy-Chancellor delivers a welcome address
- the President and Vice-Chancellor deliver an address
- graduands are called row by row, to await individual presentation
- degrees are conferred and certificates awarded in sequence
- doctoral candidates are conferred and certificates are awarded in sequence
- the guest speaker makes a graduation address
- the Chancellor or Deputy-Chancellor closes the ceremony and invites everyone to refreshments
- the procession, followed by the new graduates, exits the venue
- guests are asked to stand as the procession leaves.
The Chancellor or Deputy-Chancellor will shake hands with each graduand before presenting them with their award certificate (testamur). If you don’t want to shake hands for cultural reasons, place your right hand on your left shoulder as you walk across the stage. This is recognised as a sign that you don’t wish to shake hands.
At the end of the ceremony, graduates join the academic procession to exit the building. This involves going up and down some flights of stairs. Please let graduations staff in the hall know before the ceremony if you aren't able to participate.
We recommend you pre-arrange a meeting place near the Graduation Precinct to meet up with your guests after the ceremony. The ceremony will be professionally recorded and there will be a close-up photo of the Chancellor or Deputy-Chancellor greeting each graduand. These will be available for purchase after the ceremony. See graduation services for details.
