Do you have to wear a gown at your graduation ceremony?

At LSE, yes: every graduand taking part wears academic dress. What LSE's dress looks like, where you can get it, the tradition about the hat, the fund that can cover the cost, and your options if you'd rather not attend.

Yes. LSE's academic dress page is direct about it: every graduand taking part must wear the appropriate academic dress. What it doesn't do is tie you to one supplier. LSE recommends its official robemaker, but the requirement is the dress, not the shop. Here is what the right dress is, how to get it, what to do with the hat, and the choices you have if the ceremony isn't for you.

Part one

What counts as the right dress

Academic dress is a gown, a hood and a hat, matched to your degree. LSE has had its own since it began awarding degrees in its own name, and it carries the School's academic colours: purple, black and gold. LSE's academic dress page links to drawings of each set.

Your set, by degree
  • Bachelor'sA black gown, with a hood in purple and gold.
  • Master'sA black master's gown, with a hood in purple and gold.
  • PhDA purple gown trimmed in black and gold, a hood in the same colours, and a black bonnet with a purple tassel.

There is one exception worth knowing. If you are eligible for and chose a University of London degree, you still book an LSE gown, and swap it for a University of London gown on the day. If your degree is a University of London one, check how that exchange works with LSE before you book anywhere else.

Then there is the hat. You receive one with your academic dress, but it is an LSE tradition that hats aren't worn on stage. You leave it on your seat, or carry it in your left hand as you cross, and put it on for the photographs afterwards.

The non-negotiable

If you take part, you wear it.

There is no option to cross the stage in your own clothes. Skipping the dress means skipping the ceremony, and your degree doesn't depend on it.

LSE's dress in four numbers
3 piecesthe gown, the hood, the hat
3 colourspurple, black and gold
0hats worn on stage
1recommended supplier, not a required one
Part two

How to get it sorted

LSE recommends buying or hiring from its official supplier, Ede & Ravenscroft, and that route has its own rules. You can only order once your place at the ceremony is confirmed, you need your LSE ID number, height, head size, chest measurement and ceremony day, and you collect the gown on the day from the Student Services Centre Atrium, after you have your tickets. It goes back to the same desk before you leave, and refunds go through the supplier, not LSE.

What you need to know before booking
  • Your degreeBachelor's, master's or PhD: it decides the gown and hood.
  • Your heightThe gown's length depends on it.
  • Your ceremony daySo the set is ready when you need it.
  • A shirt with buttonsLSE recommends one, so the hood stays put.

How it works with us: the set is yours from the day before, or early on the morning itself. Try it on at your own pace, then walk onto Houghton Street already dressed, with only your tickets left to collect.

Book early either way. Sizes go as each round of ceremonies approaches, and the official orders only open once bookings are confirmed, a few months before the week itself.

If the cost is the problem

Look at the Graduation Gown Support Fund.

The LSE Students' Union Advice Service runs a fund for students in financial hardship that can waive the full gown hire fee. It is managed independently of LSE, so questions about eligibility go to the Students' Union.

A sister fund, the Graduation Photography Support Fund, helps with the cost of photographs on the day. Both are explained on the Students' Union's funding pages.

Part three

If you'd rather not attend

Academic dress only matters for the ceremony. Your degree is awarded whether or not you cross the stage, and your certificate is issued in the year you complete. Taught graduates who don't collect theirs during graduation week have it posted to their home address.

If it is the date rather than the ceremony that doesn't work, you can postpone. LSE lets you move your ceremony once, by up to twelve months, usually to the same round the following year so that your programme is presented there; PhD and Executive LLM graduates can choose either round. You ask through the postponement form once your invitation has arrived.

"All graduands participating in the ceremonies must wear the appropriate academic dress."

— London School of Economics

And if you just want to watch, every ceremony is broadcast online, and screened live on campus in the Old Theatre and the Weston Cafe in Saw Swee Hock.

Part four

What goes under the gown

Because the gown is worn open, what you wear underneath shows from the neckline to the shoes. LSE asks for business attire, smart national dress or other formal clothing, and recommends a shirt or blouse with buttons, because that is what keeps the hood in place. A few safety pins or hair pins are a good back-up.

Think about the stage too. You climb steps to it, walk to the centre as your name is read, and leave by the steps on the other side, so wear shoes you are steady in. Our guide to what to wear under your graduation gown goes through outfits in more detail.

Sourced from LSE

Everything here comes from LSE's graduation pages, chiefly Academic dress and Postponing your ceremony, and from the Students' Union's graduation funding. Check the details for your round on LSE's pages first.

Ready to book your gown?

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What to bring to your graduation ceremony
A kit list for an LSE graduation: the ID card that gets you your tickets, why everything has to travel light, and what your guests need from you before the Peacock Theatre doors open.
LSE Graduation Guide
How an LSE graduation runs, in the order it happens: the booking request, your tickets, the Peacock Theatre ceremony, academic dress and what to do if you can't make it.
What to wear under your graduation gown
Dressing for an LSE graduation: what the gown leaves on show, how to wear the purple and gold, the steps up to the Peacock Theatre stage, and London in December or July.