Ceremonies for 2020 graduates
The COVID-19 pandemic affected our alumni community immeasurably. We're excited to be able to acknowledge the Class of 2020’s achievements at graduation ceremonies in October and December 2023, where you can celebrate with your family and friends.
Invitations to the October ceremonies have been sent, and RSVP’s have now closed.
If you weren’t invited to an October ceremony and would like to be invited to a December ceremony, you need to submit a response to the expression of interest (EOI) by the deadline listed on the EOI. If your submission is successful, you’ll be contacted by our graduation service provider, GFP, with an invitation to attend a ceremony. If you didn’t receive an EOI but believe you should have, contact us.
On this page you can find out about replying to your invitation, what happens after you reply, and what to expect on the day of your ceremony.
For more information about your ceremony, the invitation or EOI, read our answers to some common questions.
Replying to your invitation
Your invitation will include a personalised link to the Graduations portal which you can use to reply and pay the graduation fee. You’ll need to do this by the deadline listed on your invitation in order to reserve your place at a ceremony.
We recommend you respond as early as possible, as capacity of the Great Hall is limited and online confirmation may close early if capacity is reached. If this happens before you reply, we’ll need to place you in an alternate ceremony.
If you are unable to attend, please reply through the Graduations portal to let us know.
Fee
There will be a $165 ceremony fee that covers:
- academic dress hire, including a trencher hat to keep
- tickets for two guests to attend the ceremony
- entry and light refreshments at the graduation reception for each graduate and two guests
- a graduation program
- a digital download of the stage photo.
Guests
As there is limited seating available in the Great Hall, each graduate will be able to bring two guests. Ceremonies will be live-streamed for family and friends who aren't able to attend.
Refund terms
If you pay for your ceremony but cannot attend, you need to tell as soon as possible by submitting an enquiry through the general enquiry form.
We’ll refund the full graduation fee provided you notify us at least 10 days prior to your ceremony.
If you let us know less than 10 days prior to your ceremony, you won’t be entitled to a refund unless you can demonstrate that you were unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances that were unforeseen and outside of your control, such as illness or bereavement. You'll need to provide supporting documents (for example, a medical certificate).
We'll usually process refunds within 3 weeks after the conclusion of all ceremonies for that semester. Your refund will be credited back to your original payment method.
After you've replied
- Once you've replied to your invitation and paid the fee, the Graduations portal will prompt you to nominate your guests.
- You'll receive a confirmation email. This will include a link you can use if you need to make any changes to your guest tickets. If you don't receive a confirmation email call our service provider, GFP, on 1300 360 445 or send an email to info@gfp.com.au.
- GFP will send you an email and SMS one day before your ceremony to check in online and download your graduate ticket.
- The University of Sydney Union (USU) will send you an email ahead of your ceremony, requesting you book a time to collect your gown from the USYD Store in the Holme Building.
More information
Have a question?
Invitations for the October ceremonies have been sent.
For the December ceremonies, our graduation service provider, GFP, will send you an invitation towards the end of August if you replied to the EOI. You might need to check the junk folder of the personal email address you included in your EOI response.
If you didn't receive an invitation, but believe you should have, please contact us as soon as possible.
You'll need to reply to your invitation and pay the fee, for your place at the ceremony to be reserved.
Your place in a ceremony is not reserved unless you've received and replied to an invitation, and paid the fee.
If you choose to make any travel plans before this, we recommend all your arrangements are flexible.
For information about visas to travel to Australia, and how to apply, please visit the Department of Home Affairs website.
If you tried to reply to your invitation but received a message that your ceremony is full, don't worry. We'll arrange for you to attend another ceremony.
Please submit an online enquiry as soon as possible to let the Graduation team know that you’ve received this message and weren’t able to respond to your graduation invitation. (Select that your enquiry is about ‘Student or alumni’, and choose the reason ‘Graduation ceremony or replacement testamurs’).
We'll only refund the graduation fee if your request meets our refund terms.
Yes, you can certainly hire academic dress to take photos on campus and celebrate in your own way. Visit the USYD Store to book your gowning appointment.
In fairness to all graduates, and due to scheduling constraints and limited availability of the Great Hall, unfortunately we can't consider individual requests for a particular ceremony date.
We're only reaching out to 2020 graduates. To be considered for an invitation, you need to have submitted your response to the EOI by the deadline we gave you in the EOI.
We’ll do our best to invite all graduates who submit a response to the EOI to attend a ceremony, however we can’t guarantee that every graduate will receive a place in the ceremonies at this stage.
Unfortunately, due to scheduling constraints and limited availability of the Great Hall, we won't be accepting EOI responses to attend a ceremony after the deadline.
You need to have completed the EOI by the deadline we gave you in the EOI to be considered for an invitation.
EOIs were sent to the personal email address we have recorded for you in Sydney Student, or with our Alumni Office if you've updated your details with us.
If you have unsubscribed from University communication, you won't have received the EOI.
If you're a 2020 graduate who didn't receive an EOI, but believe you should have, you can contact us.
Because PhD graduates from 2020 were invited to ceremonies in 2021 and 2022, we aren't reaching out to PhD graduates for the October 2023 ceremonies.
The October 2023 ceremonies are only for graduates from the class of 2020.
If you're from a different class, and missed a ceremony in 2021 or 2022 due to COVID, you can contact us to let us know your interest. However, we don't currently have ceremonies planned for graduates from 2021 or 2022.
If you won't attend an October 2023 ceremony
- Please fill out our postal address confirmation form. In the Reference Number field, type: “2020”. If we have your documents, we'll post them after the October ceremonies are completed. If we don't have your documents, our Graduations Office will contact you.
If you are invited to an October 2023 ceremony
- Your testamur will be presented to you on stage.
Contact us
If you have any questions, please email the alumni office at alumni.office@sydney.edu.au.
