Academic Dress

The academic dress, also known as regalia, is worn by all Convocation ceremony participants. There will be a demonstration on how to wear your academic dress at the Convocation Rehearsal. Graduates receiving a Bachelor’s’ degree wear a gown, hood, and cap. Ceremonial gowns have zippers and are meant to be zipped up. The ceremonial hoods worn by each graduate identifies the student’s field of study by color. Hoods are pinned to the gown. Graduation regalia should be worn throughout the ceremony. We understand that graduating students will dress formerly under their closed robes, but recommend you wear comfortable shoes as you will be climbing the stage and walking some distance for your graduation march. The gowns generally fall mid-calf,; so, we recommend trousers, stockings, and shoes of a dark color. You will not be permitted to carry handbags, so please leave them in your car, etc.

Accessibility

If a graduate requires special arrangements for the ceremony due to a disability, please contact: Habiba Yousry studentwellness@uofcanada.edu.eg.

Assembly and Academic Procession on Convocation Day

On Convocation Day at 6:00 pm, graduates will assemble on the ground floor of Building B to be pinned for pre convocation photography. Graduates will be provided with an index card on which their name will appear. This identification card is carried by the graduate to the Courtyard ceremony. Assembly instructions will be provided upon arrival at the designated location and in rehearsals. Graduates will be arranged in pairs alphabetically with the ushers’ help, according to the Convocation program. At 7:30 pm, the Academic Procession will begin to move from the assembly point to the Campus Courtyard.

Convocation Ceremonies

The Convocation ceremonies are held outdoors in the Campus Courtyard beginning at 7:40 pm, after you have proudly walked in a procession. In addition to you walking across the stage to receive your degree, the ceremonies each consist of an invocation, conferring of an honorary degree, and an address by the valedictorian. Immediately following the ceremony, there will be opportunities for photos with family, friends, faculty, and staff.

Gowns and Hoods

Gowns and hoods – also known as academic dress or regalia – must be worn at Convocation ceremonies. Graduates must pre-order their gown and hood by filling in this form to ensure delivery for Convocation and will receive an email notification with details. Kindly fill in this form to let us know your size for Convocation Regalia (gown and mortarboard) for the 2023 Convocation. Please note there will be a cash deposit of 2000 EGP for Egyptian students and 100 USD for non-Egyptian students, which is refundable upon the return of the gown and hood. The mortarboards (caps) will be yours to keep. (This is different from the graduation fees). Submit the form to choose one location to pick up your invitations, gowns, and hoods:

• Campus: May. 25th, May 27th – May 31st 9:00-3:30
• Customer Relations Office (CRO): May. 25th, May 28th -May 31st 9:00-3:00
• CRO Address: 3rd Floor, Building 250, Northern 90th St., 5th Settlement.

Note: Student must return the cap & gown to the same place it was picked up from to receive deposit. International students can pick up from either location but MUST return on campus and get refunded through the Finance department. Event contact: Ismaeel Salah, Campus Life Officer, and Fatma Abd Elsalam, CRO Office. Gowns and hoods could be returned between Jun, Sun 6th – Thu 12th from 9:00-3:00 at CRO Or Jun, Sun 6th – Thu 19th from 9:00-3:30 on campus. A Microsoft Bookings link will be sent to your UofCanada email for you to choose date, time, and location to return your gowns and hoods, and get refunded either on campus or at CRO.

• Please review the Convocation schedule for dates for regalia pick-up and return. The mortar boards (caps) are yours to keep. Students who don’t fill in their form are not guaranteed to receive the proper size of the gown.
• Please note that there will be a cash deposit of 2000 EGP for Egyptian students and 100 USD for non-Egyptian students refundable upon the return of the gown and hood.

Ceremonial hoods worn with the black gown are color-coded to identify the student’s field of study. Hoods are pinned on the front of the gown, so that the color of the hood shows on the front and over the shoulders. The hood hands over the back. Ceremonial gowns have zippers and are meant to be zipped up. The tassel on the mortar boards (caps) should be placed on the left prior to the conferral of degrees. Hood colors for the Cairo Campus are:

• Bachelor of Business Administration: Drab
• Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design Engineering: Orange
• Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Mathematics): Golden Yellow

Graduation Fee Graduation fees are 7000 EGP for Egyptian students and 250 USD for non-Egyptian students to be paid to the Student Finance office at the Student Affairs department in person or at the CRO or online via: https://payment.uofcanada.edu.eg/graduate.php. The Graduation fees cover the nominal costs of the event including your degree parchment, degree folder, Official Transcript, Grad Book, and mortar board. The deadline to pay the graduation fee and regalia refundable deposits is Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

Graduation Week Events

Participate in fun events for 2023 graduates! Visit our UPEI Cairo Instagram page

Identification Card

The Registrar’s Office will prepare an identification card that you will carry with you and give to the announcer on Convocation Day so that he/she can introduce you as you go up on stage. This card will be made available to you as you line up at the assembly location before the procession. On this card, there will be your legal name on records, if you are concerned about the announcer getting the right pronunciation, please mark on this card how it sounds; for example: Javier (pronounced with a “H”).

Invitations

Invitations will be available as a hard copy. An email will be sent to you once they’re available for pickup to inform pickup location and time. Graduating students will receive three invitations for guests. A fourth ticket will be provided to students who attend the rehearsal. Based on the number of graduates confirming their attendance, a limited number of unclaimed tickets may be available at a later date, on a first come, first served basis. Seating is strictly limited.

Parking on Convocation Day

There are limited on-campus parking spaces and bus transportation will be provided. Please refer to the Campus Map for all parking locations and bus schedule. Please arrive early as you must be seated at least fifteen minutes prior to the ceremony start time and before graduates arrive in their procession. There will be Ushers on site to provide you with assistance.

Photography and Video

Guests are welcome to take photos and record videos of the Convocation ceremony from their seat and designated areas. Please note, the ceremony will be live streamed live for guests to watch from the comfort of their own home and photos taken by our photographer will be made available to graduates available after the event. Moreover, there will be a photo booth available for all to create and capture memorable moments.

Prohibited Items

Balloons are not permitted past the security entrance and must be left in the vehicle. Otherwise, they will be confiscated to avoid blocking the view for the rest of the guests. Noise makers are also not permitted on campus and will be confiscated. All confiscated items will not be returned. Food and beverages will be available on campus. Therefore, there is no need to bring such items from outside (except water). Guests can bring in water in the convocation venue and may have food before or after the event at the available food outlets in the food court.

Reception Following Convocation

Immediately following the Convocation ceremony, there is a reception in the Courtyard. Graduates, students, staff, faculty, friends, and family are welcome. Please refer to the UPEI Grad Week and Convocation Schedule for details.

Rehearsal

Convocation Rehearsal is typically held a day prior to the Convocation ceremony in the Courtyard setup. Rehearsal attendance is a must to ensure that the Convocation ceremonies proceed properly. At the rehearsal there will be a demonstration on “how to wear” academic dress. The rehearsal is approximately two hours. Please refer to the UPEI Grad Week and Convocation Schedule for details. If you decide not to attend the Convocation Ceremony, you should send an email to campuslife@uofcanada.edu.eg no later than May 23rd.