Home ▻ Registry▻Conferring▻Conferring▻Winter Conferring

Winter Conferring

Winter Conferring 2025

Dates: Wednesday 19th to Tuesday 25th November.

Location: Bailey Allen Hall, Áras na MacLéinn, University of Galway.

Eligible Graduands: 

    • Postgraduate
      • Postgraduate Taught courses; All Colleges
      • PhD, MD, Masters Research 
    • Undergraduate
      • Undergraduate, School of Nursing & Midwifery
      • Some UG Engineering courses *
  • Please contact College Office

Winter 2025 Conferring Schedule by College

Before your Conferring Day

Schedule

The Autumn 2025 Conferring Schedule, detailing ceremonies by college and course, will be published in October 2025.

Information Email

Eligible graduands will receive an email with further details about the Winter Conferring approximately two weeks prior to conferring.

If you have not received an email, please:

  • Confirm that you are eligible for conferring (i.e. you have passed all required exams and paid all fees by the relevant deadlines).

  • Check your junk or spam folder.

  • Ensure your student email account is active and able to receive messages.

  • If you’re having trouble accessing your University email account, please refer to MFA - University of Galway.

If you have not received an email in relation to the upcoming ceremony and have concerns, please contact; conferring@universityofgalway.ie or phone +353 91494402. 

Fees Deadline

All fees must be cleared by close of business on 31st May 2025 to be eligible to attend the Winter Conferring.
All fees related queries should be directed to the Fees Office.
 

Postgraduate Research Deadline 

Postgraduate Research deadline is Wednesday 8th October 2025.
All steps of the thesis submission process must be completed by this date.
Please see process for submitting thesis on Examinations page for information 

Parchment Name Check

The name on your parchment is the name you supplied the university with when applying for your course and is the name that will appear on your degree parchment.
Please ensure your name is correct for the issue of parchments (this includes accents, apostrophes, etc.). Please check your Registration Statement and/or Transcript of Results to confirm.
Name change requests must be directed to the Student Registry Helpdesk.
Deadline for name changes to be included in the Winter 2025 conferring is 10th September 2025.

Robing

All students to be conferred must wear the correct Academic Robes as directed by the National University of Ireland: http://www.nui.ie/publications/docs/AcademicDressBooklet.pdf
The official robemakers for the University of Galway are Phelan Conan Ltd.
Robes can be pre ordered online at www.phelanconan.com.
The pre-paid hire fee is €45 or pay on the day hire fee is €50. All students must pre-book robes with the official robe-makers, Phelan Conan Limited date to be confirmed.
ROBE COLLECTION
Robes can be collected from rooms G010 / G011 in the Hardiman Building, University of Galway (dates to be confirmed). It is strongly advised to collect prior to the day of your ceremony.

ROBE RETURN
All robes are to be returned as soon as possible after the conclusion of your ceremony to G010 / G011 Hardiman Building.
Phelan Conan WILL NOT be on site outside of the robe return dates (dates to be confirmed).

For additional information on Robe hire click here.
 

Photographers

Lafayette Photographers have been appointed as the official University photographers.
Pre-book your conferring photography online at www.lafayette.ie to activate your private gallery and to view price.
Please contact Lafayette directly for photography related queries.

PhD and MD Deferrals

Deferral of Conferring: MD and PhD graduands only may request to defer their graduation once to the next session only. 
Email conferring@universityofgalway.ie with your request to defer by Wednesday 8th October 2025.

Refreshments

  • Refreshments will be served for graduates and guests in the Human Biology Building (HBB) which is located to the right when exiting Áras na MacLéinn.
  • We encourage everyone to bring their own water bottles to help reduce waste.
    Water cooler dispensers are available in the foyer of Áras na Mac Léinn (outside Bailey Allen Hall) and also in the Human Biology Building. 
    No hot drinks or food are permitted in the Conferring Hall.

 

On your Conferring Day

Parking

  • Please be aware that traffic in Galway can be extremely busy at rush hour so we urge guests travelling by car to give themselves plenty of time. 
  • Parking is heavily restricted on the main campus and clamping is in operation.  
  • There are limited disabled parking spaces on campus for valid disabled parking permit holders. Please refer to the campus map.

  • Guests are encouraged to make use of several nearby car parks, all within  walking distance of the University, ensuring convenient access for your visit. Please refer to Galway City Council website with location of public carparks : Galway City Car Parking (arcgis.com)

  • The university operates a free bus service from the Park and Ride carpark directly to the Orbsen building at regular intervals. Please refer to campus map (No. 42 on the map). The Orbsen building is adjacent to the Bailey Allen Hall, which is the venue for the Conferring Ceremonies.

Park & Ride Carpark

  • Spaces are limited at the Park & Ride Carpark.
  • The Park and Ride Carpark is located on North Campus at the University of Galway.

The address is as follows : University of Galway Park & Ride, Upper Newcastle, 7WRH+4J, Galway

The Park & Ride carpark Google location is as follows : 7WRH+4J - Google Maps

  • The Park and Ride Carpark is accessed as follows if arriving into Galway on the main N6;

Follow signs for the N59 (Galway-Oughterard/Clifden), crossing the River Corrib at the Quincentennial Bridge.

Go through the traffic lights and take exit 5 at the next roundabout (bringing you back towards the Quincentennial Bridge).

Take a left turn at the traffic lights and continue for 1km.

The ‘North Campus’ entrance will be signposted on your right. The Park & Ride Carpark will also be signposted.

Turn right into the North Campus entrance and an immediate left towards the Park & Ride Carpark.

Parking at the Park & Ride Carpark is free, however, please ensure you park in the white line spaces only. Parking must be paid at the Pay and Display carparking spaces.

Please display a disability accessible parking badge if parking in a disability space. 

The first park & ride shuttle bus will leave the Dangan Park & Ride Carpark at a time to be confirmed.
The last park & ride shuttle bus will leave the Orbsen building at a time to be confirmed.
 

Robe Collection and Return

Robe collection is from the Seminar Rooms GO10/GO11, in the Hardiman Research Buildings (inside the foyer of the James Hardiman Library) (Link from google maps)  
Please direct all robing queries to Phelan Conan (www.phelanconan.com)

Return of Robes

All robes are to be returned as soon as possible after the conclusion of your ceremony to G010 / G011 Hardiman Building.

 

Invitations

Admission to the conferring ceremony is strictly by invitation only and invitations must be presented at the entrance to the ceremony in the Bailey Allen Hall. 
Graduands will receive their invitations when collecting robes in the Seminar Rooms GO10/GO11 in the Hardiman Research Building from Phelan Conan Ltd.  
Each graduand will receive 1 graduand and 2 guest invitations.
 

Live Streaming of Conferring Ceremony

There will be a live streaming link available to share with family and friends who cannot attend on the day.
The live streaming link will be available on the day of the conferring.

 

Conferring Venue

The conferring ceremonies take place in the Bailey Allen Hall, Áras na MacLéinn, University of Galway.
For more information, please refer to campus map (No. 6 on the map).
Once you are robed and have collected your invitations, please make your way to the Bailey Allen Hall.
Graduands (wearing academic robes) and guests must be seated 30 minutes before the ceremony begins. 

Seating for Graduands & Guests

Seats are assigned to graduands in the Bailey Allen Hall.
The seating lists are displayed outside the Bailey Allen Hall and outside seminar rooms GO10/GO11 (robe collection)
Guest seating is located to the right and far left of the hall.
In the interest of safety, prams/buggies are not permitted in the conferring hall. 
Each ceremony usually takes approximately 1.5 hours and as such is not a suitable event for children under 5.

Refreshments

  • At the end of the conferring ceremony, graduates will be invited to join the Academic Procession exiting the hall.
  • Refreshments will be served for graduates and guests in the Human Biology Building (HBB) which is located to the right when exiting Áras na MacLéinn.
  • We encourage everyone to bring their own water bottles to help reduce waste.
    Water cooler dispensers are available in the foyer of Áras na Mac Léinn (outside Bailey Allen Hall) and also in the Human Biology Building. 
    No hot drinks or food are permitted in the Conferring Hall. 

Special Requests

We are happy to accommodate any graduand or guest with special needs or requirements.
Please email conferring@universityofgalway.ie with your request.

After your Conferring Ceremony

Robe Return

Robes must be returned to the Seminar Rooms GO10/GO11, The Hardiman Research Building (adjacent to James Hardiman Library). 
Robe collection and return are from the same location. 
Robe return times are not yet available.
Please do not leave robes outside the robing rooms outside of the return times.
 

In Absentia

If a graduand is unable to attend their conferring ceremony, they will be conferred 'In Absentia' and their parchment will be posted to their home address (as listed on our system) within approx. 4 weeks of each respective ceremony.
Please ensure your home address is up to date. 
Address details can be updated by clicking on the following link for the Student Registry Helpdesk: http://www.universityofgalway.ie//student-registry-helpdesk/our-services/name-address/
An international phone number is required where parchments are sent to an international address. 
Deadline for address changes is 12th November 2025
 

Degree Parchment

Degree Parchments are issued in Latin.
For graduates wishing to obtain an English copy of their degree parchment, please contact the National University of Ireland (NUI) directly via their website: Document Services for Graduates | National University of Ireland (nui.ie).

Diploma Supplements

Diploma Supplements will be available for Graduates through Parchment Digitary approximately 3 weeks after conferring.

Parchment Digitary Services is a trusted, secure cloud platform that helps University students from around the world to access and share their verified academic documents online.  Verified documents can be stored, accessed, and shared with employers, other education providers, governments and third parties, 24/7, from anywhere in the world. This allows for an efficient and effective way to view and share your documents, providing a platform where you are in control of who views your documents and how. 

Graduates will receive an email from Parchment Digitary Services (noreply@digitary.net) alerting them that they have a new document from Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway. 

For further information visit ; Academic Documents - University of Galway

 

Alumni

Join the Alumni community here.

Seanad Register - University of Galway

Register for the Seanad Éireann Higher Education Constituency.

As a graduate of University of Galway, you may be eligible to vote in the new Seanad Éireann Higher Education constituency.

Irish citizens who hold a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from a designated institution and are over 18 years of age can apply online to be added to the Register of Electors at www.SeanadVoter.ie.