Student Information - Spring Convocation

Please arrive at the second floor of the RecPlex between 8:00AM and 8:15AM for the morning ceremonies or between 12:45PM and 1:00PM for the afternoon ceremony. This is the “Robing Area” where you will pick your procession card and academic dress. It is also where you will line up for the ceremony.

Please DO NOT bring any valuables like purses or bags with you as there is no secure place to leave them during the ceremony.

The Robing Area is a busy, warm, and bustling place. To minimize additional bodies, we ask that parents, partners, children, and guests refrain from entering the Robing Area. Instead, they should find their seats in the Duckworth Centre.

ACADEMIC PROCESSION

Procession cards will be available for you to pick up when you arrive in the Robing Area. The Academic Procession follows a route that involves quite a bit of walking and many stairs (some without hand rails).  Please e-mail convocation@uwinnipeg.ca if you feel this may be a concern. Alternate procession arrangements can easily be made with notice.

To order your regalia in advance (preferred), visit: https://www.buildagrad.com/uwinnipeg

If you are attending the ceremony and have not ordered your regalia, you may do so in-person at the Gaspard tables when you arrive prior to your ceremony.

Please arrive at the Robing Area (second floor of the RecPlex) between 8:00AM-8:15AM for the morning ceremonies or between 12:45PM-1:00PM for the afternoon ceremony to pick up your procession card and collect your regalia.

Cap/Mortarboard: Worn on the top of your head with the tassel to your left. The v-shaped front should come down onto your forehead. The cap and tassel in the rental package are yours to keep.

Hood: The colour of the hood symbolizes the faculty you graduated from. The hood goes over your head and should rest on your shoulders.

Gown/Robe: The gown should zip in the front.

Indigenous Students

You are invited to wear traditional ceremonial clothing, if desired, in addition to (or instead of) the academic dress. If you wish to wear traditional clothing in addition to any part of the academic dress (cap, gown, or hood, or any combination thereof), please order full academic dress at the link provided above as it comes as a package.

In addition, The University of Winnipeg will be offering a stole and cap tassels (white/red/back/yellow or white/blue or white/yellow/red) for students who wish to identify themselves as Indigenous (First Nations, Metis, Inuit). To order a stole and/or tassel, please email Randy White at r.white@uwinnipeg.ca by May 22, 2026.

Stoles and tassels can be picked up at a booth in the Robing Area on the day of convocation – beginning at 8:15 AM for the morning ceremonies and 1:15 PM for the afternoon ceremony. Stoles must be returned immediately following the ceremony.

If you are unable to attend convocation, you are required to request permission to receive your degree in absentia from the Student Records Office.

The Absentia form must completed by May 31, 2026. A $50.00 fee will be assessed if you do not fill out the form and are not present on the day of Convocation. **If you have already submitted this form, please disregard.**

Absentia Form

Photos will be taken of graduates as they cross the stage. To order one of these photos, please fill out the form at the link below, print it, and bring the form and payment to your ceremony. There will be a booth to submit your order form.

Order Form [PDF]

LifeTouch Studios is offering some on-campus portrait photos sessions on April 23-24 and April 28-29 in the Bulman Centre. They also have a limited number of in-studio sessions. To learn more or book an appointment, visit the LifeTouch website.

For information about additional dates and the on-campus sessions, visit the UWSA website 

Students can also rent regalia in advance of convocation to take portraits themselves or with a different studio. Please contact gradsales@gaspard.ca for more information.

The Convocation Program will be available digitally on our website beginning the morning of convocation. QR codes will be set up throughout the venue so everyone will be able to download and view the entire program.

We understand that some students like to have a physical copy of the program to commemorate their achievement. If you would like a physical copy you can order one at the link below at no charge until June 30, 2026

Convocation Program Request Form 

We are pleased to have so many 2026 graduates attending the Convocation ceremony this Spring! Due to the high number of students graduating in the Spring, we ask that you please limit the number of guests you invite to 4 or less if possible so that all graduates may have guests at the ceremony to cheer them on.

We invite you to share the livestream with any family or friends who are unable to attend. Convocation is both livestreamed and available afterward on our YouTube channel.

Livestream and YouTube channel

Information for guests

All holds and fees on a student's account must be cleared and all library books must be returned before the student will be eligible to graduate.

If you wish for your chosen name to be announced as you cross the stage to receive your parchment, please email convocation@uwinnipeg.ca to have it printed on your procession card. Please ensure that you have your chosen name updated in your student file. To make this change, please submit a Personal Update Form to Student Central.

Personal Update Form

Chosen name requests must be received by Monday, May 25, 2026 to ensure names are accurately printed on procession cards.

We have prepared a helpful “Checklist and Tips” sheet for downloading and printing.

Checklist and Tips [PDF]

Detailed information for the Spring Convocation including information for guests will be posted on the University's website at: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/convocation/ 

Additional Information can be found at:

https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/student-records/graduation.html 

Upon graduation your access to University IT Resources will be removed and associated emails and files will be deleted. Please ensure that you have saved any content from your UW account, including email messages and files to your personal account(s) before you lose access to your UW account. For more information on UW user account standards, including FAQ’s, visit our website 

We hope you will stay connected with UW after you graduate! Please use the Alumni Update Form to provide us with your personal email address.

At the University of Winnipeg, we respect the need to protect personal information. If you would prefer not to have your name printed on the T-shirts and/or in the program, please e-mail the Convocation Officer at convocation@uwinnipeg.ca at least four weeks before the date of your ceremony. Late requests cannot be accommodated due to printing production constraints.

Please review the following information to gain an understanding of what information is available during and after convocation:  

Programs

As part of our convocation celebration, student names, program(s), degree(s), honours earned, and year of graduation will be printed in a convocation program. We distribute these programs at convocation and online and consider the information within to be a matter of permanent public record.

Commemorative T-Shirts

The names of graduates are shared with a 3rd party vendor who will print the names of the entire graduating class on t-shirts to be sold at the ceremony. Since all of the names are printed for each convocation on a single shirt (approx. 1200 names in the spring, 300 in the fall), the names appear very small.

Photography and Video

We take photographs at convocation and film the ceremony for live streaming and archiving online. If you attend convocation, you consent to your image and/or voice being so captured, and its use by the University for administrative, historical and promotional purposes in print and online. We collect personal information under 36(1)(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.