Graduation

Online registration for SIT Graduation will open early in the year, after which you will receive an invitation to graduate from your faculty. Registrations will be closed on the first Friday of October.

Please register online in MySIT by clicking Register to Graduate on the homepage.

• You will be invited to register online for your graduation ceremony, your regalia and your guest tickets. If you have forgotten your password, please phone SIT Helpdesk on 0800 748 435 and advise it is regarding Graduation
• You will receive email confirmation of your registration as well as details about the ceremony. You are able to make changes to your registration details on MySIT until the closing date.
• If you have not registered in the required timeframe above, a late registration fee of $30.00 will apply
• Your registration is subject to your successful completion of the requirements of your qualification prior to the ceremony
• Any outstanding fees or fines must be cleared two weeks prior to the date of the graduation ceremony, or you will be unable to attend the ceremony. 

Our 2026 graduation dates are:

• Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (TWoA)
  • Saturday 5 September 2026
• Telford Campus Graduation
  • Thursday 26 November 2026
• Award Ceremony
  • Tuesday 1 December 2026
  • (Civic Theatre, Invercargill)
• Graduation Ceremony
  • Friday 11 December 2026
  • (Civic Theatre, Invercargill)

Our 2027 graduation dates are:

• Telford Campus Graduation
  • TBC/Thursday 25 November 2027
  • (Balclutha)
• Award Ceremony
  • Tuesday 30 November 2027
  • (Civic Theatre, Invercargill)
• Graduation Ceremony
  • Friday 12 December 2027
  • (Civic Theatre, Invercargill)

NB – Graduates are entitled to TWO guest tickets which must be applied for on registration. There is no charge for guest tickets. Up to two extra guest tickets may be applied for online and these will be allocated on a first-registered basis in late October after actual numbers of graduates/guests are known.

Gowns: Your arm should emerge though the opening high up  in the sleeve of your gown.

Hoods: The hood should rest high on your shoulders, the square panel lies against your back and the hood proper should be folded diagonally and fall to the left to show the lining and/or fur.

Trencher: The cap for graduates is a black trencher with a tassel. The shorter peak of the cap goes to the front. The board should be flat on your head and the tassel worn to the left. In the capping ceremony, the graduand carries the trencher; the Council Chair tips a cap over the graduand’s head, who then puts on his/her own cap as a graduate.

Diploma stoles: Diploma stoles are worn around your neck and sit over the top of your gown.

What to wear with your regalia

As this is a formal occasion to celebrate your achievements and you are expected to dress appropriately.

• For males: dress trousers and shirts, or a formal suit
• For females: dresses, skirts or dress pants
• No jeans, sports shoes, caps, beanies, jandals, chewing gum, handbags, gumboots/boots, cellphones, cigarettes or alcohol

Students not meeting an appropriate dress code will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony.

Please be aware that graduation day involves a lot of walking, including going up and down stairs, so very high heels may not be practical.

Please leave all items such as handbags and cellphones with your families/friends prior to the ceremony, and collect them after the graduation procession. Strictly NO smoking or consumption of alcohol or chewing gum while dressed in regalia.

A different coloured hood is attached to each subject area. Hood colours for degrees, graduate certificates/diplomas, and postgraduate qualifications at Southern Institute of Technology:

Degree

Hood Colour

Applied Management

Jade

Applied Health Sciences

Lime

Architectural Technology

White

Audio Production

Bottle Green

Commerce

Mid Grey

Construction

Dusty Pink

Contemporary Music

Special Camel

Engineering Technology

Black

Environmental Management

Emerald Green

Fashion (Design and Technology)

Petral Blue

Hotel Management

Purple

Information Technology

Silver

Nursing / Art and Science of Health Care

Delphinium Blue

Professional Communication

Aqua

Screen Arts

Fuchsia

Sport and Exercise

Burgundy

Therapeutic and Sports Massage

Royal Blue

Visual Arts

Red

Postgraduate Diploma in Business Enterprise

Gold, Blue Trim

Staff Academic Dress

The great variety of regalia worn by staff reflects the many different tertiary institutions throughout the world attended by our staff. Staff wear the regalia appropriate to the tertiary institution at which they were awarded their highest qualification.

Graduating Students' Academic Dress

Gowns

Southern Institute of Technology gowns have a unique woven yoke design symbolising Scottish tartan, Maori design and Pasifika design, to blend in with the style of the traditional academic gown.

Hoods for Bachelor Degrees; Graduate Certificates/Diplomas; Postgraduate Qualifications; Masters' Degrees

The hood for the bachelor degree is lined with coloured satin and generally bordered with white fur. The hood for postgraduate qualifications is bordered with satin, and the hood for the master's degree has no border. Graduate certificate/diploma students wear the stole in the colour of their graduate certificate/diploma discipline.

Trenchers

The traditional black academic headpiece is known as a mortar-board or trencher cap; hence the expression "to be capped" when the mortar-boards are placed on the heads of the new graduates for the first time after they receive their degree certificates.

Graduate certificate/diploma and postgraduate students are not "capped" when they receive their awards.

Diploma Qualification

The diploma stoles are black, lined with orange coloured satin with a band and trim of the same colour. The design of the trim reflects a traditional pattern symbolising the steps towards the knowledge.

Each diploma student wears the same stole, irrespective of the subject of study. Mortar-boards or trenchers are traditionally not worn by diploma graduates.

Certificate Qualification

The certificate sashes are navy blue and bear the SIT logo. The design of the sash is a pattern symbolising the steps towards knowledge. Each certificate student wears the same sash, irrespective of the subject of study.