The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has its Paisley campus on the High Street and is one of the organisations in the Our Advertisers slider on paisley.org.uk. We've previously covered its undergraduate open day, the US mid-term elections lecture on 18 November and the subject showcase on 21 November. This time it's something happening right now: UWS's winter graduation ceremonies are being held at Paisley Abbey this week, from Monday 9 to Saturday 14 November.
Where to find them
University of the West of Scotland, Paisley Campus, High Street, Paisley PA1 2BE, in the town centre.
- Website: uws.ac.uk
- Email: ask@uws.ac.uk
The address and email are the ones UWS lists on its Paisley campus event pages. Its campus page gives Paisley campus opening hours as Monday to Friday 6am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm, but check with UWS before you travel.
Graduation at Paisley Abbey
According to the UWS graduation page, the winter 2026 ceremonies for Paisley take place in Paisley Abbey from Monday 9 to Saturday 14 November 2026. The university's ceremony schedule (a PDF linked from that page) lists the following in-person sessions, each for graduates of particular faculties and programmes:
- Monday 9 November, 5pm
- Tuesday 10 November, 10.30am, 2pm and 5pm
- Wednesday 11 November, 2.30pm
- Thursday 12 November, 2pm and 5pm
- Friday 13 November, 2pm and 5pm
- Saturday 14 November, 1.30pm
The sessions are split between the Faculty of Computing, Sciences & Engineering, the Faculty of Creative Arts, Business & Social Sciences and the Faculty of Health, Education & Social Care. A virtual ceremony was held separately on Friday 6 November at 10.30am. One note: the graduation page's list of future ceremonies gives the Paisley dates as Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 November, while the main announcement and the schedule PDF both include a Monday 9 November session, so the schedule is the one to rely on.
Watching and keeping a memento
UWS says all graduation ceremonies are livestreamed on YouTube, with recordings available to watch afterwards, which is handy for family who can't be in the Abbey. It also says university photographers take crowd shots at the venue and at graduation receptions.
UWS also points graduates to an official graduation web shop run by its supplier, Campus Clothing, which it says sells UWS tartan items, Class of 2026 clothing and personalised graduation items, and can be ordered from year-round.
What's next for graduation
The UWS page lists the next Paisley ceremonies as Tuesday 6 to Saturday 10 July 2027 (summer), with a virtual ceremony on Friday 2 July 2027 and a London ceremony from 13 to 16 April 2027. UWS reserves the right to change dates.
If you see graduates in their gowns around Paisley Abbey and the town centre this week, that's why. UWS appears in the Our Advertisers slider on paisley.org.uk, so you can find it there any time.