Elsewhere on Ulster
Ulster University's Change of Name policy is available to applicants who have accepted a conditional firm (CF) or Unconditional firm (UF) offer and registered students that wish to change their name on their Ulster University student record.
Ulster University's Change of Name policy is available to:
The policy details the process for both a preferred change of name and a legal change of name.
You must read the guidance on this page.
You must register with Ulster University using your full legal name. An identification check is completed by the University prior to registration. However you can request that your preferred name is recorded either prior to registration or at any time throughout your studies.
You must provide one of the following as proof of identification prior to registration:
Applicants and registered students can submit an online request choosing either:
Change of Name requests are confidential and adhere to our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy.
If you have any questions, please contact your campus Registry/SSHQ office.
A student can request a maximum of:
There must be a gap of five years between each change of surname.
Find out more about changing your name on the NI Direct government services webpage.
A legal change of name means changing our records to reflect a change to the name provided on your initial application. This may be because:
We will ask you to provide one of the following supporting documents and photographic ID:
A preferred change of name means updating our records with your preferred, or ‘known as’ name to inform class lists. However you should note that legal documents such as your degree certificate and academic transcript will still be printed in your full legal name. A preferred name may be requested:
We will ask you to provide one of the following supporting documents and photographic ID:
Once you have changed your name, there are some steps you may need to take:
Once you decide to change your name you should notify other relevant bodies.
More information about the legal recording of a change of name is available on the nidirect government website.
The University accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from a change of name which occur outside the University. If you change your name you are advised to notify all other relevant bodies of the change.
Once you've received confirmation of your change of name, you can request that your student email is updated.
You can also contact the Digital Services IT Service Desk directly or ask your campus Registry Office to co-ordinate this request on your behalf.
Your student email rename request, must be for the same name approved on your student record.
Please contact your campus Registry Office if you require a new student ID card with your updated details.
Your degree certificate and academic transcript will be issued using your full legal name. You must check your name is correct before graduation by using Self Service Banner (SBB)
All graduation listings where your name will appear, for example on University webpages, Graduation booking system, in the Class of Brochure and in Newspaper listings will use your full legal name. In addition during your graduation ceremony, the Dean will call you forward to receive your award using your full legal name.
If you would rather have your preferred name used in graduation listings and announced at graduation for receipt of your award, you need to contact your campus Registry Office/SSHQ when the graduation booking system opens to request that your preferred name is used.
Retrospective changes to the name printed on your degree certificate and academic transcript can only be made in circumstances where:
Requests for reprint of your degree certificate or academic transcript will be subject to a charge as detailed on the Certificate section of the Graduation Webpages.
