Graduate Passport
What is it?
The Graduate Passport is an achievement record, recognising and rewarding students, who wish to reach their full potential by undertaking an active programme of personal development over the course of their degree programme. Activities can be undertaken at any time and it is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. A menu of over 60 possible activities is provided with scope for you to suggest further activities for assessment, in order to build an interesting set of experiences to complement your academic study and interests. Each of the activities undertaken accumulates points towards your Passport. In addition to the compulsory core programme, there are three structured packages that you can choose to work towards, or you can create your own by mixing and matching activities to form your own customised package.
Package Types
Within the Graduate Passport there is a core programme which all students must complete in order to gain their award. The core activities have been selected to promote continuous learning and reflection. It encourages you to go out and gain occupational knowledge, working alongside Career Destinations to develop your employability skills and receive guidance, to enable you to make informed decisions about your future. The personal reflection sessions give you the opportunity to assess how the activities have developed your skills and attributes and evaluate what you have learnt from this process and how you will articulate this to future employers and organisations.
In order to complete the Graduate Passport a total of 200 points must be obtained throughout your time at University. There is no limit to how many points you can accumulate.
The Core Programme accounts for 35 points towards your Graduate Passport.
The Option Packages provided allow you to pursue individual interests and require a minimum of 75 points to be earned in one of the following areas.
The extra 90 points required to achieve the award can be claimed from any package including the list of General Options.
Getting Started
All you have to do to get started is to enrol with Career Destinations either by attending an Induction tour or a ‘Welcome to the Graduate Passport’ session.
To book on an Induction tour or a 'Welcome to the Graduate Passport session' visit Career Destinations Student Portal
Welcome to the Graduate Passport sessions:
Friday 12th Feb Students Union, Clubs and Societies Room (2-3pm)
Tuesday 16th Feb Building 4 Room 4005 (2-3pm).
Welcome Session details: An introduction to the Graduate Passport enabling students to reflect on why they want to achieve the Passport and plan what actions they will perform and set personal goals as to how they will earn the award.
Although this event is not a mandatory event in the Core Programme, it is highly recommended students attend this session towards the start of their Graduate Passport scheme/journey to help them get the most out of the award. This activity is part of the General Options activities and it is worth 5 points.
Collecting Points
Collecting points is simple; you just need to provide sufficient evidence to support each activity you choose to complete. This bank of evidence will help you build up your own portfolio of experiences to help you reflect upon the activities you have untaken and provide you with proof to show how you stand out from the crowd.
You can view your points online at any time via the Career Destinations Student Portal. Simply log on and click on the Graduate Passport tab. Please allow a 3-4 working days for all your points to be shown. If you have any questions or queries about your points you can email graduatepassport@southampton.ac.uk
If you are attending an event organised by Career Destinations (found on the Events Calendar) make sure you sign in on the event sheet to provide evidence of your attendance. Please also make sure you have your ID card to hand as we will be introducing card readers in the New Year to register your participation.
If you attend an event not organised by Career Destinations, or there is no Graduate Passport sign in sheet you will need to download and print off the ‘Graduate Passport Proof of Attendance form’ for the host to verify and sign. Please hand this, along with any formal evidence (such as an email confirming your event booking), into Career Destinations Reception desk. This downloadable form can be found on the right hand side at the top of this page. You can also pick up these forms free of charge from Career Destinations Reception.
For every activity you undertake, you must provide some form of evidence to prove your involvement. Career Destinations can then verify the evidence and add your points to your Graduate Passport. Evidence can range from a formal letter from an organisation, an email confirmation or photos of an event you have held. All evidence should be handed into Career Destinations or emailed to graduatepassport@southampton.ac.uk with the contact details of someone who can verify and support your evidence.
For example to claim points for being an active member of a society you would need to:
1. Download the individual ‘Graduate Passport Proof of Attendance form’ (Or pick one up from the Career Destinations Reception)
2. Hand this form for the President / Chairperson to sign
3. Submit to Career Destinations the signed form and supporting evidence showing your involvement along with contact details of someone who can verify this.
NB: Due to data protection will we not accept any generic sign in sheets which list all other attendees.
If you choose to build your package by working with external organisations, you are asked to provide an original signed letter detailing the duration and content of your participation on headed paper to Career Destinations.
Authentically evidenced activities will contribute to your final Graduate Passport Award. Points will only be awarded at the end of each activity. For example if you are an active member of a society these points will get added at the end of the academic year. A Graduate Passport Panel moderates activities to be included and considers any disputed evidence. The Panel’s decision is final. Please note that you are encouraged to participate in a variety of activities in any given academic session. For this reason, a maximum number of points for a single activity are specified.
Your Graduate Passport Certificate
Activities will be recorded against your student record allowing you to track your points and your Passport details online. A certificate will be issued at the end of the academic year in which you achieve your Passport with a full transcript of the events and activities you have undertaken. You are encouraged to keep copies of your CVs, references, reflective narratives and other evidence you have gathered. This will help you demonstrate how you stand out from the crowd in the marketplace.
For more information check our Frequently Asked Questions page.
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