To make sure both ceremonies have faculty-at-large representation from all academic units, this semester we will be asking faculty to register in advance. Any faculty attending either ceremony can register here.

Ideally, each graduate program should have a faculty member in attendance. These representatives, known as Faculty-At-Large or Robed Faculty, wear the traditional academic regalia and march in the processional and recessional. They must be faculty members who are not escorting doctoral candidates. Thank you for helping to make this commencement a memorable experience for everyone involved.

Where to Arrive at Commencement:
For both ceremonies, all Faculty-At-Large should arrive no later than 4:00 p.m.

• For the master's ceremony: Meet in the Green Room of the Bryce Jordan Center at 4:00 p.m. for instructions and preparation. To find the Green Room, enter the arena floor via Portal 15, and ushers will be available to direct you. The ceremony will begin promptly at 4:30 p.m.
• For the doctoral ceremony: Enter Pegula Ice Arena through the Penn State hockey offices and proceed to the auditorium. The ceremony will begin promptly at 4:30 p.m.

A doctoral candidate must be escorted by a member of the graduate faculty.

If you advise a doctoral candidate who is scheduled to receive their degree, you should ask the candidate if they will be attending the ceremony. If attending, you will need academic regalia representative of your highest earned degree. If you are unable to attend, please make arrangements for another member of the committee to take your place.

Day of Instructions for Advisers for Doctoral Candidates:

1. Advisers (faculty escorts) should report to entrance C of Pegula Ice Arena by 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
2. Staff will direct you to meet with your candidate at your designated college areas, which will be marked with banners hanging on the wall. Candidates in intercollege degree programs will meet at the college of the faculty adviser. Candidates and escorts will be paired up for the processional and will be seated together.
3. University Marshals will direct the processional. You will be seated by college. Please listen to the instructions and assist the Marshals in any way you can.
4. During the ceremony, Escorts will be instructed to hood the candidates.
5. The Marshals will then direct and lead the candidates to the platform area. Escorts will be accompanying the candidate across the stage platform. Please remind the candidate to take the card along with them.

The deadline for ordering regalia for spring 2024 commencement is March 15. Please view the links below to order your regalia. If you have any questions on the ordering process, please reach out to Susan Glad at suglad@bncollege.com. 

• Rent your regalia
• View all regalia options

After You've Ordered Regalia
Once you have a placed your order online, it is important to be aware of the following: 

• After you've ordered, you will send Susan Glad the faculty rental regalia form for each regalia you ordered by the March 15 deadline.
• The order will then be placed with Jostens and you'll get an estimate of the delivery time. The delivery timeframe is five weeks. 
• If you are having problems placing the order, please make sure the information associated with the P-Card matches with what is on file. You might have to put State College down instead of University Park and put down a road, not the building. Hopefully this will avoid error messages.
• If an error message keeps coming up, you might have to come to the store to pay for the order as we do not know if we will be able to process the order over the phone. 
• Any orders placed after the deadline will not be guaranteed for spring commencement. Very limited quantities will be available in the store. You will only be offered the Penn State Ph.D. hood as opposed to the school’s hood color.
• The regalia is due back within one week of commencement. After that time, it will be assumed that you want to purchase the regalia for $774.00 and an invoice will be sent.
• Please make sure all packages have a name on them so all regalia can be checked.

Bryce Jordan Center Parking — Master’s Ceremony  

See parking map 

To manage the significant congestion expected around the Bryce Jordan Center, Pegula Ice Arena, Medlar Field, Beaver Stadium, and University Drive during spring commencement weekend, drivers will be directed to the appropriate lot by University Police and event parking staff based on the traffic and parking conditions at the time of their arrival. Please use caution while traveling through this area of campus and allow extra time to reach your destination. 

General parking for Penn State spring commencement ceremonies being held at the Bryce Jordan Center will be available at one or more of the following parking areas, as directed by University Police and event parking staff: 

• Jordan East – located east of the Bryce Jordan Center, and accessible from Porter Road (via Park Avenue or College Avenue) and Dauer Drive (via University Drive) 
• Stadium West – located west of Beaver Stadium, and accessible only from Park Avenue 
• Porter North – located north of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, and accessible from Porter Road (via Park Avenue or College Avenue) 

ADA parking will be available at the following Jordan East and Stadium West areas: 

• Northwest corner of Jordan East near Bryce Jordan Center Gate B, across from the Penn State All-Sports Museum (accessible from Porter Road)
• Section of Lot Orange L located between the Bryce Jordan Center and Jordan East (accessible from Dauer Drive via University Drive) 
• Southwest corner of Stadium West near University Drive/Curtin Road intersection (accessible only from Park Avenue) 

To ensure the safety of all guests and to assist with traffic flow between each ceremony, drivers are discouraged from dropping off or picking up guests outside of the designated ADA parking areas. These areas are ADA accessible and located just a short distance from entrances to the Bryce Jordan Center. Curtin Road will also be closed to vehicle traffic between University Drive and the entrance to Jordan East throughout most of the commencement ceremonies to allow safe pedestrian access between Stadium West and the Bryce Jordan Center. 

Pegula Ice Arena Parking — Doctoral Commencement Ceremony 

See parking map 

General parking for those attending commencement ceremonies at Pegula Ice Arena are directed to park at following areas: 

• East Parking Deck, Jordan East, Stadium West 
• ADA Parking at Yellow H Shields Yellow H 

Note: With commencement ceremonies also being held at the Bryce Jordan Center, those attending Pegula ceremonies are urged to park at East Deck. 

ADA Parking: For an ADA access map of campus, visit the ADA Access Interactive Map. Parking in these lots is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please allow extra time for traffic and parking when planning your visit. A valid, state-issued ADA placard or license plate is required for ADA parking.

There will be minor procedural changes from past Graduate School Commencement ceremonies.

The Hooding Process 

View this video to be ready to hood your candidate when it’s time during the ceremony: 

Walking Across Stage with Candidates 

In spring 2024, faculty escorts will walk across the stage and get a photo with their candidate.  

If you are escorting one candidate: 

1. Walk side-by-side with your candidate to the middle of the stage, then turn to the front of the stage to pose for a photo. 
2. Faculty escorts will walk across the remainder of the stage first and exit the stage.  
3. The candidate will then get their individual photo taken and proceed walk across the remainder of the stage.  

If you are escorting multiple candidates: 

1. Walk side-by-side with your first candidate to the middle of the stage, then turn to the front of the stage to pose for a photo.  
2. Faculty escorts will walk back to the nomenclator stand to meet their second candidate, while the first candidate gets their individual photo and proceeds to walk across the stage. 
3. Walk side-by-side with your second candidate, then turn to the front of the stage to pose wit them for a photo. 
4. Faculty escorts will walk across the remainder of the stage before the second candidate and exit the stage.  
5. The second candidate will then get their individual photo taken and proceed walk across the remainder of the stage. 

 

• Bryce Jordan Center bag policy
• Pegula Ice Arena bag policy

For reference, below are emails that were sent to students related to spring 2024 commencement:

• February 21- Doctoral students order regalia message
• February 21- Master's students order regalia message