Doctoral and master's students will be recognized at the ceremony.
UI President J. Bruce Harreld and John Keller, interim vice president for research and economic development, associate provost for graduate and professional education, and Graduate College dean, will confer degrees. Harreld will offer opening remarks and a brief address. Keller will provide closing remarks.
Doors are scheduled to open one hour prior to the start of the ceremony; the ceremony is expected to last around one hour.
More information can be found on the Graduate College website.
Fall 2018 Ceremony Video
Ceremony Information
To participate in the ceremony, you MUST register.
How do I Register to Participate?
Masters’ candidates must wear the University of Iowa custom masters apparel, available online from Herff Jones (link is external). Masters’ apparel consists of a mortar board w/tassel, masters’ gown, and masters’ hood and will be shipped to the masters’ candidate's home. If students need assistance on how to order, degree candidates may contact Herff Jones (gradmidwest@gmail.com (link sends e-mail), 952-447-4449).
Masters’ candidates may keep their mortar board and tassel following the ceremony. All other rental apparel must be returned to Herff Jones representatives following the ceremony in the Strauss Recital Hall. If apparel is not returned following the ceremony, a prepaid return shipping label is included in the packaging when apparel was received. Please return the apparel as soon as possible to avoid incurring a charge for non-return of apparel. Masters’ apparel rental - must be made online from Herff Jones (link is external). The cost is $78.20 plus tax. If you require assistance with ordering apparel, please contact Herff Jones (gradmidwest@gmail.com, 952-447-4449). Students ordering after Wednesday, November 14, 2018 will be charged a late fee. The last day to rent apparel with a late fee is Friday, November 30, 2018. Candidates who have not registered to participate by the deadline noted will not be able to rent apparel or participate in the ceremony.
Doctoral candidates must register online to participate in the Graduate College commencement ceremony. Doctoral students graduating in the fall semester are not eligible to participate in the spring ceremony. The fall ceremony does not require guests to have tickets, but the spring ceremony will have a limited number of guest tickets available per doctoral graduate. You should plan accordingly. The deadline to register for the fall ceremony is November 14, 2018. To register, you must fill out a form via workflow.
Doctoral candidates should check with their advisers to be sure they are available to attend the ceremony to participate in the hooding exercise. If your adviser/dissertation chair is unavailable, you may ask someone else on your committee to be your faculty hooder, but you are not allowed to select more than one faculty hooder. If you do not have a faculty hooder, someone on the platform (e.g., a dean) will assist.
What Do I Wear?
Doctoral candidates must wear the University of Iowa custom doctoral apparel, available online from Herff Jones. If students need assistance on how to order, degree candidates may contact Herff Jones (gradmidwest@gmail.com, 952-447-4449).
Apparel consists of tam with/tassel, doctoral gown, and doctoral hood and will be shipped to the doctoral candidate's home. The total cost is $99.90 plus tax. Students ordering after Wednesday, November 14, 2018 will be charged a late fee. The last day to rent apparel with a late fee is Friday, November 30, 2018. Candidates who have not registered to participate by the deadline noted will not be able to rent apparel or participate in the ceremony.
All rental apparel must be returned to Herff Jones representatives following the ceremony in the Strauss Recital Hall. If apparel is not returned following the ceremony, a prepaid return shipping label is included in the packaging when apparel was received. Please return the apparel as soon as possible to avoid incurring a charge for non-return of apparel.
Faculty hooders attending the commencement ceremony must order apparel online from Herff Jones. If you have questions, please contact Herff Jones (gradmidwest@gmail.com (link sends e-mail), 952-447-4449).
Faculty who are UI alumni will wear the custom UI regalia. Faculty who received their degree from somewhere other than the UI and do not own their own regalia will be wearing black gowns with black velvet with the doctoral hood designating the school/degree received. The rental fee is $80.95 and must be paid for using a personal credit card or a departmental procurement card to complete the order. Faculty ordering after Wednesday, November 14, 2018 will be charged a late fee. The last day to rent apparel with a late fee is Friday, November 30, 2018.
Questions regarding the commencement ceremony should be directed to Kathy Gerling (kathy-klein@uiowa.edu (link sends e-mail), 319-335-3492).
At the Ceremony
We suggest business attire and you may want to consider a top/shirt with buttons to help secure the hood. Flowers are not worn on gowns, nor are they carried in hand. Caps or gowns decorated with inappropriate messages will not be permitted. We also caution graduates regarding their choice of footwear, as the stairs and floor may be difficult to navigate. Wearing high-heeled footwear is not advised. Bags or purses may not be carried; plan to leave them with friends or relatives.
Caps are to be worn with the tams or mortar boards horizontal and the tassel on the left. Tams/mortar boards should be worn during the Processional, Recessional, and while degrees are being conferred. However, they may be removed at other times.