Doors open one hour prior to the start of the ceremony. No tickets required.
Ceremony Information
To be eligible to participate, you must be a Summer or Fall 2022 degree applicant who submitted an RSVP in MyUI prior to the deadline (November 10th at 11:59 PM). Degree applicants from previous semesters will not be permitted to participate in Fall 2022 ceremonies. Summer and Fall 2022 degree applicants will not be permitted to participate in Spring 2023 ceremonies.
At this time, tickets are not required for Fall 2022 Graduate College ceremonies. This is subject to change.
Complimentary parking is available in Hancher Lot 55 for commencement attendees. Parking for persons with disabilities is available near the building entrance with the appropriate hang tag or license plate.
Please plan to arrive to Hancher Auditorium no later than 8:30 AM and proceed to Strauss Hall, where graduates will be lining up for the ceremony. Please be sure to bring or wear your regalia for the ceremony. If you need to rent or purchase regalia, please see the Faculty Apparel tab on this page. It is recommended to make advanced arrangements with your graduate(s) for where you plan to meet that morning in Hancher Auditorium, as cell phone reception may be impacted in the venue. In Strauss Hall, you will line up with your graduate(s) as directed by Graduate College volunteers.
Graduates should plan to arrive no later than 8:15 AM to Hancher Auditorium with their tam, hood, and gown. Graduates will enter through Hancher's main entrance and make their way toward Strauss Hall. Outside Strauss Hall, graduates will need to stop at the card table to pick up and fill out their name card. This is used by both the name reader and Flash Photography during the ceremony. Please check the card for accuracy and changes/corrections that may be needed. Graduates should then proceed into Strauss Hall, where Graduate College staff and volunteers will assist them with lining up in the appropriate order.
At 8:55 AM, graduates and hooders will be led by a faculty marshal to the auditorium entrance.
At 9:00 AM, guests will view the "Celebrating Iowa" video.
Following the viewing of the video, graduates and hooders will process to their seats on the auditorium stage, as directed by the faculty marshal and Graduate College staff. Graduates and hooders should remain standing at their seats, if able, as the academic procession, led by President Barbara J. Wilson, makes their way to their seats on stage.
There will be a brief welcome by Associate Provost and Dean Amanda Thein.
Doctoral degrees will be conferred by President Barbara J. Wilson and Associate Provost and Dean Amanda Thein.
Graduates will be invited row by row to come forward and be hooded. Graduates must take their hood and name card with them as they come forward. As graduates come forward, they will first have their name card scanned and will then hand it to the reader at the podium before proceeding to center stage to be hooded and then congratulated by the Dean and the President.
As graduates move from the stage back to their seats, they will have a professional photo taken by Flash Photography.
Once all graduates have been hooded, President Barbara J. Wilson will give closing remarks.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the academic procession will leave the stage first, led by President Barbara J. Wilson. After the academic procession has cleared the stage, graduates will recess following the marshal.
Immediately following the doctoral ceremony, there will be a reception in Hancher Auditorium to honor our graduates until 12:00 PM. Graduates, guests, and faculty hooders are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be provided in both the Smith Lobby and Stanley Café.
In order to provide an environment in which graduates and guests all have an enjoyable experience, the following rules of behavior will be enforced at all times:
- No alcoholic beverages of any kind
- Inappropriate dress and costumes worn under gowns will not be allowed
- Cell phones must be turned off or silenced in the graduate seating area
- No flowers, purses, gifts, balloons, or bags will be allowed in the student seating area
- Marshals and security staff will be looking for intoxicated persons. Inebriated students are not permitted to participate.
With everyone's cooperation, this occasion will become a proud and happy memory of your academic achievement at the University of Iowa.
Graduate student apparel can be rented or purchased online at herff.ly/iowa. The deadline for renting apparel is Wednesday, November 16th, at 10:59 PM Central Time. The deadline for purchasing apparel is Saturday, October 15th, at 10:59 PM Central Time. If you have questions, please contact Herff Jones at gradmidwest@gmail.com or (952) 447-4449. It is your responsibility to return rented apparel to Herff Jones within one week of the ceremony. Apparel cannot be returned at the ceremony and must be shipped directly to Herff Jones using the prepaid shipping label included in your apparel box.
Business attire is suggested but not required. Graduates are cautioned regarding their choice of footwear, as stairs and floor may be difficult to navigate. Wearing high-heeled footwear is not advised. Bags or purses may not be carried or left in the graduate staging or seating areas, with the exception of medically necessary items. Please plan to not bring these items in or leave them with your guests.
Decorating caps and gowns is not permitted. Flowers are not to be worn on gowns or carried in hand. 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.
Faculty hooders are responsible for obtaining their own apparel from Herff Jones online at herff.ly/iowafaculty before Wednesday, November 16th, at 10:59 PM Central Time.
Faculty will not be able to pick up their apparel at the ceremony unless otherwise specified by Herff Jones. Please be prepared to provide a shipping address when ordering. Apparel must be returned to Herff Jones within one week of the ceremony using the prepaid shipping label included in the apparel box. Apparel cannot be returned at the ceremony. If you have questions regarding apparel ordering, please contact Herff Jones at gradmidwest@gmail.com or (952) 447-4449.
There is return information included in the apparel box, along with a prepaid return label. If you lost your prepaid label or did not receive one in your package, please use the link below to request a new label. Your confirmation number to request a new label begins with CPA and is found in your confirmation email. You may use any box to ship the apparel back, it does not have to be the box it was shipped to you in.
Watch Live
The ceremony will be livestreamed at the scheduled time and day with captions enabled.
If you cannot watch the ceremony during the livestream, the video will be uploaded to the University of Iowa YouTube channel approximately one week after the ceremony.