Lineup and Procession

Arrival

Graduating students are requested to arrive at the venue 60 minutes prior to their ceremony time to begin student check-in and lineup, which is 10:00 a.m. for the 2025 Winter Commencement. Please allow extra time to find parking in the city and walk to the ceremony venue.

Check-in & Lineup

Upon arriving for check-in and lineup, graduating students will need their Grad Pass, which will be issued the Tuesday prior to the ceremony via your university email account. The unique QR code on the Grad Pass is specific to the graduating student only and cannot be duplicated or shared. Please print the Grad Pass on an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper and bring it to check-in.

Personal Belongings

The university recommends that graduating students leave valuables, such as purses, cameras, and other items with your family or guests and silence all electronic devices. UMass Global will not be responsible for valuables lost. The lineup area is not a secure location and graduating students will not be returning to the lineup area following the ceremony.

Reader Card

Graduating students will use the Grad Pass sent via email the Tuesday prior to the ceremony, as both their admission ticket and their reader card. The Grad Pass will be scanned at the stage when crossing to hear their name announced. Please do not bend or wrinkle your Grad Pass, as this could make it unscannable.

Procession & Recession

Graduating students will be escorted into the ceremony by university marshals and event assistants will show them to their seat in the graduating student section. They will then be marched out of the ceremony during the recession by university marshals. Graduating students will not be permitted to return into the venue after the ceremony. Guests are encouraged to meet their graduating student outside the venue for any photos.

Etiquette

To create a memorable experience for all of our graduating students and their guests, we request that everyone remains seated for the duration of the event. We anticipate our ceremonies to last approximately 90 minutes.

We encourage our guests to celebrate their graduating student as they cross the stage but be aware to complete any cheering before the next student’s name is announced. Noisemakers are not permitted at the ceremony.

No Rehearsal

The university does not offer rehearsals for our ceremonies. University marshals and event assistants will support our students during check-in, lineup, processing, crossing the stage, and recessing. For more information on what the ceremony day will look like, please review this video.

Commencement Instructions Video

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