Commencement

No.

Tickets are not needed for our ceremony. However, due to space limitations at Wilson Plaza, we are allowing up to four guests per graduate. Aside from a roped-off section for our VIP guests, grads and dignitaries, all seating is general admission and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Saving seats will be allowed as space permits.

Yes, you can. Please make sure you bring this to the commencement director’s attention so your name will appear in the program.

You can count on it, so we ask that you allot extra time to travel to campus.

The closest parking structure to Wilson Plaza is Lot 4, which is located on Westwood Plaza just south of Sunset Blvd. All parking lots and structures on the UCLA campus will be open and staffed throughout commencement weekend. You can purchase tickets in advance via the Bruin ePermit system.

There will be house staff on-site who can assist with seating needs for any wheelchair-bound guest.

Graduates need to be at the Anderson complex in their full regalia no later than 2:15 p.m. Do not arrive at the Anderson complex with your regalia still wrapped in the Graduation Etc. package. Take a steam iron to it at home and then carefully get dressed in it when you exit your vehicle at campus.

Everyone should remain standing during the singing of our national anthem, and men should remove their mortarboards and put them on again immediately afterwards.

There’s no dress code for the graduation celebration (other than your cap, gown and hood). After the ceremony concludes, you should return your gown and hood to Graduation Etc., so make sure you’re wearing something appropriate underneath.

Your degree tassel is always worn on your left side. When in doubt, remember that you wear your degree over your heart.

Your name will be given special notice in the program.

At 3:15 p.m., make your way down the main steps to the south walk (between Anderson and Kaufman) to get lined up for the processional. EMBA students will line up in front in two flanks on both the Anderson and Kaufman sides. FTMBA students will stand in the line closest to the Anderson complex behind one flank of EMBAs. FEMBA students will be across the aisle on the Kaufman side, again behind a flank of EMBAs. Don’t get in the wrong line!

Sorry, but pets are not allowed at the ceremony. They can, however, watch it live from the comfort of their beds via our livestream.

While we understand that the consumption of alcohol may help enhance the celebratory mood of the day, it is not allowed at our ceremony. 

If your name is not easy to pronounce, please make sure to print it phonetically and legibly in the section provided on the reader card located on your seat.

The ceremony should end around 6:00 p.m. Afterwards, everyone is invited to a reception on the Intramural Field to celebrate your success.

The staff from Graduation Etc. will be at the Intramural Field right after the ceremony concludes. If you don’t turn it in on the 16th, you’ll have to come back to campus the following week and drop it off at the Graduation Etc. office in Ackerman Union.

Guests can toast to your success with prosecco and non-alcoholic beverages, and nibble on an assortment of light appetizers.

There is no formal structure to the reception, so guests may leave when they wish, though many start making their way to their cars around 7:30 p.m. to continue their celebrations elsewhere.

GradImages will email you at the address you provide on your reader card, so make sure you print it. Log in to the GradImages website and enter your last name, followed by "UCLA" and "2023" in the lower sections, and you should see your photos.

The registrar's office will mail out diploma information approximately six weeks after the end of your degree term (winter graduates will receive their information in June; spring graduates will receive their information in August). Diplomas can be picked up in person at the registrar's office approximately three months after you graduate (winter graduates can pick up their diploma in June; spring graduates can pick up their diploma in September/October). If you would like your diploma to be mailed to you, go to the Graduation and Diploma website and download and print out the form. Fill in the required information (including your payment preference) and send it to the address on the form.