Events

About the Ceremony

All degree candidates must arrive 90 minutes before the start of their ceremony. More arrival instructions are located under Ceremony Day Instructions.

The candidate processional begins approximately 20-25 minutes prior to the published start time of the ceremony. This processional denotes the start of each commencement ceremony. Family members and guests should be seated at these times and remain seated throughout the ceremony. Each commencement ceremony will be approximately two hours in length. Ceremony length may be shorter, depending on the number of candidates participating.

Candidates will ascend the stairs on the right-hand side of the stage and descend the stairs on the left side of the stage. After crossing the stage, all candidates must return to their seats and remain seated until the ceremony has concluded. The ceremony will conclude with a formal recessional led by the platform party, followed by the faculty, and ending with the degree candidates.

The ceremonies will be webcast live at https://www.ua.edu/

Ceremony Attendance

Participation in the commencement ceremony is not required for Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral level degree candidates.

Degree candidates may only participate in the commencement ceremony for the term in which they have applied to graduate. The Spring term ceremony is in May, the Summer term ceremony is in August, and the Fall term ceremony is in December. Students can indicate their intent to participate in the commencement ceremony when filling out the online degree application. Additionally, all applicants have the ability to change their initial response through myBama. If updates are needed, log in to myBama and click Student on the left side menu. Click on the “Apply to Graduate” button in the Student Services channel and then click “View Graduation Applications” at the bottom of the page. Select your degree application(s) and follow the instructions on the page.

All commencement plans are subject to change at any time due to health concerns and there is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any public place where people are present. Any changes will be communicated directly to those graduates attending the ceremonies and through the commencement website.

A live webcast will be provided for all ceremonies for those who are unable to attend due to underlying medical conditions or other concerns.

More information can be found on UA’s commencement website.