Commencement FAQs

YES! Students are required to register to participate in Commencement! Please complete and submit this form by April 10, 2026. This information is critical to help us understand if overflow ticketing will be required for any of the ceremonies and to help us ensure that each student is able to have guests in attendance in Olson Auditorium as they cross the stage. 

Regalia orders are now open for PLU graduates. Orders need to be placed by April 10. Look for additional information in your PLU email and head over to the regalia page.

Please regularly check your PLU email for communications from commencement@plu.edu. This is the way we communicate with all commencement-eligible students (the first email for 2026 was sent on March 18). Otherwise, keep up to date with information on this commencement website and feel free to share the link with your family and friends. If you haven’t been receiving emails, please contact the Commencement Team at commencement@plu.edu.

Currently these events are not ticketed and we do not have a specific limit on the number of guests per student. However, we will be using the information from the registration form to determine if any particular ceremony will require ticketing and/or a guest limit per student. If it looks like we will exceed capacity for Olson Auditorium, we will communicate the ticketed guest limit per student for Olson Auditorium, and provide a certain amount of on-campus streaming tickets in overflow seating for each student. There will be no charge for tickets if they become required for a ceremony. For this reason, please be sure to submit your registration form by April 10 if you plan to participate in Commencement. It is important to us that every graduate has the opportunity to have guests in Olson Auditorium. If a ceremony requires this approach we will make every effort to redistribute tickets not utilized by other graduates.

Yes! Did you know that a Livestream link is available in real-time for each of the four College Commencement Ceremonies?! If you have family near or far who prefer to participate from home or another remote location or for whom travel to campus is not possible, please know that they will still be able to participate in your big day! Closer to the ceremony date, the Commencement webpage will be updated with links to Livestream each specific College Commencement Ceremony. All are welcome and we want to make sure that each of your guests has access to participate and celebrate with you. 

Yes, we are pleased to announce that you can walk in two ceremonies if you wish! If graduates are on track to be awarded degrees from two different Colleges, they are welcome to walk in both Commencement ceremonies. Please complete and submit the registration form indicating one of your degrees by April 10. You will be contacted via PLU email to confirm your plans regarding a second ceremony.

Visit the Commencement webpage for additional all-graduate events you should mark on your calendar. Additional information specific to each event will be included in future email communications.

Head over to the regalia page for detailed regalia information and ordering instructions! Be sure to place your regalia order by April 10!

All graduation candidates participating in PLU Commencement must wear regalia, including black gowns with black caps and tassels. Masters and Doctoral candidates will wear black hoods lined with gold to represent PLU, with trim in the color corresponding to their degree. Students who have received honors from PLU, such as Wang Center and Center for Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability pins or honors cords, are permitted to wear them. Additionally, students are welcome to include adornments and items of religious or cultural significance as part of their ceremony regalia.

No, all students must wear the academic regalia for the degree they are earning.

Yes, you may, however all decorations must lie flat and should not extend off the top of the mortar board.  Please note that all modifications to the mortar board must not obstruct the view of others.

No, only graduate and doctoral students will be hooded. Master’s degree are three and one-half feet, and the Doctoral degree is four feet. Hoods are black and lined with gold to represent PLU and trimmed with the color indicative of the degree the student is earning. Students must purchase a hood with their regalia and bring the hood with them to the ceremony.

Students who earn institutional honors (cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude) receive the tri-color PLU Graduation Honors cord. The University provides the cord, no ordering is required. Cords will be available for pick-up at the Grad Fair. Eligible students will be notified by email before the Grad Fair. Please note that the university does not award honors to graduate degree candidates. (See “Graduation Honors” in the university catalog for eligibility criteria). Commencement items recognizing achievement within academic programs will be distributed by those programs directly. For cords, pins and other honorifics distributed by individual PLU departments contact the department for details.

All students must arrive one hour before the start of their ceremony and meet in Red Square. Your guests should proceed directly to Olson Gym & Auditorium; seating opens one hour prior to the ceremony as well.

*Meeting location may change if there is inclement weather. You will receive an email from the Provost’s Office instructing where to meet.

There is no space available for items to be stored. Please leave all items (keys, purses, cameras, flowers, extra clothing, etc.) you do not want to carry with you during the ceremony with your guests. We do not recommend leaving items of value in your vehicle, however if you have to leave any item in your vehicle, it is best to store it in the trunk out of view.

Students will participate in the ceremony for the college of their degree program. Students graduating with multiple majors will have the opportunity to walk in two ceremonies if the degrees fall under two different Colleges. (Graduating students are welcome to attend all other ceremonies as guests!) 

No. The four ceremonies — one ceremony for each of the four colleges — will be spread out over two days. For times, please check the College Graduation Schedule.

If you are a student participating in Commencement and would like to discuss accommodations and accessibility for the ceremony, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodation at 253-535-7073 or oaa@plu.edu.

PLU does not host a rehearsal for Commencements.

The length is dependent upon the number of students participating. The estimated time for each ceremony is 1 – 1.5 hours.

Students may not leave the ceremony until the conclusion of the event.

Currently these events are not ticketed and we do not have a specific limit on the number of guests per student. However, we will be using the information from the registration form to determine if any particular ceremony will require ticketing and/or a guest limit per student. If it looks like we will exceed capacity for Olson Auditorium, we will communicate the ticketed guest limit per student for Olson Auditorium, and provide a certain amount of on-campus streaming tickets in overflow seating for each student. There will be no charge for tickets if they become required for a ceremony and they will be distributed to students to share with their guests. For this reason, it is important for students to submit your registration form by April 10 (please note this registration can not be completed on behalf of a student, the student must complete and submit the form). It is important to us that every graduate has the opportunity to have guests in Olson Auditorium. If a ceremony requires this approach we will make every effort to redistribute tickets not utilized by other graduates.

Doors open for seating one hour prior to the ceremony start time. Guests should proceed directly to Olson Gym & Auditorium upon arrival for seating. Graduates meet in another location.

No, all students sit with their peers in a reserved seating section on the floor.

A large screen will be showing the students as they enter and you will be able to see them.

Students are placed in order by degree. Some College ceremonies place students in alphabetical order by degree.

PLU provides a live stream of Commencement Events. Visit the Livestream page to watch the live stream or to view an event at a later date. (2026 link will be updated closer to the ceremony dates).

Please have your student contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodation at 253-535-7073 or oaa@plu.edu to make the necessary arrangements.

Accessible-seating and other reasonable accommodations are available for individuals with disabilities. There will be a designated parking lot reserved for guests with disabilities. Volunteers are available to direct guests to open wheelchair seating.

ADA seating will be available in Olson Auditorium and any overflow seating areas. One companion from your group may accompany each ADA guest in the ADA seating section to make sure that we reserve enough space to accomodate all ADA needs. 

After the ceremony, please visit Grad Images for ceremony photography information.

You may visit the Lute Locker (located within the lower level of the Anderson University Center) during normal business hours, online (2026 page coming soon!) or at their table during Commencement outside of Olson Auditorium.

Outside food and beverage is strictly prohibited.

There will be an area that you may place the strollers. Please note that it is not a secured area.

Please visit Applying for Graduation for the proper applications and requirements.

Please e-mail Graduation to change/edit your application. In your e-mail, make sure to include your name and ID#.

Degree Date               Application Deadline
December 2024         October 1, 2024
January 2025             December 2, 2024
May 2025                    March 3, 2025
August 2025               March 3, 2025

PLU distinguishes between graduation (completing your degree requirements) and Commencement (the ceremony that celebrates your PLU experience). Students graduating in December 2024, J-term 2025, May 2025, or August 2025 are eligible to participate in Commencement this May. Students graduating in December 2025 or J-term 2026 are eligible for Commencement in May 2026.