Commencement FAQs

YES! To accommodate guests of all graduates, guests will need to present a ticket for admission to the ceremony. There is no charge for tickets, and no cost for parking at the event.

Graduates have registered for tickets for their guests and will receive a unique ticket code to use and share with their guests. Graduates will receive their ticket codes by May 11.

NO! Tickets will be distributed digitally and may be shown on a mobile device or printed at home and brought to the ceremony.

To accommodate guests of all graduates, we are offering a number of on-campus satellite viewing tickets in the beautiful Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts or the Rieke Science Center for ceremonies that have exceeded the guest limit in Olson auditorium. Graduates will process past this location on their way to Olson. Immediately following the ceremony guests are invited to join graduates on Foss Field for continued celebration, refreshments, and photos. Your ticket will list the location and ticket type.

Graduates who received on-campus satellite viewing tickets also received guest tickets for Olson Gymnasium for a certain number of their guests. This ensures that every Graduate has guests in the room as they walk across the stage, while still allowing additional guests the opportunity to join in the energy and excitement on campus. 

NO! If you are attending more than one of the four College Commencement Ceremonies, you will require a ticket specifically for each ceremony you plan to attend. There is no charge for tickets, and no cost for parking at the event.

Graduates have registered for tickets for their guests and will receive a unique ticket code to use and share with their guests. Graduates will receive their ticket codes by May 11. Graduates eligible to walk in multiple ceremonies have registered for guest tickets for each ceremony.

Yes! All guests, including children require their own ticket in order to attend Commencement.

Lap infants (two years of age or younger) do not require a ticket if they will sit in the lap of a ticketed-adult for the entirety of the ceremony, otherwise, they will require their own ticket.

YES! To accommodate guests of all graduates, guests will need to present a ticket for admission to the ceremony. There is no charge for tickets, and no cost for parking at the event. Students who are family or guest of a graduate should connect with the graduate to see if they were included in the graduate’s guest registration.

Limited tickets may be available for students the day of the ceremony. If available, student tickets will be issued at the event when doors open one hour prior to the ceremony start time. There is no charge for tickets.

YES! To accommodate guests of all graduates, staff will need to present a ticket for admission to the ceremony. Staff who are family or guest of a current graduate should connect with their graduate to see if they were included in the graduate’s guest registration.

Otherwise, volunteering for a job inside Olson is the best way to see the ceremony.  Look for an email calling for volunteers from commencement@plu.edu the week of May 4. Limited tickets may be available for staff the day of the ceremony. If available, tickets will be issued at the event when doors open one hour prior to the ceremony start time. There is no charge for tickets.

All Faculty in regalia are invited to join their colleagues on the stage for all ceremonies. Full-time Faculty are expected at their home College Ceremony; please contact your Dean if you are unable to attend. To help us set the stage and plan accordingly, we ask that faculty register for the ceremonies they plan to attend (including their home College Ceremony).

Faculty who are family or guests of a current graduate should connect with their graduate to see if they were included in the graduate’s guest registration. A ticket will be required to join your guests.

Faculty are also welcome to volunteer for ceremonies other than their home College Ceremony. Please contact commencement@plu.edu if you are interested in a volunteer role. Otherwise, limited tickets may be available for faculty the day of the ceremony. If available, tickets will be issued at the event when doors open one hour prior to the ceremony start time. There is no charge for tickets.

Yes! Your fellow Grads are looking for additional tickets, particularly in the College of Health Professions and the College of Professional Studies. If you have more tickets than you need or your plans have changed, please let us know using this form. We will distribute any released tickets to Graduates on our waitlist.

Please submit this request form (you must be logged into your student account). We will use these requests to distribute any available additional tickets.

College of Health Professions Ceremony is currently waitlist only for both Olson and Karen Hille Phillips Center.

College of Professional Studies has on-campus satellite viewing in Rieke Science Center and waitlist for additional Olson tickets.

College of Liberal Studies and College of Natural Science Ceremonies both still have availability in Olson.

YES! Students are required to register to participate in Commencement! If you missed the deadline but still hope to participate, please contact commencement@plu.edu. All registered students should have received a confirmation email on April 29 at 3:00 p.m. Students who submitted a request for adjusted guest registration before May 6 received an updated Confirmation or follow-up email on May 6 or 7. Contact commencement@plu.edu if you believe you registered, but did not receive a confirmation email.

To accommodate guests of all graduates, guests will need to present a ticket for admission to the ceremony. There is no charge for tickets, and no cost for parking at the event.

All registered students received a confirmation email on April 29 at 3:00 p.m. confirming the number of guest tickets they will receive for their ceremony. Students who submitted a request for adjusted guest registration before May 6 received an updated Confirmation or follow-up email on May 6 or 7. Students will receive a unique ticket code to share tickets with their guests. Ticket codes will be issued by May 11. Those students eligible and registered for two ceremonies received a confirmation for each ceremony. Questions may be directed to commencement@plu.edu.

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! Livestream links are available here. All are welcome and we want to make sure that each of your guests has access to participate and celebrate with you. 

Your fellow Grads are looking for additional tickets, particularly in the College of Health Professions and the College of Professional Studies. If you have more tickets than you need or your plans have changed, please let us know using this form. We will distribute any released tickets to Graduates on our waitlist.

Please submit this request form to inquire about extra tickets. We will use these requests to distribute any available additional tickets.

College of Health Professions Ceremony is currently waitlist only for both Olson and Karen Hille Phillips Center.

College of Professional Studies Ceremony has on-campus satellite viewing in Rieke Science Center and waitlist for Olson tickets.

College of Liberal Studies and College of Natural Science Ceremonies both still have availability in Olson.

Please note that only current Graduates can access the above forms; you will need to be logged into your PLU account.

Graduates do not require a ticket for their own ceremony. If you would like to attend another College Ceremony as a guest, a ticket will be required. Limited tickets may be available for students the day of the ceremony. If available, student tickets will be issued at the event when doors open one hour prior to the ceremony start time. There is no charge for tickets.

Please regularly check your PLU email for communications from commencement@plu.edu. This is the way we communicate with all commencement-eligible students (view the most recent Grad update here – May 7). 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.

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. Registered students should have received a confirmation email for each ceremony on April 29 at 3:00 p.m.

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.

Regalia orders closed on April 10. If you missed the deadline, regalia options will be available at Grad Fair, May 12-13. Contact commencement@plu.edu for additional information.

Head over to the regalia page for detailed regalia information and ordering instructions!

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 Health Professions will meet in front of the Hauge Administration Building). Your guests should proceed directly to Olson Gym & Auditorium or the Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts depending on their ticketed location; 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 commencement@plu.edu 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. 

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.

Doors open for seating one hour prior to the ceremony start time. Guests should proceed directly to Olson Gym & Auditorium upon arrival for seating. If your ticket indicates satellite viewing, Guests should proceed to the location on indicated on their ticket either to the Rieke Science Center or  to the Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

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 accommodate 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.

All Faculty in regalia are invited to join their colleagues on the stage for all ceremonies. Full-time Faculty are expected at their home College Ceremony; please contact your Dean if you are unable to attend. To help us set the stage and plan accordingly, we ask that faculty register for the ceremonies they plan to attend (including their home College Ceremony).

Faculty who are family or guests of a current graduate should connect with their graduate to see if they were included in the graduate’s guest registration. A ticket will be required to join your guests.

Faculty are also welcome to volunteer for ceremonies other than their home College Ceremony. Please contact commencement@plu.edu if you are interested in a volunteer role. Otherwise, limited tickets may be available for faculty the day of the ceremony. If available, tickets will be issued at the event when doors open one hour prior to the ceremony start time. There is no charge for tickets.

Faculty gather in front of the Rieke Science Center (in the Rieke lobby if raining) 30 minutes prior to the ceremony start time. If you will not be arriving already in regalia, please arrive 45 minutes earlier to allow time to get into regalia. Faculty Marshals will be available for each ceremony to provide guidance and assist with line-up.

While faculty are expected to stay for the entirety of the ceremony, there will be access to exit the stage during the ceremony if needed.

A variety of options, including pre-seating on the stage and ADA seating will be available to make sure the event is accessible for all Faculty. To discuss accessibility and accommodations, please email commencement@plu.edu by Monday, May 18.

Please email commencement@plu.edu for assistance.

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.