Commencement Ceremony Details

Fall 2012 Commencement
Saturday, December 15^th, 2012, 10:00 AM, Carver Gym

Guests should be seated in the gym at least 15 minutes prior to the time listed for the ceremony.  The procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony time.  All guest entrances are closed during this time and will reopen when the procession is complete. 
(The ceremony is approximately 90 minutes.)

Printable Commencement Information Sheet (PDF)

Each student who has made a commencement reservation for fall quarter 2012 will receive 6 guest tickets. Please see the Admission Tickets section of this page for more information.

 

Commencement Reservation Form
The Commencement Reservation Form can be reached online the first week of the quarter. The deadline for making your reservation is November 9^th. Reservations received after 5 PM November 9^th will be assessed a $20 late handling fee.

 

Bachelor’s / Master’s Candidates Apparel & Tickets Pickup(^APhoto ID required. See below.)
Apparel^B & Tickets - Senior Celebration, Thursday, December 13^th, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, VU Multi-Purpose Room
Apparel^B on Commencement Day - 8:30-9:45 AM, SMATE at the Alumni Table
Tickets on Commencement Day - 8:30-9:45 AM, Carver Gym Ticket Booth

 

Graduate Lineup/Name Cards on Commencement Day
Bachelor’s Candidates - 9:15 AM, SMATE. Pick up your name card at marked posts by college.
Master’s Candidates - 9:15 AM in Trophy Case Hallway, behind Carver Gym. Pick up your name card from Graduate School staff.

Admission Tickets
Each student signing up by the deadline for the quarter will receive 6 guest tickets. Seating in Carver Gym is limited. It is highly recommended that you arrive early as seating is first come, first serve in Carver Gym and the procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony.

 

Winter 2013 Commencement
Saturday, March 23^th, 2013, 10:00 AM, Carver Gym

Guests should be seated in the gym at least 15 minutes prior to the time listed for each ceremony.  The procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony time.  All guest entrances are closed during this time and will reopen when the procession is complete. 
(The ceremony is approximately 90 minutes.)

Printable Commencement Information Sheet (PDF)

Each student who has made a commencement reservation for winter quarter 2013 will receive 5 guest tickets. Please see the Admission Tickets section of this page for more information.

 

Commencement Reservation Form
The Commencement Reservation Form can be reached online the first week of the quarter. The deadline for making your reservation is February 15^th. Reservations received after 5 PM February 15^th will be assessed a $20 late handling fee.

 

Bachelor’s / Master’s Candidates Apparel & Tickets Pickup

(^APhoto ID required. See below.)
Apparel^B & Tickets - Senior Celebration, Thursday, March 21^st, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, VU Multi-Purpose Room
Apparel^B on Commencement Day - 8:30-9:45 AM, SMATE at the Alumni Table
Tickets on Commencement Day - 8:30-9:45 AM, Carver Gym Ticket Booth

 

Graduate Lineup/Name Cards on Commencement Day
Bachelor’s Candidates
9:15 AM, SMATE Pick up your name card at marked posts by college
Master’s Candidates
9:15 AM in Trophy Case Hallway, behind Carver Gym. Pick up your name card from Graduate School staff

Admission Tickets
Each student signing up by the deadline for the quarter will receive 5 guest tickets. Seating in Carver Gym is limited. It is highly recommended that you arrive early as seating is first come, first serve in Carver Gym and the procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony.

 

Spring 2013 Commencement
Saturday, June 15^th, 2013, Carver Gym
Printable Commencement Information Sheet (PDF)

Guests should be seated in the gym at least 15 minutes prior to the time listed for each ceremony.  The procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony time.  All guest entrances are closed during this time and will reopen when the procession is complete. 
(Each ceremony lasts approximately 90 minutes.)

 

Ceremony One - 9:00 AM

Ceremony Two - 12:30 PM

Ceremony Three - 4:00 PM

Graduates must purchase their own commencement package (cap, gown, tassel and diploma cover) from WWU Alumni Association and complete the reservation form to participate in the ceremony and receive tickets for their guests. 

• Each graduate who has made a reservation through WWU Alumni Association will receive 4 guest tickets.

Guest tickets are required regardless of age.  If unused tickets have been turned in, they will be available by request at the ticket booth prior to each ceremony.  Persons with counterfeit tickets will not be allowed in the gym.  Tickets are not transferrable between ceremonies.

Commencement Reservation Form
Complete the reservation form for the ceremony below which corresponds with your college/major. The Commencement Reservation Form can be reached online. The deadline for making your reservation is May 10^th. Reservations received after 5 PM, May 10 ^th will be assessed a $20 late handling fee.

• Ceremony One - 9:00 AM, Carver Gym
• College of Business and Economics
• College of Fine and Performing Arts
• Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies
• American Cultural Studies Program
• Huxley College of the Environment


• Ceremony Two - 12:30 PM, Carver Gym
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
  (Humanities Division Departments)
• Canadian American Studies
• Communication
• East Asian Studies
• English
• General Studies
• Liberal Studies
• History
• Journalism
• Linguistics
• Modern & Classical Languages
• Philosophy
• Woodring College of Education


• Ceremony Three - 4:00 PM, Carver Gym
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
  (Social Sciences Division Departments)
• Anthropology
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Physical Education and Health and Recreation
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• College of Sciences & Technology

Bachelor’s / Master's Apparel Pick-Up & Tickets Pick-Up

(^APhoto ID required. See below.)

• Apparel^B & Tickets - Senior Celebration, Wednesday, June 12^th & Thursday, June 13^th from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM, VU Multi-Purpose Room
• Apparel^B on Commencement Day – 7:30 AM - 3:45 PM, Alumni Tent in RED SQUARE
• Tickets on Commencement Day - CARVER GYM TICKET BOOTH
• Ceremony One: 7:30 AM – 8:45 AM
• Ceremony Two: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
• Ceremony Three: 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM
• ^BNote: Tassels should be worn on the right side of the cap.
  If you have questions about picking up your apparel, contact staff at WWU Alumni Assocation at 360-650-3353. If you are unable to pick up your apparel, a friend may pick it up for you.

Graduate Lineup Commencement Day at
Red Square (Bond Hall Pillars)

• Ceremony One: 8:15 AM
• Ceremony Two: 11:45 AM
• Ceremony Three: 3:15 PM

Bachelor’s Candidates
Red Square (Pick up name cards at marked posts by college affiliation.)
Master’s Candidates
Red Square (Pick up name cards at marked post from Graduate School staff.)

Summer 2013 Commencement

NOTE: Tickets will be required for summer commencement and will be limited to 4 tickets per confirmed commencement reservation.

Saturday, August 24 ^th, 2013. Time and location to be determined due to renovation of Carver Gym tentatively scheduled to begin in summer/fall 2013. Tickets will be required and limited.

Guests should be seated at least 15 minutes prior to the time listed for the ceremony.  The procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony time.  All guest entrances are closed during this time and will reopen when the procession is complete. 
(The ceremony is approximately 90 minutes.)

Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Additional viewing is available in SMATE (Science, Math and Technology Education Building).

Commencement Reservation Form
The Commencement Reservation Form can be reached online the first week of the quarter. The deadline for making your reservation is July 19 ^th. Reservations received after 5 PM, July 19 ^th will be assessed a $20 late handling fee.

UPDATE: Tickets are not required for this commencement ceremony.

Bachelor’s/Master’s Candidates Apparel Pickup(^APhoto ID required. See below.)

Apparel^A & Tickets - Friday, August 23 ^th, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, VU Multi-Purpose Room
Apparel^A on Commencement Day – Time and location to be determined.
Tickets on Commencement Day - Time and location to be determined.

 

Graduate Lineup/Name Cards on Commencement Day
Bachelor’s Candidates - Time and location to be determined.Pick up your name card at marked posts by college.
Master’s Candidates - Time and location to be determined.Pick up your name card from Graduate School staff.

Admission Tickets
Each student signing up by the deadline for the quarter will receive 4 guest tickets. Seating is limited. It is highly recommended that you arrive early as seating is first come, first serve and the procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony.

By making a commencement reservation, you are purchasing a cap, gown, tassel and diploma cover. In addition, Master's candidates receive a hood. You are also reserving the allotted number of tickets for guests.

NOTE: A cap and gown purchased or borrowed elsewhere will not guarantee participation in the ceremony.

The Commencement Reservation Form for the current quarter can be reached online. For future quarters, the form becomes available the first week of the quarter.

There is no commencement rehearsal.

Bachelor's and Master's candidates must arrive at the designated name card and lineup locations for your college affiliation no later than 45 minutes prior to the ceremony. (Name cards are handed to your Dean as you cross the stage so your name can be announced.) If you are unsure of your college affiliation, it is listed at the end of your academic history, available on Web4U. Remain at your designated post because the procession and seating will proceed by college affiliation.

Tassels should be worn on the right side of the cap.

No secure place is provided to leave valuables on commencement day; we recommend you leave these items with a family member or another secure location of your choosing.

Programs including the names of candidates and other details are available prior to the ceremony. Guests may pick up a copy at the door. Graduates will have one placed on their chair.

The ceremony begins with the Academic Procession from SMATE for undergraduates and Carver Gym trophy case hallway for master’s candidates (fall/winter) or RED SQUARE for undergraduates and master’s candidates (spring/summer) beginning 15 minutes prior to the ceremony. The program begins with the President's greeting, the National Anthem, introductions, opening remarks, student address, commencement address, graduate degrees, and baccalaureate degrees.

Process for conferral of degrees:

• Master’s Candidates:
  (Graduate School commencement staff will demonstrate folding and presentation procedures for your hood prior to the ceremony on commencement day.)
  1. The marshal at the left will signal an entire row to rise and move to the left.
  2. Proceed toward the platform and hand your hood to the graduate faculty member.
  3. Turn your back to the faculty member and remove your cap.
  4. After the hood is placed over your head, replace your cap and continue to the platform.
  5. Hand name card to the Dean who will read your name.
  6. Proceed across the platform, shake hands with the President, who will hand you your diploma cover.
  7. Leave the platform and walk down the outside aisle to your row and take your seat.

• Bachelor’s Candidates:

  1. The marshal at the left will signal an entire row to rise.  Move to the left and proceed to the platform.
  2. Hand name card to the Dean who will read your name.
  3. Proceed across the platform, shake hands with the President, who will hand you your diploma cover.
  4. Leave the platform and return to your seat at the direction of the marshal.

Memory Walk has been a commencement tradition since 1912.  Each year, a stone representing the graduating class is laid in the sidewalk that runs parallel to the façade of Old Main, Western’s first building.  Beneath each of these class stones lie time capsules.  The time capsule containing memorabilia for the academic year is buried at the end of summer quarter.  Paving the way to Memory Walk are thousands of individually personalized bricks.  Purchased by Western alumni, families, and friends commemorating their time at Western over the past 100 years, these bricks support Western students and alumni through scholarships and various programs.  Bricks may be ordered online through Western Alumni Association.

Fall & Winter Ceremonies
Graduates take part in an indoor Memory Walk included in the recession.  Faculty and graduates proceed to the stage where the graduates deposit their student body cards or other memorabilia into a box which will be buried beneath the stone bearing their class year.   

Spring & Summer Ceremonies
After the ceremony, graduates follow the macebearer, the president’s party and the faculty out of Carver Gym.  Graduates proceed across Red Square through Alumni Way to Memory Walk where they may place their student body cards or other memorabilia into a box which will be buried beneath the stone bearing their class year.   

Graduation honors (magna cum laude and cum laude) are determined by using the honors GPA for coursework through the previous quarter and apply to first undergraduate degrees only. Undergraduates who earn academic honors and are attending the ceremony will be given gold cords when picking up their commencement tickets.

The honors GPA's that are necessary to wear an honor cord at the ceremony are available online.

Seating in Carver Gym is limited. All guests will be admitted by ticket only for festival seating. It is suggested that you arrive early as seating is first come, first serve in Carver Gym and the procession begins 15 minutes prior to the ceremony. The lobby doors are closed during the procession and guests will not be allowed to enter the gym until the graduates, faculty and platform party have completed the procession.

Use of cell phones, air horns, and tripods is prohibited. Phones must be set on vibrate mode. Commencement ceremonies at Western are conducted in an atmosphere of dignity and decorum. You deserve this and so do your loved ones who are present to honor you. For this reason alcoholic beverages have no place during commencement. Please remind your friends and family that this important occasion is not an appropriate time for the use of alcohol, as it can spoil the event for classmates and their guests.

Out of respect for each other and the solemnity of the occasion, graduates and guests are asked to stay for the entire ceremony.

Please note that pursuant to Washington Administrative Code 516-52-4010, dogs and/or service animals are not permitted in University buildings except for assisting persons with physical, mental and/or sensory disabilities. They must always be under immediate control of their handlers.