Dear Class of 2026 graduates and families,
Commencement Weekend is just around the corner, and the excitement on campus is truly contagious! We are thrilled to celebrate this significant milestone with you, your family members, your friends, and the entire Puget Sound community as we recognize the incredible accomplishments of our graduating class.
To ensure you're prepared for Commencement, please take a moment to read through the important ceremony instructions and information below.
For the latest schedule of events, ceremony details, parking information, and much more, please visit the Commencement website.
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CAP & GOWN – LAST CHANCE TO PURCHASE |
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Missed the deadline to order your cap and gown? Don’t worry — there’s one final opportunity to purchase in person. A limited selection of regalia packages (cap, gown, and tassel, plus hoods for graduate students), class stoles, and tassels will be available for purchase by credit card. Regalia purchased will be available on May 7–8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Jones Hall, Room 104.
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If you submitted a regalia order and haven't received it yet, please contact Oak Hall directly at customercare@oakhalli.com or 540.378.7001. Have your order number ready when reaching out.
Graduates are required to wear a black cap and gown over their regular attire to participate in the Commencement Ceremony. Other pieces of regalia may be added to reflect academic honors, university affiliations, or aspects of a student’s cultural background and practices. Individual honor cords and stoles will be distributed to graduates by their respective academic departments and programs.
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GRADUATE CEREMONY INSTRUCTIONS |
SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2026
PROCESSIONAL TICKET PICKUP
1 p.m. | Karlen Quadrangle
Please arrive promptly at 1 p.m. to pick up your lineup ticket.
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- Please bring only what you can carry in your hands or pockets. You will not be allowed to bring bags, backpacks, or purses with you to the ceremony.
- We ask all graduates to keep their gowns fully zipped to maintain a unified and polished appearance throughout the ceremony.
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Lineup order is alphabetically by department, starting with graduate programs and arranged by last name within each department.
- Graduate Degrees
- You will be in the MAROON line.
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Collect your MAROON lineup ticket at the table located near the north end (Collins Memorial Library) of Karlen Quad.
- Bachelor's Degree
- If your major falls at the beginning of the alphabet through Chemistry & Biochemistry, you will be in the MAROON line.
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Collect your MAROON lineup ticket at the table located near the north end (Collins Memorial Library) of Karlen Quad.
- If the name of your major is Communication Studies or after, you will be in the WHITE line.
- Collect your WHITE ticket at the table located near the south end of Karlen Quad.
- Double Majors
- Your line ticket will be with the department you informed the Registrar’s Office you intend to walk with.
- Any changes made before the ceremony through the Registrar’s Office will be handwritten in and must be confirmed onsite with a Faculty Marshal before 1:30 p.m.
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After the lineup tickets are distributed, the names of students who didn't pick up their tickets will be crossed off the list. These names will not be read during the Commencement Ceremony.
- Be sure to pick up your ticket so we know you are here and read your name!
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If you are not participating in this year's ceremony, please let us know by emailing commencement@pugetsound.edu.
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PROCESSIONAL LINEUP
1:30 p.m. | Karlen Quadrangle
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- At 1:30 p.m., you will hear an announcement over a loudspeaker that it is time to line up.
- There will be stakes along the sidewalks that correspond to the numbers on the lineup tickets. At that time, please go to your lineup spot on the sidewalk.
- Those with MAROON tickets will form a line starting from the southwest corner of Jones Hall northward along the walkway to Collins Memorial Library.
- Those with WHITE tickets will form a line starting from the southwest corner of Jones Hall westward along the walkway to Thompson Hall.
- Not all graduates will be present, so make sure you are standing behind the next lowest lineup number and in front of the next highest lineup number.
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PROCESSIONAL
1:50 p.m. | Karlen Quadrangle to Baker Stadium
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- On your last student walk across campus, Faculty Marshals will bring the MAROON and WHITE lines together to walk across campus along Commencement Walk in a double line.
- Leading the lines will be two graduating students serving as Standard-Bearers carrying the Commencement Banner and the Class Banner.
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Along the way, you'll process past an honor guard of faculty in front of Todd and Phibbs Halls. Once we start marching to the stadium, please keep the line moving.
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COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY ENTRANCE
2 p.m. | Baker Stadium
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The ceremony begins with the playing of Pomp and Circumstance and the seating of the graduates.
- MAROON Line: Graduates will sit on the west (left) side of the field.
- WHITE Line: Graduates will sit on the east (right) side of the field.
- The Faculty Marshals will direct you to your seat, so keep an eye out for them.
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Remain standing until the completion of the Invocation. Then, you will be invited to take your seat.
- It is important that you stay for the entire ceremony to honor your fellow graduates!
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After the Commencement Address, graduate degrees will be awarded.
- Provost Kerkhoff will ask you to stand, President Crawford will confer the degree, and then you will come forward row by row to be hooded and receive your diploma cover.
- As you approach the stage using the west platform ramp, graduate students should drape their folded hood over their left arm.
- At the platform, please follow the Faculty Marshal's directions.
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Once on stage, the first Faculty Hooder will take the hood from your arm, arrange it accordingly, and hand it to the second Faculty Hooder as you proceed to the X mark on the stage. Turn to face the audience. Once in position, the Faculty Hooder will place your hood over your head onto your shoulders. You may need to squat slightly for the Faculty Hooder to get your hood over your head.
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After you receive your hood, walk to the President to receive your diploma cover, then exit the stage using the east platform ramp.
- Once on the field, proceed down the center aisle back to your seat.
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- Bachelor’s degrees will be awarded following the graduate degrees.
- Provost Kerkhoff will ask you to stand, President Crawford will confer the degree, and then you will come forward row by row.
- The first row of undergraduates will move to the west platform ramp as instructed by the Faculty Marshals, and other rows will remain seated until instructed by the Faculty Marshals to go to the platform.
- At the platform, please follow the Faculty Marshal's directions.
- When Provost Kerkhoff reads your name, walk to the president to receive your diploma cover, then exit the stage using the east platform ramp.
- Once on the field, proceed down the center aisle back to your seat.
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Your official diploma will be mailed to you after spring grades are received and completion of degree requirements is verified.
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After the Alma Mater is sung at the end of the ceremony, Faculty Marshals will lead the platform party, then the faculty, and then the graduates out of the stadium.
- Please remain standing at your seat until the platform party and faculty have exited.
- Graduates will exit starting from the first row.
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Meet your family and friends on the Event Lawn immediately following the ceremony.
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You may keep your regalia as a souvenir of this momentous occasion. Alternatively, you can donate your cap, gown, and hoods for future students to use by placing them in one of the regalia donation boxes following the ceremony. Your donation supports the university's cap and gown loaner program and sustainability efforts.
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IMPORTANT CEREMONY INFORMATION |
Commencement is a powerful celebration in your life and the legacy of Puget Sound. To preserve the dignity and integrity of this special ceremony, you'll be required to wear the regalia over your regular attire. We ask all graduates to keep their gowns fully zipped to maintain a unified and polished appearance throughout the ceremony.
Additionally, Commencement is a substance-free ceremony, so do not bring alcohol or other substances to the campus with you or show up under their influence.
Please be aware that any disruptions during the ceremony will result in your immediate removal. We want everyone to enjoy this momentous occasion.
Family members and guests who are unable to attend in person can view the Commencement Ceremony at pugetsound.edu/commencement.
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