Ceremony Details

 

Start and End Time

Auditorium doors will open for guests one hour before each ceremony.

Auditorium doors will close 10 minutes before the ceremony begins to clear the lobby and aisles to prepare for the academic procession.

The doors will reopen after the processional, national anthem and invocation (approximately 30 minutes).

Late arriving guests will be seated immediately following the invocation.

Each ceremony will last approximately 2-2 ˝ hours. When making lunch/dinner reservation, allow for ample time to for the class photo, diploma pick-up, and photos with guests following the ceremony.

General Information

• No balloons, tripods, strollers or bright camera lights permitted in the auditorium
• Graduates and family hooders please leave all "carry-along" items (purses, cell phones, electronic devices, books, flowers etc.) with family members or in your car. Graduates should not carry anything during the processional and family hooders will not be permitted to take personal belonging on stage

Ticket Information

Family Hooder Passes: Two family hooder passes will be issued to each graduate, and will serve as an admission ticket (when required) and provide access to the family hooder seating area.

• Learn more about WesternU’s family hooding ceremony
• All graduates please complete the Graduate Participation Form to receive family hooder passes
• Family hooder passes cannot be exchanged for general admission tickets

General Admission Tickets: Tickets are required for all ceremonies except College of Pharmacy and College of Veterinary Medicine.

• Graduates must reserve tickets for their guests using the Graduate Participation Form
• Children age two and older require a general admission ticket
• Tickets are free of charge

Number of Tickets: Each graduate is guaranteed the number of tickets indicated below and can request additional general admission tickets on the Graduate Participation Form.

College of Allied Health Professions & College of Graduate Nursing:
   2 Family Hooder Passes + 6 General Admission = 8 Tickets Total

College of Pharmacy:
   2 Family Hooder Passes & General Admission Tickets are not required

College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific & Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences:
   2 Family Hooder Passes + 6 General Admission = 8 Tickets Total

College of Veterinary Medicine:
   2 Family Hooder Passes & General Admission Tickets are not required

Instruction Packets and Video for Graduates

All graduates should carefully read the Procedures and Instructions and take a moment to view the instructional video. Select your ceremony from the list below:

Instruction Packets:
College of Allied Health Professions & College of Graduate Nursing (PDF)
College of Pharmacy (PDF)
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific & Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences (PDF)
College of Veterinary Medicine (PDF)

Instruction Video:
Commencement Instructional Videos for Graduates and Marshals

Diploma Pick-up

If you have completed all degree requirements, your diploma will be available for pick-up at the Convention Center (next to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium), Room 214, for 45 minutes after the class photo. You may also pick up your diploma on campus in the Office of the Registrar at their new location in the University Student Affairs Annex, second floor of the Harris Family Center for Disability and Health Policy (CDHP).