Information for Graduate Degrees

Commencement Ceremony Information

Commencement is Friday, December 20, 2013, at 3:00 p.m., in the Pinnacle Bank Arena, 400 Pinnacle Arena Drive, located on R Street, west of 9th Street. Follow the signs inside the Arena and report to the loading dock staging area at the north end on ground level no later than 2:00 p.m.

Leave your personal items and valuables with your guests. You will not be allowed to carry these items into the ceremony with you. The processional begins promptly at 2:50 p.m., and you must be checked in having verified your name pronunciation, wearing your regalia and in line before that time.

Commencement participation is not required to graduate, but it is the only way to obtain your diploma on Friday. Students who participate in the ceremony are expected to remain for the entire event. You will not be allowed to collect your diploma and depart before the recessional.

Parking

University-issued official permits are required for parking in Campus lots on Friday. Flat fee event parking will be available in the Pinnacle Bank Arena garage and the Red Garage managed by the City of Lincoln.    

Admission to Commencement

Your family and friends are cordially invited to attend commencement. Tickets are not required for the ceremony. The area on the main floor is reserved for the graduates, faculty, and dignitaries. Handicap seating for commencement guests is available on the concourse level of the Pinnacle Bank Arena. The commencement ceremony at the Arena will be streamed live on the UNL website at www.unl.edu.

Academic Regalia

All participants are required to wear academic caps, gowns and hoods appropriate to the degree they are being awarded at this ceremony at commencement. Doctoral graduates will carry their hoods for the processional and be hooded as part of the ceremony. All other graduates must wear their hoods for the entire ceremony. 

You may order regalia in person or by mail from the University Bookstore, City Campus Union, or simply pick it up at the Wick Center on December 3 or 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Direct your questions about ordering and picking up regalia to the Bookstore (402) 472-7300.

Diplomas

Each graduate participating in commencement will receive their diploma as they cross the ceremony stage. Doctoral graduates will also be hooded onstage. All candidates will proceed to the stage alphabetically by degree from their seats as directed by the Faculty Marshals. The only way to receive your diploma on Friday is to participate in the Commencement ceremony.

A professional photographer will take your picture as you are hooded, when you are handed your diploma, and as you walk down the ramp to exit the stage.  

All financial obligations to the University must be satisfied before your diploma will be released. If you are uncertain about this matter, check with the Office of Student Accounts, 124 Canfield Administration Building North, (402) 472-2887.

Candidates who choose not to participate in Commencement may receive their diploma as follows:

1. Pick it up at the Pinnacle Bank Arena diploma room between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. only on Saturday, December 21. Bring your photo ID with you. Be mindful that the Saturday undergraduate commencement will affect traffic patterns to the Arena and parking availability. You may not pick up your diploma on commencement Friday.

2. By mail as requested on the enclosed purple form. Diplomas will be mailed January 3, 2014. No mailing charge to United States addresses. There is a $15.00 mailing fee for international addresses.

3. Pick it up at the Graduation Services Office, 109 Canfield Admin. Bldg., January 3, 2014. Bring your photo ID with you.
 

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