Eligibility

In order to be eligible to participate in the 2025 Doctoral Hooding Ceremony you must meet the following criteria:

• You must have filed a doctoral dissertation approved by the Division of Graduate Education during the Summer 2024, Fall 2024 or Winter 2025 term OR you must file a doctoral dissertation approved by the Division of Graduate Education during the Spring 2025 term on or before Monday, June 2, 2025, by no later than 5 p.m. PDT. For information on filing: filing your doctoral dissertation.
• In order to participate in the doctoral hooding ceremony, you must be a doctoral graduate.  Master’s students should contact their department regarding commencement ceremonies.

If you have eligibility questions, please contact Academic and Postdoctoral Services at askgrad@grad.ucla.edu.

Participation

Graduates who filed in Summer 2024, Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 will receive invitations to the doctoral hooding ceremony beginning in late April. Doctoral candidates who successfully file in Spring 2025 will receive an email invitation from the Division of Graduate Education.

Guest Tickets

Due to the increasing number of doctoral graduates and limited seating capacity in Royce Hall, graduates will only be able to order up to four (4) guest tickets and request two (2) waitlist tickets.  Tickets can be ordered through myUCLA only beginning on April 21, 2025.  If you plan on filing in the Spring, you will not be able to order tickets until you have filed your dissertation with the Division of Graduate Education Academic and Postdoctoral Services office.  Faculty do NOT need tickets. They are invited separately by the Division of Graduate Education. 

Electronic Option Only

• Guest tickets will be issued electronically in early June by the UCLA Central Ticket Office (CTO).

Waitlist Tickets

• Through MyUCLA, you can request two (2) additional waitlist tickets for the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony during your designated ordering cycle. We make every effort to grant all waitlist ticket requests. However, they are not guaranteed.
• Waitlist tickets will be determined via lottery on a rolling basis.
• Waitlist ticket decisions will be posted on MyUCLA. If your waitlist ticket request has been granted, the status will be updated on MyUCLA and you will receive your tickets electronically.

“Day of Event” Timeline

1:30 p.m.
Graduates check-in at Royce Quad. 
Graduate and faculty reception on the West Terrace of Royce Hall. Light appetizers and beverages will be served at the reception.
Due to space restrictions, family members and friends may not accompany the graduates to the graduate/faculty reception in Royce Hall.

2:00 p.m.
Doors open in the auditorium for guest seating.

2:40 p.m.
Processional line-up begins. The official party will lead followed by the faculty and graduate processionals

3:00 p.m.
Hooding ceremony begins. The anticipated duration is 2 hours.

5:00 p.m. (approx.)
Hooding ceremony ends.

Reader & Display Cards

A pink or yellow reader card will be provided to you when you check in at the ceremony, and will be used to announce your name as you come forward to be hooded. Should you have a difficult name to pronounce, please print the phonetic pronunciation of your name where indicated.

You will also receive a card with a QR code printed on it.  This will be used to project your name on a screen on the stage while you are being hooded.

Regalia

Graduates are responsible for renting OR purchasing their own cap, gown and hood for the ceremony. Ordering can be completed through Graduation, Et Cetera. Questions should be directed to Graduation, Et Cetera (A-Level of Ackerman Union, 310- 825-2587).

• The rental regalia is a standard black gown, flat cap, and blue hood.
• Graduate rental regalia ordering begins on April 1, 2025.
• TIME SENSITIVE NOTE:  For those graduates who wish to order fine regalia that is specific to UCLA (blue gown, tam and tassel that is custom sized), regalia must be purchased no later than April 12, 2025, as delivery takes approximately 8 weeks.  You can purchase your fine regalia through the Jostens website.

If you are receiving your PhD degree, you should purchase/rent a Royal Blue hood.  However, professional doctoral degree recipients should request the appropriate hood color representing their fields of learning:

Environmental Science & Engineering – Golden Yellow
Education – Light Blue
Music – Pink
Nursing – Apricot
Public Health – Salmon Pink

NOTE: Graduation, Etc. is the official Jostens vendor for the purchase and rental of regalia. Thus, they are licensed to reproduce the official UC colors and brand their gowns as University of California. There are other regalia vendors with whom you wish to do business. However, please note that we have no corporate responsibility information from their factories to determine where their materials are being resourced, or how/where they are being produced.

Tips for preparing your gown for your big day:

• Remove the gown from the packaging and place on a hanger to allow the folds to fall out, and hang your gown in a high humidity area. Otherwise, it will be very wrinkled.
• If you wish to press your gown, turn it inside out and press with a warm, not hot iron. Steaming is also an option.
• Because it has a tendency to get very warm in the auditorium, please wear lightweight clothing underneath your regalia.

Following the event, you may return your rented regalia to the collection tables outside Royce Hall. Caps, gowns and hoods may be kept and turned in later if you are participating in a separate ceremony during commencement weekend.

Ceremony Photographs

Graduates will be photographed by GradImages as they are being hooded during the ceremony. Graduates may purchase prints following the event and will be contacted directly by GradImages.

Graduation Announcements

Visit Graduation, Et Cetera to purchase graduation announcements.

Graduation Portraits

Formal or candid portraits can be scheduled at the Campus Photo Studio on the A-level of Ackerman Union. Sittings may be arranged in person or by calling 310-206-8433. Academic attire will be furnished without charge for use in the Campus Photo Studio. Portrait prices vary according to individual needs.

Ceremony Details

• Graduates: Please leave valuables, purses, and backpacks with family members/guests, as there is no place to store or secure them during the procession and ceremony.
• The Processional: Candidates will be led into the auditorium by two pre-selected student marshals. Professional graduates (Ed.D., D. Env., D.M.A., D.N.P. and Dr. PH) should line up at the end of the procession so the last reader can correctly identify their degrees. Faculty participants will be seated on stage behind the official party.
• Hooding: At the appropriate time, graduates will be directed by event staff to stand by row and proceed to the left side of the stage. You will hand your pink/yellow and QR code cards to an event staff person at the top of the stairs. You will be cued when to proceed across the stage to be hooded.
• NO GUESTS ALLOWED ON STAGE – We kindly ask that you refrain from bringing guests (e.g. children, other family members) on stage with you when you are hooded.  We realize this is a joyous occasion and you want to celebrate the moment with your loved ones.  However, due to liability concerns, the swift pacing of the ceremony, the limited space on stage and the high number of graduates (more than 300) who will be hooded, we cannot accommodate additional people on stage.
• Due to the high number of graduates and time constraints, only pre-designated platform party hooding marshals will hood the candidates rather than individual dissertation committee members. Chairs, co-chairs and members of a dissertation committee will be invited to stand when their respective candidate(s) cross(es) the stage to be hooded.
• After being hooded you will pose for a photo with the Dean. A photographer will stop you as you leave the stage to take an official photograph before you return to your original seat.
• You will not receive your diploma at the ceremony.
• Recessional: The official platform party that is seated on stage will file out of the auditorium first, followed by the faculty, and then by the graduates who will be led by the two student marshals.

Security

We have worked very hard to ensure your ceremony is the joyous and celebratory event you deserve. Please review our clear bag policy and list of prohibited items for the ceremony.

How to Wear Your Cap and Carry Your Hood

Instructions on How to Wear Your Cap and Carry Your Hood.

Parking

UCLA Transportation uses the Bruin ePermit System where your license plate is your permit.

The Bruin ePermit system works similar to a supermarket scanner with your license plate functioning as the barcode. When read, the numbers of your plate are automatically referenced against the parking database to verify a valid permit for the lot location.

Students and guests attending 2023 Commencement ceremonies are able to purchase a parking permit online, anonymously, and in advance through the Bruin ePermit Event Parking portal beginning on May 1st.

To avoid long lines at the self-service pay stations on campus, it is recommended to purchase your parking permit in advance of attending the Commencement ceremonies.

• General parking will be available in Parking Structures 4 and 5
• Each permit will only be valid for one vehicle on the date selected
• Guest account is not required
• Depending on space availability you may be redirected to park in an alternative parking location, no additional parking permit will be required
• Parking permits are non-refundable & non-transferrable

View the parking map and instructions for obtaining a parking permit.

Day of parking will also be available at our various visitor parking locations using the self-service Pay Station machines or ParkMobile. If utilizing Parkmobile you can use Parkmobile Zone 2590.

Accessible parking is available across campus and guests displaying valid DP parking placards or license plates who have purchased a Commencement permit may park in any legal parking stall with the exception of Passenger Loading (white curb) and Commercial Loading (yellow curb) spaces.

If you have questions, please contact us at transportation@ts.ucla.edu or (310) 794-7433.