Commencement Ceremony – Faculty Information

The Graduate School Commencement Ceremony will be held on May 3, 2024, at the Harold Alfond Arena. All students, including doctoral candidates, will be hooded and have their diplomas awarded at the Friday ceremony. Please visit the following links for Guest information and Student graduation information.

Faculty Attendance Confirmation

Faculty must complete the Faculty Regalia & Attendance Form by March 29 if they plan on attending the May 3 Commencement ceremony. Regalia must be worn at all Commencement ceremonies. Reserved regalia may be picked up in the Bookstore beginning in early May. For information on the undergraduate Commencement ceremonies, please go to umaine.edu/commencement.

Any faculty requiring special seating accommodation should contact Kathleen Harding-Heber by emailing kathleen.hardingheber@maine.edu no later than April 22nd.

Faculty Instructions

The 2024 Graduate School Commencement Ceremony will mirror the undergraduate ceremony with faculty processing from the New Balance Field House.

Faculty members are expected to report to the Field House in regalia on May 3. There is no rehearsal for Commencement ceremonies, so please be sure to follow instructions for the line-up, marching, etc. on the day of the ceremony.

Executive Committee Members will report to the volunteer staff to be lined up appropriately. College Deans will report to the volunteer staff in the Field House to lead the student line for each college.

Doctoral Candidate Eligibility

Doctoral candidates graduating in August may participate in Commencement ceremonies if ALL of the following requirements are met:

  1. File for graduation in MaineStreet (http://studentrecords.umaine.edu/graduation).
  2. Submit a Notice of Oral Examination to the Graduate School (2 weeks prior to the defense)
  3. Submit a tentative dissertation to the Graduate School at least 24 hours prior to the defense
  4. Successfully present and orally defend the dissertation by the last Friday in April. Committee members must sign the Final Thesis Acceptance Form at the defense
  5. Submit a copy of the Final Thesis Acceptance Form demonstrating an affirmative vote of the Committee. The original form must accompany the final dissertation with the other required doctoral forms