Ideally, each graduate program should have a faculty member in attendance. These representatives, known as Faculty-At-Large or Robed Faculty, wear the traditional academic regalia and march in the processional and recessional. They must be faculty members who are not escorting doctoral candidates. Thank you for helping to make this commencement a memorable experience for everyone involved.

Arrival Time: Faculty-At-Large will gather in the Bryce Jordan Center greenroom at 2:00 p.m. for instructions and preparation. The ceremony will begin promptly at 2:30 p.m.

A doctoral candidate must be escorted by a member of the graduate faculty.

If you advise a doctoral candidate who is scheduled to receive their degree, you should ask the candidate if they will be attending the ceremony. If attending, you will need academic regalia representative of your highest earned degree. If you are unable to attend, please make arrangements for another member of the committee to take your place.

The Hooding Process 

View this video to be ready to hood your candidate when it’s time during the ceremony: 

Walking Across Stage with Candidates 

In summer 2024, faculty escorts will walk across the stage and get a photo with their candidate.  

If you are escorting one candidate: 

1. Walk side-by-side with your candidate to the middle of the stage, then turn to the front of the stage to pose for a photo. 
2. Faculty escorts will walk across the remainder of the stage first and exit the stage.  
3. The candidate will then get their individual photo taken and proceed walk across the remainder of the stage.  

If you are escorting multiple candidates: 

1. Walk side-by-side with your first candidate to the middle of the stage, then turn to the front of the stage to pose for a photo.  
2. Faculty escorts will walk back to the nomenclator stand to meet their second candidate, while the first candidate gets their individual photo and proceeds to walk across the stage. 
3. Walk side-by-side with your second candidate, then turn to the front of the stage to pose wit them for a photo. 
4. Faculty escorts will walk across the remainder of the stage before the second candidate and exit the stage.  
5. The second candidate will then get their individual photo taken and proceed walk across the remainder of the stage. 

The deadline for ordering regalia for summer 2024 commencement is June 28. Please view the links below to order your regalia. If you have any questions on the ordering process, please reach out to Susan Glad at suglad@bncollege.com. 

• Rent your regalia
• View all regalia options

After You've Ordered Regalia
Once you have a placed your order online, it is important to be aware of the following: 

• After you've ordered, you will send Susan Glad the faculty rental regalia form for each regalia you ordered by the March 15 deadline.
• The order will then be placed with Jostens and you'll get an estimate of the delivery time. The delivery timeframe is five weeks. 
• If you are having problems placing the order, please make sure the information associated with the P-Card matches with what is on file. You might have to put State College down instead of University Park and put down a road, not the building. Hopefully this will avoid error messages.
• If an error message keeps coming up, you might have to come to the store to pay for the order as we do not know if we will be able to process the order over the phone. 
• Any orders placed after the deadline will not be guaranteed for spring commencement. Very limited quantities will be available in the store. You will only be offered the Penn State Ph.D. hood as opposed to the school’s hood color.
• The regalia is due back within one week of commencement. After that time, it will be assumed that you want to purchase the regalia for $774.00 and an invoice will be sent.
• Please make sure all packages have a name on them so all regalia can be checked.

Bryce Jordan Center Commencement Parking Interactive Map

General parking will be available in Stadium West and Jordan East. Guests should enter Gates A, B, or C. Degree candidates should enter Gate B, Portal 15. There is no fee for parking.

ADA Parking: Parking for guests with disabilities is available. Parking attendants will be on duty to guide guests to the appropriate areas. The driver may drop the passenger off at the Founders Lounge entrance and then park the vehicle. A valid, state-issued ADA placard or license plate is required for ADA parking, and there is no fee for parking. For an ADA access map of campus, visit the ADA Access Interactive Map. Parking in these lots is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please allow extra time for traffic and parking when planning your visit.

• Bryce Jordan Center bag policy