Saturday, December 9, 2023
Begins at 10:00 a.m.
Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

The Ceremony

This ceremony offers doctoral degree recipients, along with faculty mentors, a special opportunity to celebrate their achievement in a university-wide setting. The ceremony will include comments from campus leaders, and deans from each college and school will be present to congratulate students on their achievements. The focus of the ceremony is the formal "hooding" of doctoral degree recipients, often by faculty advisers.

Eligibility

Doctoral students (PhD, EdD, JSD, DMA and AudD) are eligible to participate in the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony if they will finish the degree requirements for December 2023 or graduated in a previous term but have not yet participated in a hooding ceremony. Students graduating this semester must have deposited their dissertation with the Graduate College Thesis Office by the December 2023 doctoral deposit deadline in order to participate.

Registration

The registration deadline for participating in the December 2023 Doctoral Hooding Ceremony has passed. Please contact gradsuccess@illinois.edu with any questions about your registration.

Regalia

Academic attire is required for participation in the ceremony. Regalia can be ordered online through Herff Jones at herff.ly/illinois.

Rental regalia can be ordered at the regular rate until 10:59 pm on November 20. Students may also purchase academic regalia (not required). All regalia ordered online will be mailed to the address providing during the ordering process.

Faculty Hooders

Faculty who are designated as a hooder do not need to independently register for the ceremony. Students will provide their hooders' information when registering, and the Graduate College will directly email all desnigated hooders with further instructions for the ceremony, including how to order rental regalia. Designated hooders who own regalia are welcome to wear their own set at the ceremony and do not have to rent through Herff Jones.

Guest Tickets

In order to accommodate all participants, at this time, graduates are allowed to request up to 8 guest tickets when registering. Graduating students and hooding faculty do not need tickets. Requests for additional tickets can be made during registration and will be accommodated as space is available. The event will be livestreamed for family and friends who are unable to attend the ceremony in person.

Guest tickets will be available for pick-ip from the Graduate College, located at 507 E. Green St., approximately 1 week before the ceremony. Registered graduates will receive an email with further instructions for picking up tickets later in the semester. The person picking up tickets will need to show their registration confirmation email.

Accommodations

If you, your hooder, or any of your guests require accessibility accommodations during the ceremony, please specify those needs when registering. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your needs.

Parking

Most university lots, including the garages located beneath the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, do not require permits on Saturdays. However, please note that some spaces may be labeled as reserved 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and these spaces require a permit at all times.