Saturday, December 14, 2024
Begins at 10:00 a.m.
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 2024 or if they 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 2024 doctoral deposit deadline in order to participate.

Registration

The registration deadline for participating in the December 2024 Doctoral Hooding Ceremony was Thursday, November 14. We may be able to accomodate late registrations. Please contact gradsuccess@illinois.edu with any questions about your registration. 

Regalia

Academic attire is required for participation in the ceremony. Click here to purchase or rent regalia. If you are renting regalia, you will be prompted to select a college from a drop-down menu; if you are participating in the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony select "Graduate College." Please visit the commencement website for detailed information on ordering, wearing, returning, or purchasing academic attire.

Faculty Hooders

Graduates can designate a person with an earned doctorate to act as their hooder, often an advisor or other academic mentor. Graduates should coordinate directly with this person to confirm their avialability before indicating their name in the registration. If you do not designate a hooder, a member of the graduate faculty will be available to hood you at the ceremony. Faculty who are designated as a hooder do not need to independently register for the ceremony. Please reach out to gradsuccess@illinois.edu with any questions.

Guest Tickets

Guests will need tickets to enter the ceremony. Tickets can be picked up at the Graduate College the week of the ceremony.

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.