All degree candidates for spring or summer 2009 and persons who received degrees in summer or fall 2008 are eligible to participate.
Students must apply online to graduate by signing into the Enroll & Pay system, click on "Student Center," choose "Apply For Graduation" from the drop-down menu list under the Academics section or click on "Graduation" in the upper left hand corner menu and choose "KU Apply for Graduation." Undergraduates and law students have until March 2 to apply for graduation. Graduate students have until April 29. However, some schools may have an earlier deadline and students are responsible for checking with their individual school to determine and meet that date. March 2 is the last day students can submit their AFG to ensure they are included in the printed Commencement program.
Students with permanent or temporary physical disabilities are encouraged to participate. For information and to make arrangements, call Disability Resources, (785)864-2620 (Voice/TDD). Students who need wheelchair access should call two weeks in advance. Early notice is very important.
Related Information: Arranging for Special Services
All participants dress for Commencement according to traditions stemming from the world’s oldest universities. The regalia worn by graduates and faculty members signify the various degrees, disciplines, and institutions of the members of the academic procession, and are an outward sign of membership in the university community. The regalia also signifies the responsibility of the new graduates to uphold certain universal ideals — freedom of inquiry, tolerance of alternative views, the pursuit of truth, and the free exchange of knowledge. These rights and responsibilities are conferred upon the graduates by the chancellor of the university during the Commencement ceremony.
Bachelor’s and master’s degree recipients purchase souvenir regalia that do not need to be returned. Undergraduates purchase a bachelor’s gown, cap (mortarboard), and tassel. The bachelor’s gown has bell-shaped sleeves, while the master’s gown has long sleeves closed at the end of the arm, with the arm passing through a slit above the elbow.
Master’s degree recipients should check with their school’s office to find out if a hood is required or optional in their degree program. Master’s candidates purchase a master’s gown, hood, cap, and tassel (black). Hoods must be rented and returned.
Doctoral and law degree recipients purchase souvenir caps and tassels but must rent and return their gowns and hoods. Regalia requirements differ for degrees and schools. Doctoral hoods and gowns may also be purchased year-round through Jostens, (800) 854-7464, or visit Jostens.com for more information. Delivery takes approximately five to six weeks.
The colors for tassels are standardized in the United States by the American Council on Education. Those colors for undergraduates are:
• Architecture, blue lilacDoctoral and master’s candidates have black tassels. Souvenir KU tassels are also available for purchase. Those are blue and red.
For more information, visit www.kubookstores.com.
The annual Grad Finale at KU Bookstores is Feb. 17-19 at the ballroom, level 5, in the Kansas Union. During this event, grads can order or purchase regalia, order announcements, have their picture taken dressed in their regalia, meet with financial and career advisers, choose a college ring, join the KU Alumni Association, and donate to the class gift. For more information, visit www.kubookstores.com and select “graduation.”
Graduates and faculty should follow return instructions for the campus where they rented their regalia.
The Class of 2009 lunch will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Commencement day at the chancellor’s residence, the Outlook, 1532 Lilac Lane. The lunch is open only to graduates and their guests. A reservation card has been sent to all degree candidates. The Class of 2009 gift and banner will be presented. In the event of inclement weather the lunch will be held in the Kansas Union.
Master’s degree candidates are hooded in ceremonies conducted by individual schools. Those ceremonies are listed at http://www.commencement.ku.edu/2009/events.shtml.
Doctoral candidates who have fulfilled all of their degree requirements by April 29, the deadline established by Graduate Studies for May graduation, will be hooded in a ceremony at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 16, in the Lied Center.
Candidates who received doctoral degrees last summer and fall may also take part in this May ceremony.
Graduates wearing appropriate academic dress should assemble on Memorial Drive for the procession beginning at 2 p.m. A map in this publication shows the approximate location where graduates and faculty should gather without regard to alphabetical order. Signs will mark school assembly areas. University marshals wearing gold shoulder braids will organize the procession. Students should follow the marshals’ instructions at all times. Persons receiving bachelor’s degrees should wear gowns closed; master’s and doctoral degree recipients may wear gowns open or closed. The tassel should be attached to the center of the mortarboard and worn hanging on the left side of the face, where it will remain throughout the ceremonies. Participants should not remove their mortarboards at any time during the ceremonies.
The procession will start promptly at 2:30 p.m. Graduates should march close to the person in front of them so gaps do not occur in the line. After entering the stadium, graduates march through a gauntlet of faculty members. Graduates may sit down when they reach their seats. When the time comes for conferring of degrees by school, graduates should stand for presentation by their dean and for the conferring of degrees by Chancellor Robert Hemenway. Graduates should remain in place until the ceremony concludes with the singing of “Crimson and the Blue.”
The Commencement program will include names of degree recipients since May 2008 and degree candidates for May 2009. It is not an official list of graduates. Programs will be distributed outside the stadium and to persons in the procession.
Lawrence campus: Diplomas may be picked up by recipients in 151 Strong Hall approximately two months after Commencement (photo ID required). Students wanting their diploma mailed can visit the registrar’s Web site at www.registrar.ku.edu and click on “Diplomas” under “Current Students” for more instructions.
Medical Center campus:Medical center undergraduate and graduate diplomas (and certificates where applicable) will be available in the Medical Center Student Records office (3014 Student Center) after June 22. Students who want their diplomas mailed must complete the Diploma Delivery Request function within Enroll and Pay. MD diplomas will be handed out during the School of Medicine hooding ceremony. Diplomas will not be provided for students with financial and/or other obligations to the university. Contact the registrar’s office at kumcregistrar@kumc.edu or call (913) 588-7055 for more information.
Edwards Campus: Pick up a Diploma Request Form at the Regents Center front desk, complete the form and turn it in to the front desk in Regents Center. You will be notified by e-mail or phone when it arrives. If you would like your diploma mailed to you, visit the registrar's Web site (www.registrar.ku.edu) and click on "Graduation" for more instructions.
Information on purchasing or ordering announcements or ordering class rings is available at any of the bookstores where regalia is sold or rented. Personalized announcements may also be purchased by calling CB Graduation Announcements at (800) 433-0296, or visiting cbgrad.com, or by contacting Jostens at Jostens.com.
The university contracts with a professional firm to take photographs of graduates near the beginning of the Commencement procession at the campanile. They will contact grads with information on how to buy copies. This year’s commencement photographer is University Photography. Contact information: (888) 243-6911 (Lawrence: 785-843-5279), www.universityphoto.com/kugrad2009.htm.
Copyright © 2009 by the University of Kansas
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