Graduates

Students must wear regalia (cap and gown) in order to participate in commencement.

For details about regalia, including orders, pickup, and more, contact the bookstore directly

• Email: Cap-gown@ufl.edu
• Phone: (352) 392-0194
• Website: https://businessservices.ufl.edu/services/uf-bookstore/graduation/ 

Please note, the commencement office cannot assist with regalia orders. Orders MUST go through the UF bookstore.

Students graduating this semester must apply to graduate by Sept 13, 2025. The deadlines for applications for the Fall of 2025 semester can be found in the catalog of the Registrar’s Office UF Registrar Dates & Deadlines

The application for graduation can be found in a student’s OneUF. https://registrar.ufl.edu/services/degreeapp 

In the application, there is a box that asks the degree applicant whether UF has permission to print their name in the commencement program. If the box is not marked, "yes" by the applicant, we CANNOT print the name of the applicant in the commencement program.

Please note: due to printing deadlines, we gather names for the commencement program a week after the degree application deadline. This is also when the honors status of degree candidates (cum laude, etc.) are collected. If a graduating student does not apply for graduation on time, or if their honors status changes during the second part of the semester, they may not be accurately reflected in the program.

90 MINUTES BEFORE THE POSTED CEREMONY TIME - Arrive at Gate 4 of the O’Connell Center

• Check in at Gate 4 wearing your cap and gown and with your Tassel "GradPass" saved on your mobile device or printed out from home
• Doctoral candidates- wear your tassel on your left (you don't move your tassel during the ceremony, only undergraduates do that). Carry your hood, draping it over your left arm.
• Master's and Specialist’s degree candidates- wear your hood, wear your tassel on your left (you don’t move your tassel during the ceremony, only undergraduates do that)
• Bachelor’s degree candidates- wear your tassels on the right.

Families can begin entering the O'Connell Center 90 minutes before the ceremony, entering through Gates 1 and 3.

20-30 MINUTES BEFORE THE POSTED CEREMONY TIME - Candidate processional line will start to move

• College by college, you’ll be moved out of your line-up rooms and start to enter the arena floor to be seated. All seating will be completed 5 minutes prior to the posted ceremony time.

NOTE: If your college processes and you are not in line, you will not process with your college and will not be seated with your college. There will be no seat-saving permitted by candidates during the processional and seating.

5 MINUTES BEFORE THE POSTED CEREMONY TIME - Platform processional line

• Those who will be on the stage will enter the arena, including the university president, deans of the colleges, etc.

NOTE: It is appropriate for candidates and guests to stand at this time.

POSTED CEREMONY TIME

Ceremony will officially start on the stage at the posted ceremony time, beginning with the National Anthem.

2 HOURS AFTER THE CEREMONY BEGINS (approx.)

No ceremony will last longer than two hours past the posted stage start time.

Doctoral Graduates: Following the platform recessional, there will be a formal recessional led by the faculty marshals who led you in.

Master’s, Specialist's, and Bachelor’s Graduates: Following the platform recessional, you will exit the arena through the gates you entered. There is no formal recessional.

HINT: Due to large crowds leaving the arena at once, plan to give yourselves plenty of time and establish a meeting point. Select less-common locations to meet your party. The Bull Gator or Heisman Trophy statues are where most people choose to meet.

Diplomas are ordered for all graduates by the Office of the University Registrar at the end of the semester after grades have been posted. It takes approximately 8 weeks for students to receive their diplomas after the close of the semester.

Diplomas are mailed to the graduate's DIPLOMA MAILING ADDRESS as it appears in their ONE.UF at the end of the semester. Students are responsible for correcting or updating their address as necessary.

More information about diplomas, paper and electronic, can be found on the Registrar's Office Diploma page.

While we cherish our traditions, the UF Commencement Office is modernizing our ceremonies. We now use a web-based service called Tassel to display and announce graduates’ names as they cross the stage.

If you apply to graduate and RSVP in the ONE.UF Graduation Checklist, you’ll receive an invitation to confirm your Tassel profile. You’ll verify the name that will be announced and displayed on stage. For many, Tassel’s AI pronunciation is excellent; if it isn’t correct after a couple of attempts, please provide an audio recording of your name. These recordings are sent to professional voice actors who will create a polished announcement audio file for use during the ceremony. Once the audio file is ready, it will be linked to your GradPass, which you can save to your mobile device. The GradPass includes your name, your ceremony, and a QR code that, when scanned on stage, triggers both the display of your name and the playback of your audio announcement.

Deadline: You must confirm your Tassel profile by Nov 13.

Applicants who applied to graduate and RSVP’d in ONE.UF Graduation Checklist will receive a GradPass regardless of confirmation, but pronunciation may not be exact. Candidates who have not applied to graduate nor RSVP’d for the ceremony will receive a 3×5 card and Sharpie for live announcement, but their name will not be displayed on screen.

Graduates will receive two copies of the printed university commencement program when they arrive for the ceremony. These keepsake programs have the names of all students graduating this semester.

(please note this may not be a fully exhaustive list, as it reflects applications turned in by the application deadline. Academic honors designations in the program are also based on their GPAs at that point in the semester. We understand students may apply to graduate after the initial deadline, and that GPAs may fluctuate during the course of the semester, but due to the printing timeline, we must use this as our deadline.)

Approximately two weeks before graduation weekend, the full PDF of the program will be available online at  https://commencement.ufl.edu/past-programs/. This version can be viewed and/or downloaded at any time after it appears.

If you are an international student who may need assistance with the proper documents for family or friends to attend your ceremony, you should contact UF’s International Center for assistance.

• Forms page: https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/forms-resources 
• Location: 1765 Stadium Road, Suite 170 Hub Gainesville, FL 32611
• Phone: (352) 392-5323