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Celebrate With Us!

Congratulations to all our graduating students who have worked so hard during their time at Leeds! Please join us for a reception and ceremony to celebrate and recognize the graduate Class of 2024 and their outstanding achievements. 

Instructions to RSVP to your ceremony are forthcoming. There is no ticket limit or registration required for family and/or friends.

Graduate Ceremony: 4-6 p.m. May 11, CU Events Center

Before the ceremony, graduates and their families are invited to attend a reception on the Business Field starting at 2 p.m. Doors to the events center open and graduates may begin lining up at 3 p.m. 

We look forward to celebrating with you! Stay tuned for additional details.

Questions? See some frequently asked questions below, and contact our graduation team if you can't find what you're looking for.


As you plan to celebrate graduation with family and friends, remember to make dinner, hotel and flight reservations as soon as possible. With many students graduating at the same time, it can be difficult to find available local venues closer to graduation.

The Alumni Association’s Buffalo Legacy program honors students, parents and grandparents who share the bond of being Buffs. To find out more, click here.

CU Boulder holds a commencement ceremony for all univerity graduates. This is scheduled for Thursday, May 9, at 8:30 a.m. at Folsom Field. Visit the university commencement page for more information on the campus ceremony.

Master’s and Doctoral (Graduate) students purchase their regalia online from Jostens and it is shipped to them.  The deadline for Graduate Students to order regalia online is 11:59 p.m. MDT on Wednesday, March 27thThere is not a rental regalia option for students. 

To support effective security measures, the CU Events Center has strict limitations on bags and items that may be brought inside. To ensure your graduation celebration is hassle-free, Leeds recommends all ceremony attendees follow the requirements below. 

  • One clear bag, no larger than 12” by 6” by 12”.
  • A one-gallon sized clear freezer bag.
  • Small clutch bags no larger than 4.5” by 6.5”.

A full list of permitted and prohibited bags and other items is available for download here.

Guests may sit anywhere that is not marked reserved, ADA/disability or graduate seating. All seating is first come, first served. There is no ticket limit or registration required for family and/or friends.

All Leeds graduates please enter the Koelbel Building or CU Events Center based on your academic program (check email communications for which program is at which location). For those at the CU Events Center, enter at the loading dock off of Regent drive. There will be signage and staff directing graduates into an indoor practice facility.

Check-in tables will be in the room, organized by program.  At check-in, graduates will receive a card with their name printed on it. Once they have picked up their card and any other items given to you, the staff will direct all graduates to line-up near the southeast and southwest entrances of CU Events Center.

Graduates will be in alphabetical order by program; please do not lose your space in line. During the ceremony, they will hand their name card to the ushers right before they walk across the stage. Volunteers will be there to help line everyone up and direct all graduates when and where to walk.

Programs will be handed out by Leeds volunteers throughout the CU Events Center concourse as you enter through any of the doors.

All campus parking lots will be open on a "space available" basis for public parking during commencement.  Parking on-campus, including at parking meters and pay station lots, is free on the day of Commencement and on all Recognition Ceremony Days.

Full details including parking maps and instructions on recommended areas to park is available on the Parking Services webpage for Commencement
For ADA parking requests or for help finding the closest parking lot to your event, please contact Parking Services via email parkingevents@colorado.edu or phone 303-492-6551.

If you would like to purchase flowers for your graduate, there will be a vendor on the upper level of the concourse (behind section 7 and 8 and 23 and 24).

Seating will be available and provided for all guests with disabilities. We will have volunteers ready to greet and escort you to the reserved seating sections, which are the first four rows of sections 19, 20, 21 and 22. If you are confined to a wheelchair, we have a reserved wheelchair section located on the main concourse, and your family will be able to sit directly behind you. If you are hearing impaired, contact leedsgraduation@colorado.edu to make arrangements. Please plan to arrive early to ensure you are seated prior to the ceremony starting. 

Our professional photographer (Grad Images) will take pictures of all graduates as they are presented with a diploma cover.

Grad Images will distribute contact cards to each student to fill out their name, address and email. They will use this information to contact you after the ceremony to view and purchase your pictures.