Every year, fall graduation ceremonies are held in December and spring graduation ceremonies are held in May, shortly following the end of each semester. While students can complete their degrees during summer semester, there is no summer graduation ceremony. Students who graduate in summer and would like to participate in a graduation ceremony must arrange to do so during the spring or fall ceremonies. Students who wish to graduate with a master's or doctoral degree must file their intent to graduate, their title, and submit successful defense paperwork and, if applicable, their thesis or dissertation in the format requested from the Graduate School. More info on deadlines and criteria.

The main graduation ceremony is typically scheduled in the morning at Folsom Field. Please visit the Commencement site for more information on this ceremony.


Spring 2024

Congratulations Class of 2024! 

Our ceremony will be held Friday, May 10th, 2024 at 10:00am at CU Recreation Center (REC) – Upper Gymnasium

  • Doors open at 9:30am.  Ceremony starts at 10am sharp and lasts about an hour.
  • Water and cookies will be provided free of charge after the ceremony.
  • Each graduate is allowed to bring 6 guests.  You do not need tickets to the sociology commencement ceremony, but we’ll check you in at the door. It is free for all attendees.
  • Seats are first come first serve and may not be reserved. There is limited space in the REC.  Once all seats have been taken, attendees will have to stand.
  • If an attendee has a disability and needs pre-arranged seating accommodations, please contact sociology@colorado.edu no later than Monday, April 15th so appropriate arrangements can be made.
  • If you need live-captioning, the ADA office has suggested this highly rated app InnoCaption: Call Captioning
  • In order to get your name in the sociology graduation program, you must submit a Spring 2024 or Summer 2024 graduation application by the April 1st deadline. No exceptions or extensions! The application can be found on the BuffPortal.
  • If you graduated in Fall 2023, your name will be included in the program.
  • If you miss the April 1st deadline for your name to be included in the program: You are still allowed to walk at graduation! Names are read from note cards filled out on the day of the ceremony.
  • Parking is free on campus Thursday, May 9th – Sunday, May 12th.  We recommend the Folsom Parking Garage.  Please check Parking and Transportation for maps and more info.

Congratulations, you did it!


Master's and Doctoral Students

Master’s and doctoral students wear regalia purchased online from Jostens.

The regalia set includes the gown, hood, cap/tam, tassel and is yours to keep.  The deadline to order your regalia online is 11:59 p.m. MT on Thursday, March 31st. 

  • Regalia for Master's students consists of a keepsake master’s gown, hood lined with CU school colors and velvet trim denoting field of study, mortarboard cap, and a black tassel.  
    $46.22 (plus tax and shipping)
  • Regalia for Doctoral students consists of a keepsake doctoral gown, hood linked with CU School colors and velvet trim denoting field of study, tam, and a gold tassel.
    $67.90 (plus tax and shipping)

Please view Jostens University of Colorado product webpage for details on additional products available. 

If you wish to purchase custom fine quality regalia to have it for future use, you may order online or contact Jostens Customer Service: 800-854-7464; Clay Rogers 970-617-5970.  Custom fine quality orders must be placed by Thursday, March 31st at 11:59 p.m. MT in order to arrive prior to the Spring 2022 ceremonies.


Have more questions?  Check out the Spring Ceremony Commencement Site if you still have questions, email brigitte.sellinger@colorado.edu