Graduate Division Commencement

Commencement Details and Resources

2025 PhD/Master’s Commencement

Friday, May 16, 2025, 11 a.m. 
Herbst Theatre (Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue)

Arrival time for GRADUATES: 10 a.m.
Arrival time for FACULTY:  Between 10 and 10:30 a.m.
Theatre opens for GUESTS: 10:15 a.m.
Ceremony begins: 11 a.m. (will conclude at approximately 1 p.m.)
Remote viewing via YouTube Livestream: View the livestream

Invitations & Registration

Invitations were sent in early March 2025 to all PhD and master's students who completed their program requirements in fall 2024, or who reasonably expect to finish in the winter, spring, summer, or fall terms of 2025. Registration for the 2025 commencement ceremony has closed.

Inviting Guests

Each graduating student will be limited to four (4) guests for the 2025 ceremony. When registering, you may indicate the number of seats you would like to reserve for guests. Please only reserve as many seats as you know you will need. You will have an opportunity to request an exception for a limited number of additional guests. Additional guest tickets are not guaranteed, and will be subject to available seating in the venue. Note that the ceremony will also be live streamed for remote audiences. 

You will receive a separate link to register your guests. You must register your guests on Eventbrite by Saturday, April 26! Please be sure guests print and bring their tickets with them to the commencement; tickets will be scanned for entry to the theatre. There will not be a will call available onsite.

Regalia

Participating students and faculty members will need regalia.

NOTE: The deadline to order regalia online has passed. If you have not yet ordered regalia, call 1-800-854-7464 to place your order by Friday, April 18 at the latest.

Students: You’ll need to order your regalia (gown, hood, cap) for the ceremony directly from the Jostens. Both master's and doctoral students will need hoods. Doctoral students should indicate “PhD” when prompted for “major/curriculum.” (Master’s hoods are all trimmed in gold, so there is no prompt for major/curriculum.) The deadline to order regalia via website has passed. Call the phone number above to place a late order.

  • Master’s students: You will need a master's cap (mortarboard style) with tassel, gown, and masters hood (gold).
  • PhD students: You will need a doctorate tam style cap with tassel, gown, and PhD doctoral hood (blue for doctor of philosophy).

You may also order graduation announcements from Jostens if you wish.

Hooders: Advisers and faculty can order hoods specific to their alma mater plus gowns and caps from Jostens. The deadline to order regalia via website has passed. Call the phone number above to place a late order.

Hooding

Master’s (MA, MS, and MAS) students are hooded by designated representatives of their program.

Doctoral (PhD) students are usually hooded by their research adviser or mentor. Hooders must be faculty members. If you wish to be hooded by your adviser, it's very important that you inform them yourself. Please remind your adviser that they will need to have regalia for the ceremony as well. 

On commencement day, please do not put your hood on. You should carry it over your left arm until you are ceremonially hooded by your adviser or designated program representative on stage. Tassels should hang on the left side of your cap.

Hooding Handshakes:  A congratulatory handshake with the dean and other distinguished guests after being hooded is customary. However, respecting your personal space is important to us. The UCSF team advises that you, the graduate, initiate the handshake with the dean and other distinguished guests after you are hooded on stage. If you choose not to shake hands, be assured that the dean and other distinguished guests will mirror what you do, whether it is a bow or simply a smile.

Event Flow

The 2025 event flow will be available in May, 2025. See the 2024 commencement event flow for a general idea of how the ceremony will proceed. We expect the event to conclude at about 1 p.m. There will not be a reception, but grads and their guests can gather in the large public lobby of the Veterans Building after the ceremony. There are also many restaurants in the vicinity; a few are listed at the bottom of this page.

Diplomas

You will not receive your diploma at the commencement ceremony. You will receive a leatherbound diploma cover with a congratulatory message inside. Your diploma will be available to you from the Office of the Registrar approximately eight to 12 weeks after the end of the term in which you complete your studies. Learn more about diplomas.

Accessibility

UCSF welcomes all participants to our events. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event because of a disability, please contact us at [email protected] as soon as possible.

Photography/Video:

  • Your guests can take photos or videos, but may not use tripods or drones.
  • Please refrain from taking selfies on stage while you're hooded.
  • Professional photographers from Grad Images will take a posed portrait of each graduate after being hooded. You will have the option to purchase these from Grad Images in the days following the ceremony. Pre-register with Grad Images before commencement day and receive 20% off your entire order. See the Grad Images website for more details.
  • Our event will be live streamed and recorded for on-demand viewing. We will also have a professional photographer documenting the ceremony and festivities.

Other Info

Flowers: Flowers and leis ARE permitted in the Herbst Theatre.

The following items are not permitted in the venue:

  • Do not bring helium-filled balloons. They are prohibited from the venue. Venue security will not allow any balloons inside the theater.
  • Glitter and confetti are also not allowed at the theater.
  • Amplification devices are not permitted in the theater.
  • Outside food or beverages are not permitted in the theater.
  • Large signs/banners are not permitted, or large signs attached to a stick or pole.
  • You may take photos and videos; however, tripods and drones are not permitted in the theater.

Live Stream

The 2025 commencement ceremony will be live-streamed for remote viewers on YouTube, starting at 11 a.m. PDT on May 16. 

view the live stream on may 16

Questions?

If you have a question not answered here, please email us at [email protected].

Transportation, Parking and Nearby Restaurants

There will not be a reception at the Herbst Theatre. If you would like to go out for a celebratory meal with your guests following the ceremony in the vicinity of the Theatre, we highly recommend that you make a reservation, as restaurants will fill rapidly. A partial list of restaurants (both formal and casual) in the area follows. The Herbst Theatre is located at 401 Van Ness Avenue (at McAllister St.), in the Civic Center of San Francisco. The theater is not far from several public transportation options. It's about a 10-minute walk from the Civic Center BART station or MUNI Metro Van Ness station, and is close to stops on the 5 and 49 MUNI bus lines. Street parking in the area is limited. See a short list of parking facilities below. Find directions and parking info on the theater's website.

Parking Facilities

Restaurants

Open for lunch and dinner:
Open for dinner: