Commencement FAQs

The spring 2024 commencement ceremonies will be held at the Denver Coliseum (4600 Humboldt St., Denver, CO 80216). There will be a morning (9:30 a.m.) and afternoon (2:30 p.m.) ceremony.

See "Which ceremony should I attend?" below, where you can find a list of which schools/colleges are participating in each ceremony.

Morning Ceremony at 9:30 a.m.

Doors open at 8 a.m. Please allow time for travel and to find parking.

This ceremony will include the following schools and colleges:

• College of Arts & Media
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• School of Education & Human Development
• School of Public Affairs

Afternoon Ceremony at 2:30 p.m.

Doors open at 1 p.m. Please allow time for travel and to find parking.

This ceremony will include the following schools and colleges:

• Business School
• College of Architecture and Planning
• College of Engineering, Design and Computing

Graduates should arrive at the Denver Coliseum at least one hour before their ceremony. Make sure to allow time to go through metal detectors. Please note that entry will be split between two locations (one for families and one for graduates). Follow signs to graduate check-in. If you arrive late, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be part of the procession.

Come dressed in your regalia. Undergraduates wear tassels on the right side of the cap until instructed during the ceremony to move the tassel to the left side. Master's degree candidates wear hoods. Doctoral candidates drape hoods over their left arms until they are hooded during the ceremony. 

What ceremony should I attend?

 

Parking at the Denver Coliseum lot and its overflow lot at the National Western Complex will be free for all attendees. 

Please use RTD’s website to plan a route to the Denver Coliseum. Significant disruption to service may impact travel or wait times. 

For your safety, and the safety of others, guests and their possessions are subject to inspection prior to, and as a condition of, admittance to the CU Denver Commencement at the Denver Coliseum.

Please have your bags open and available for inspection. Coliseum Management reserves the final decision on items which may be brought into the venue.

The following items are not allowed inside of the venue:

• Outside food and/or beverages
• Glass bottles
• Glass flower vases
• Balloons, stickers, adhesive backed decals, and chewing gum
• Posters and/or signs
• Laser pointers or noise makers
• Weapons or objects that may be considered a weapon (e.g. toys, guns, knives, chains, studded jewelry, pepper/bear spray)
• Drugs and/or alcohol
• Smoking of any kind is strictly prohibited (including e-cigarettes)
• Professional audio/video recording equipment
• Pets of any kind, qualified service animals permitted

Students can participate in commencement only after completing all degree requirements and applying to graduate. Questions about this policy should be directed to student advisors. Summer graduates are invited to participate in the fall ceremony or the spring ceremonies that follows their degree completion.

Exceptions to this policy are limited. For information about the process for requesting an exception, please contact your advisor.

Please note that graduate names are noted in the commencement program only in the semester for which you have been approved to graduate.

No, you do not have to attend. Commencement is an optional activity to celebrate the completion of your degree.

Students who select the on-campus pick-up option during registration will pick up their rental items at St. Cajetan’s on the Auraria Campus on either Wednesday, May 1, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. or Thursday, May 2, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Early pick up is not available. A photo ID is required for pick up. You can arrange for someone else (a family member, friend, colleague, etc.) to pick up your regalia package, but they must bring a copy of your confirmation email to handle to pick up.

During registration, graduates have the option to pay to ship their gowns to their homes in order to receive them before the on-campus pick-up date.

Once orders are placed, graduates cannot change their delivery preference. 

If you missed early cap and gown pick up, you can pick up your regalia on Saturday, at the Denver Coliseum, before the start of the ceremonies. When you arrive at the Denver Coliseum, the regalia table will be on the lower level in the graduate staging area.  

Yes! We encourage students to express their creativity. Be sure to use #CUDenverGrad on social media, so we can see what you create! There will also be a cap decorating contest, so keep an eye out on our CU Denver Instagram account for more information.

Graduates do not receive their diplomas at commencement but do receive a diploma cover as they cross the stage. All diplomas are mailed to graduates about six to eight weeks after the semester ends from the Registrar’s Office. Diploma addresses can be updated via the student portal.

For anyone who is unable to attend commencement in person, diploma covers are available for pick up year-round by visiting the front desk at Lynx Central or emailing commencement@ucdenver.edu. 

To ensure that all students are wearing the proper regalia and that it is consistent with the university's quality standards, all graduates are required to rent caps and gowns through Herff Jones, our official vendor. All CU Denver graduates wear regalia featuring CU colors. 

Yes, if you need someone else to pick up your regalia on your behalf, please email them a copy of your registration confirmation and they can show that to the regalia provider at pick up. 

To obtain honor cords to be worn with your gown, you will go to cap and gown pick up to find the honor cord table. If you elected for home-ship, you still need to pick up your honor cord in person at St. Cajetan’s on May 1 or 2 or at your school/college check-in table the morning of the ceremony. Honor cords are only presented to undergraduate students. 

Cancellations received by the close of cap and gown registration will receive a full refund. After this date the commencement fees cannot be refunded. If you choose to have your regalia shipped to you, it can be returned for a refund in the return envelope. You will only receive a full refund if the gown was unopened. 

Contact Alex Frieler at Herff Jones (ajfrieler@herffjones.com) to inquire about buying regalia. 

Graduates can purchase souvenir tassels, class rings, announcements, and more through the registration website without registering to participate in commencement. Instructions for receiving your items will be provided. 

Individual student organizations and departments coordinate orders and distribution of participation and recognition cords and stoles. Please contact your organization or the affiliated department to inquire about cords and stoles.

New cord or stole programs must be approved by the Commencement Office. Please submit your request to the Commencement Office at commencement@ucdenver.edu. All requests for new cords and stoles must be approved before ordering. 

CU Denver partners with Herff Jones to provide graduation products (announcements, rings, frames, etc.) with the approved commencement dates, designs, and branding. However, you may elect to purchase announcements or memorabilia from any provider. Students are required to use Herff Jones for their cap and gown rental.

Yes, you can still participate, and your name will be read, but you will be charged late fees. You will need to go to cap and gown pick up (at St. Cajetan’s on May 1 or 2) to rent your cap and gown and pay the commencement fees. Please note that all on-site payments will include a $50 late fee, in addition to standard commencement fees. 

Regalia rental fees are covered by the commencement budget. Please register for the ceremony by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 29 to confirm your attendance, even if regalia rental is not needed.

Please note: Register by Friday, April 26 to guarantee your hood is in your alma mater colors. Orders received after this date may receive a CU hood instead of your alma mater colors.

And any rented regalia will be available in the faculty breakfast/robing area at the Denver Coliseum prior to the ceremony you selected to attend.

No, guests do not need tickets for commencement at this time, and there is currently no limit on the number of guests you can bring. Please note that seating is first come, first served.

Each ceremony, morning (9:30 a.m.) and afternoon (2:30 p.m.), is estimated to last two hours. In consideration of the audience and the significance of this event, all guests and graduates must remain seated for the entire event and cannot depart early. 

There is no rehearsal for the ceremonies. Once you check in with your school or college, you will get instruction from the faculty marshals. Visit the Ceremonies Details page for more information.

As a service to our graduates, professional photographers will take pictures of each graduate during the ceremonies. Proofs of these photographs will be emailed within five business days of the ceremonies and will include a coupon for a free 5x7 print (no purchase necessary).

If you would like to pre-register for photographs and receive a discount on photo purchases, please visit the GradImages registration page.

Please note: In order to maintain graduate safety and timing, professional photographers who are not part of the GradImages team will not be allowed in the graduate seating or on the stage. Families are encouraged to utilize the GradImages team and not hire separate photographers. 

 

The Commencement Office will draft a letter of invitation to friends and family abroad to include in a visa application packet. Requests should be sent to commencement@ucdenver.edu and must contain the following information: 

• Your name
• Your preferred pronoun 
• Degree to be earned
• Semester attending commencement
• Name and relationship of each guest to be invited
• City and country of embassy/consulate where visa application interview will take place

An electronic letter will be sent to you within one week of your request.

For safety and consideration for the significance of commencement, graduates with children are not allowed to bring their child to the stage with them.

Yes, the ceremonies are available to watch on YouTube. The link will be posted on the commencement homepage prior to the ceremonies.

Yes! For each commencement, there are a several activities to celebrate our graduates in the weeks leading up to the main event. Many schools and colleges, student groups, and programs hold celebrations before commencement. To stay-up-date on those events, please visit our campus calendar.

Key Special Events for Spring 2024 Graduates and the CU Denver Community

• Spring 2024 African & African American Graduation Celebratory Dinner | May 1, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Tivoli Turnhalle
• ASA End of Year Celebration: Blossom Ball | May 4, 5 to 10 p.m. | St. Cajetan’s
• Native Indigenous Graduation | May 5, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. | Tivoli Student Union, Room 320
• The Center for Identity and Inclusion’s Multicultural Graduation Ceremony | May 7, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Tivoli Turnhalle

Please visit the Accessibility Arrangements & Information page for more information about arrangements for graduates who need assistance. Students will be asked during the registration process whether they require accommodations to fully participate in the ceremonies. The deadline for ADA registration is 30 days prior to the ceremony.

For those guests who require disability-related accommodations (i.e. hearing-impaired, use of a wheelchair), seats are issued on a first-come, first-served basis during the graduate registration process. Please visit the Accessibility Arrangements & Information page for more information.  

Please note: The southwest loading dock entrance is best suited for wheelchair and other ADA access to the reserved seating area on the arena floor. 

Yes. During the registration process, you will be asked to identify any disability-related accommodations you may need to participate fully in the commencement ceremony. The deadline for ADA registration is 30 days prior to the ceremony.

There are ramps leading to the stage on both sides to accommodate wheelchairs and anyone who is unable to negotiate stairs.  

Service animals (not emotional support animals) are permitted at the ceremony. Graduates must pre-communicate during registration for planning purposes.

Service animals (not emotional support animals) are permitted at the ceremony. Graduates must pre-communicate during registration for planning purposes.  

A sign language interpreter will be present in this section during the ceremony. Sign language interpreters can be arranged, as needed, for graduates and should be requested during the registration process. 

During the registration process, you will be asked to identify any disability-related accommodations you may need to participate fully in the commencement ceremony.

When the guest arrives at the Denver Coliseum, they should go to the ADA entrance (follow the signs) and provide their name. They will be instructed on how to get to the reserved seating area. If they arrive after the procession has started, they will need to wait to be seated in order not to disrupt the ceremony. 

All spoken information during the ceremony will be captioned and made available to follow along in real time from a personal, mobile device. To access this service and follow along during the ceremony, open the browser on your mobile device to the CU Denver GradCap website. 

Wheelchairs and scooters are not available for rent at the Denver Coliseum.