Commencement will be held on June 15, 2025. This section provides helpful information for Commencement participants and their families and supporters.
The Commencement website provides updated information about Commencement weekend, including helpful Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
See the full weekend schedule; details about the individual events can be found below.
Families and supporters of graduating students received this Dartmouth Commencement Brochure in December 2024.
Continue to watch your Dartmouth emails for important updates from your Undergraduate Dean as well as Class Council.
The Degree Application allows students to confirm their intent to graduate and to provide important information for their diplomas and the Commencement program. The application can be found on DartHub (search for the Degree Application tile).
Please be sure to complete the PRONUNCIATION section, as this provides the Undergraduate Commencement Readers at the Commencement ceremony with the correct pronunciation of students' names. Important deadlines can be found on the Registrar's Term Calendar. Once you've submitted the Degree Application, any changes can be made by contacting the Undergraduate Deans Office.
Non-graduating participants do not complete the Degree Application. Participating students who are not completing their graduation requirements this spring will provide information directly to the Undergraduate Deans Office.
Non-graduating students who are eligible to participate in Commencement will receive communication from the Undergraduate Deans Office in mid-April, after spring term course elections are finalized.
Students who are on track to have 31 credits complete by the end of the spring term may be eligible to participate in Commencement. Eligible students will receive an email from the Undergraduate Deans Office in mid-April, after spring term courseloads are finalized. In that email, eligible students will be asked to confirm their intent to participate in the Commencement ceremony.
Students may participate in one Commencement ceremony. If a non-graduating student chooses to participate in this year's ceremony, they are not eligible to participate again in a future ceremony. There is nothing that distinguishes non-graduating participants from graduating students in the Commencement program or other aspects of the ceremony. Non-graduating participants will not receive a diploma on Commencement day. Diplomas are issued after students complete all graduation requirements and their degree is conferred by the Board of Trustees.
For students: Commencement participants who wish to discuss or request disability- or injury-related adjustments for participation in any weekend activity should contact the Undergraduate Deans Office at (603) 646-2243 or email the Undergraduate Deans Office. Requests can be made at any time, but some types of adjustments take several weeks to arrange. Therefore, please request adjustments as soon as possible.
For families/guests: Accessibility information for families and supporters is available on the Commencement website. Please see the section below about Class Day for additional information.
Commencement Rehearsal will be on Saturday, June 14 at 9:00 a.m. This is a REQUIRED event for all Commencement participants. (Note: If you are an AB/BE graduate, you will not be able to attend Commencement rehearsal due to Thayer Investiture. You will receive separate instructions – not to worry! )
During this rehearsal, students will learn about the procession to the Green, their participation order number, and where they will sit on the Green for the Commencement ceremony. We will also provide instructions and 'what to know' for Sunday's ceremony. The Undergraduate Commencement Readers will review name pronunciations and check directly with students for assistance, as needed. We will rehearse the Commencement procession as we move to the Bema for Class Day.
Rehearsal attendance is limited to Commencement participants only.
More details about Commencement Rehearsal will be provided later in the spring.
We will process from rehearsal to the Bema for Class Day. The program includes speeches by seniors and faculty, as well as an awards ceremony. Guests are invited to join the graduates at this event.
Class Day will still take place at the Bema in the event of rain, so plan accordingly.
The Bema is located at the end of a wide gravel path that branches off Observatory Road behind North Fayerweather. Parking is very limited near the Bema, so guests should plan their travel time to accommodate transit to the event.
The space is an outdoor amphitheater with a limited number of chairs for guests, available on a first come, first served basis. Since many guests will need to sit on the ground, family and friends are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on. Seniors will sit together on the grass in an area in front of the stage. Much of the terrain is hilly and rocky; however, the space is wheelchair accessible. We recommend guests with mobility disabilities arrive by 9:30 a.m.
Immediately following Class Day, the seniors will gather in front of Dartmouth Hall for a class photo.
Participants will arrive at the assembly location (to be announced), wearing their caps and gowns, on Sunday June 15 by 8:15 a.m. and must be in their assigned seats by 8:30 a.m. To prepare the final participant order and ensure arrival at the Green on schedule, the doors will close promptly at 8:30 a.m. We will process in participant order to the Green. Any student arriving after 8:30 a.m. will process at the end of the procession.
At a signal from the undergraduate dean, the class marshals and the bagpiper will lead the seniors from the assembly location to the Green. Once on the Green, the seniors will form two lines through which the academic procession will advance toward the platform, providing an opportunity for acknowledgment of the accomplishments of the seniors and the support of faculty and administrators.
Attendance is limited to graduating students and other undergraduate commencement participants only.
Information about the assembly location and other details will be shared later this spring.
On Sunday morning, Commencement participants will process to the Green in a certain order, known as the Participant Order. Commencement participants will receive their Participation Order number on Friday, June 13. More information to follow later this spring.
Reading the name of every Commencement participant aloud is a treasured Dartmouth tradition. Our Undergraduate Commencement Readers work tirelessly to learn the correct pronunciation of each name, and the Participant Order allows them to learn and practice the names they will be saying at Commencement
Pre-order caps and gowns by Sunday, May 4. Pick up pre-ordered regalia Thursday, June 12 through Saturday, June 14, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., at Paganucci Lounge (in Class of 1953 Commons).
During that time, there will be limited regalia available for purchase ($28 cash only). More information here.
Commencement exercises will be held outdoors rain or shine.
The Commencement website provides information about the severe weather plan.
Every seat on the Green has a great view of the ceremony on the large video screen to the right of the stage. There is no need to save seats. See more details about guest seating on the Commencement website.
The ceremony will be livestreamed on the Commencement page and will be available for online viewing afterwards. Commencement guests will be prohibited from taking pictures or videotaping from locations near the platform.
Arrangements have been made for Grad Images, a professional photography company, to take a picture as each graduate crosses the stage. If your guests are interested in photos, they can find more information on the Commencement FAQs for families and friends.
The Commencement website provides information for guests about travel and accommodations, parking, and FAQs.
Guests may apply for on-campus lodging. The deadline to reserve on-campus lodging is Sunday, April 13. Applications submitted after the deadline will be subject to a $10 late fee.
Guests traveling from outside of the United States may find helpful information from the Office of Visa and Immigration Services.
Graduating students can pick up their diplomas in Reiss Hall (Baker-Berry Library) after the Commencement ceremony has concluded until 2:00 p.m. Graduates need their Dartmouth ID or be ready to share their ID number. Family and supporters should wait outside of Baker—graduates need to pick up their diplomas on their own.
Please note: Reiss Hall will not be open for diploma distribution until the Commencement ceremony is over. The doors will open after the ceremony has finished.
Diploma distribution will end promptly at 2:00 p.m. Graduates who are unable to pick up their diplomas during diploma distribution may pick it up from the Undergraduate Deans Office (Carson 125) by Friday, June 20. The Undergraduate Deans Office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. After Friday, June 20, diplomas will be shipped to the address provided on the Degree Application.
The Commencement website includes detailed information about diplomas.
You may purchase the 2024/2025 Aegis yearbook by Friday, April 25. You will need to fill out your senior bio and sign up to have your senior portrait taken at available times from Monday, April 7 – Friday, May 2.