Navigate below to see different important information regarding your Graduate Commencement Ceremony!
Please Note: On Commencement Day, all students must appear in full regalia in order to participate in the ceremony.
Please make sure you have completed your Comprehensive Exam/Graduation Application!
Family and Friends Can't Make It?
Friends and family who are not able to make the events in person can watch the commencement ceremonies via livestream on this site on the day of the event. Both ceremonies are also being recorded and will be available on the University's YouTube channel in the weeks following.
Academic Regalia (Cap & Gown) Purchase
The base cost of the baccalaureate regalia package is $36.50. This includes the customized FSU gown, cap, and black tassel. Our Vender Oak Hall will have the website for FSU open starting January 1, 2025 for online order.
Purchasing options for graduates:
- Walk into the University bookstore (date TBD for Spring 2025) and purchase on the spot for $36.50. See a store associate for assistance.
- Order and pay online, and choose the Ship to Bookstore option for $36.50. Your regalia will be available for pick up beginning on (Date TBD). See a store associate for assistance. Valid ID will be required for pickup.
- Order and pay online and choose the option to Ship to Home (which includes an additional shipping and handling charge of $15.95 domestic, or $60.00 international).
All students will be wearing regalia made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles! In the effort to remain green on campus, the line of graduation wear - named GreenWeaver - is made of fabric spun from molten plastic pellets. Fewer plastic bottles will be choking our landfills because for every Framingham State student walking at commencement, an average of 23 plastic bottles will be used to produce each cap and gown. With some 60 million plastic bottles going into U.S. landfills every day, Framingham State is helping to turn those bottles into keepsakes.
5:15PM - Line Up
5:20PM - Processional
7:30PM - Recessional
7:30PM - 9:30PM - Reception in McCarthy Dining Annex
**Check-in will begin at 4:15 p.m. on the 1st floor of the Athletic Center, outside of the University Bookstore. Please arrive promptly! There will be a table set-up to check in and receive your place card.
Check-in will begin at 4:15 p.m. on the 1st floor of the Athletic Center, outside of the University Bookstore. Please arrive promptly! There will be a table set-up to check in and receive your place card.
Parking
Ample parking is available in all legal parking spaces on campus. Click here to view the interactive map. Parking lots open for students and their guests include:
- Normal Hill Lot,
- McCarthy Center Lot,
- Church Street Lot,
- O’Connor Lot,
- Maynard Road Lot,
- Salem End Road Lot,
- Adams Lot,
- and Maple Street Lot
Mortar boards should be worn squarely on the head (not tilting backwards) and the tassel should be on the left.
You will carry your hood into the ceremony, draped over your right arm as you proceed into the Richard C. Logan Gym.
Place Card
Below is a photo of the place card-B. Each card has a white label with a number to the left of the QR code. Please keep this card with you. This place card ensures that everyone is in the correct order.
Once you have checked in, you will proceed to the "Old Gym" and your family and friends will take their seats in the Richard C. Logan Gymnasium.
Line-up will take place in the “Old Gym”, ground level of the Athletic Center (connected to Dwight Hall) past the Richard C. Logan Gymnasium and down the hall. Students need to line-up in numerical order. Do not bring any hand bags/purses to the “old gym” since there won’t be a secure location to store them.
During Ceremony
Once the commencement address is done, it’s time for the hooding ceremony. Before going on stage, a staff member will direct graduates to line-up one row at a time. Before going on stage someone will take your place card. When your name is called, walk to the dean of graduate studies and program coordinator and hand your hood to the program coordinator. Then, stand between the dean and program coordinator and face the audience so you can be formally hooded. A professional photographer will take your picture. Then, continue across the stage to the president. As you shake hands, please face the audience for a second photo. Once you walk off the stage you will be handed a diploma cover and a final photo will be taken with the diploma cover in your hands. After the photo a staff member will direct you to return to your seat.
Once the commencement ceremony ends, the platform party will exit first, next the faculty members leave, and then a staff member will have graduates leave one row at a time. Family, friends, and guests need to stay seated until all the graduates have left. As you leave the gym, staff members will be passing out a gift to each graduate.