Undergraduate Ceremony for College of Arts & Sciences & Associate Degrees
Sunday, May 11
10 am, Alumni Arena
Remember: All undergraduate students, and certain graduate students, must complete and file an Application for Degree Form ("degree card") before February 1, 2008. (Law students do not need to fill out the Graduate School's degree forms. Law students who are graduating with dual degrees (e.g. MBA, MSW) may need to fill out these forms. Check with your other Department or School.) Visit src.buffalo.edu/record/degree.shtml for more information. MD students also do not need to complete the form. Only dual degree MDs (MBA, MPH) may need to fill out these forms. Check with your other department or school. Visit src.buffalo.edu/record/degree.shtml for more information.
About your lifelong relationship with the University at Buffalo...
Eligibility
The University Commencement is intended and scheduled ONLY for undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences who graduated in September '07 and February '08 and degree candidates for June '08. Degree applicant status is now found on MyUB under the MyGrades section. Students should check with their advisors to make sure all degree requirements have been met. Diplomas are mailed by the Student Response Center approximately six weeks after the degrees are conferred.
Please note that many departments schedule gatherings during the days leading up to and including commencement weekend. Please check directly with your department to see if any activities may be taking place in addition to your official commencement exercise.
Contacts
Sonia Marinaccio, 645-6147 ext. 2 - smarin@buffalo.edu
Registration
The registration site for University Commencement has been available for the past few months. We have just closed the ceremony registration site so we can begin running reports and making the necessary preparations for the ceremony.
If you did NOT register via this website, prior to it closing and would still like to register to be part of the ceremony: Please arrive with cap and gown, at Alumni Arena at 7:30am on the morning of Sunday, May 11. At that time, not all doors to the building will be open but you will be able to enter through one of the main doors at the back of the building (facing the Arena Lot). Please report to the Triple Gym (on ground floor) and register at the Booth marked On-Site Registration. For those registering on-site that morning, guest tickets will be available at that time (max. of 4), while supplies last. (You cannot pick up guest tickets until you register.)
Guests with tickets may enter the Main Gym and take their seats beginning at 8:30am. Extra guests who do not have tickets may go next door to the Center for the Arts where the ceremony will be shown live on the large screen in the Mainstage Theatre.
FAQs
Students who registered for the ceremony via this website AND picked up their guest tickets in advance:
On Sunday, May 11, 2008, please arrive at Alumni Arena at 8:30am (this is also when doors open for guests). Graduating students should report to the Triple Gym (on the ground floor level). Please find the alphabetical booth that corresponds with your last name, and check in to receive your reader card. You’ll then find your seat and await further instructions.
- For assistance in making a trip to the University at Buffalo and metro Buffalo enjoyable, the commencement committee asks that you visit www.buffalo.edu/directions for specific and individualized arrangements ranging from travel to restaurants to lodging to site-seeing.
- Gold Cord/Honors: The University at Buffalo pays special tribute to some of its most accomplished undergraduates with the conferral of the Gold Cord at the University Honors Convocation. The Gold Cord is given in recognition of the outstanding achievements of students who are graduating magna cum laude (a grade point average between 3.5 and 3.75) or summa cum laude (3.75 or better).
A long, braided neckpiece, the Gold Cord may be worn with the cap and gown at any commencement ceremony. Some 600 students who will graduate during the academic year will wear the Gold Cord at commencements. The University at Buffalo is pleased to honor them for their impressive academic performance.
Candidates for graduation are encouraged to wear on their robes any insignia, emblems or pins signifying membership in honorary societies or academic organizations, or special honors received for either academic or extracurricular activities.
For further information, please contact hborden@buffalo.edu. - Other Insignia: Students who belong to honor societies or other academic organizations or who have received other academic honors are encouraged to wear those insignias, emblems or pins on their robes.
How long is the ceremony? Approximately two hours and 40 minutes.
How many tickets am I allowed? Four Tickets - First-come first-served seating. SEATING BEGINS AT 8:30 am.
What if I need more than four tickets? Due to the number of graduating students and the capacity limitations of Alumni Arena, four tickets is the maximum per student. Additional guests can be seated in the Center for the Arts MainStage Theatre (next door to Alumni Arena), where the ceremony can be viewed live via closed circuit. There is no limit on the number of additional guests and no tickets are required for the CFA MainStage Theatre venue.
When and where do I get my tickets?
Students who pre-registered for the ceremony via this website were notified about several dates and times when tickets would be available for pick-up. Those times have now passed. The next opportunity to get tickets, if you haven’t yet, will be on Sunday morning.
If you pre-registered for the ceremony via this website but just didn’t get your tickets yet, please come to Alumni Arena early (8am) on Sunday. At that time, the only open door will be the main set of back doors facing the Arena Lot. Report to the Triple Gym and check in at the alphabetical booth that corresponds to your last name, and pick up your reader card. Then go to the booth marked Onsite Registration – let them know that you are already registered but never picked up tickets. While supplies last, you may then pick up, up to 4 tickets.
If you didn’t pre-register for the ceremony via this website but still want to participate, your next chance to register will be on Sunday morning. Please report to the Arena early (7:30am). At that time, the only open door will be the main set of back doors facing the Arena Lot. Report to the Triple Gym and go to the booth marked Onsite Registration. They will make you a reader card so your name can be announced, and while supplies last, you may then pick up, up to 4 tickets.
Friends or family unable to attend University Commencement? Find out how they can watch the ceremony live online.
Is the Arena handicapped accessible and is special handicapped seating provided? Yes, it is. There will be many ushers on site to help facilitate seating in the special reserved handicapped seating sections.
Important Note: Due to limited seating, only one family member is allowed to accompany the individual requiring handicapped seating. The rest of the family will be asked to sit in the regular seating sections.
Do we need to reserve handicapped seating? No, once you arrive on site, ask any of the ushers to assist you in being seated.
Where do my guests park? West side of Arena - Baird, Jacobs & Slee Lots on Augspurger Road. East side of Arena – Arena Lot. Many signs will be posted and aides will direct traffic (including handicapped parking). Slee B will be a designated handicapped parking lot.
Are individual names announced? Yes.
Where do I first report and where? Triple Gym by 8:30 am. Further instructions will be given at that time.
How do I order a cap and gown? Through the University Bookstore, located on the North Campus, beginning March 3, 2008. For out-of-town orders, call (716) 645-3131. Credit Cards are accepted. See Cap & Gown information section.
I will not complete my degree in May. May I still march in the ceremony? Yes. Your name will be announced, but your name will not be printed in the program.
When will I receive my diploma? The Student Response Center mails all diplomas to your PERMANENT ADDRESS within six weeks of commencement.
Note: Students are responsible for making address changes.
Is the ceremony taped and available for purchase? Yes. Place your DVD order today.
Will there be a professional photographer at the University Commencement? Yes. Chappell/Aardvark Studio, Inc. is the contracted photography studio. Proofs will be mailed to each student about one week following the commencement ceremony. Questions must be made to the photography studio at 1-800-424-3686.
