Instructions for Candidates

2025 Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony
Combined Undergraduate & Advanced Degree Ceremony
Saturday, December 20, 2025, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (estimated time)
Stan Sheriff Center

All graduates who want to participate in commencement must register by December 1, 2025. Please be advised that registering for the ceremony is not the same as filing a degree application.

Venue and Report Time

Ceremony: 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (estimated end time) - Stan Sheriff Center
Candidates arrive by 8:00 a.m. to Stan Sheriff Center loading dock area (please see map below).

Upon arrival, candidates should check in with their student marshal standing near their school/college sign.

Prior to Commencement

All graduates who want to participate in commencement must register by December 1, 2025.

Commencement Instructions Part 1: Prior to Commencement

PhD students: Prior to registering, please notify your sponsor that you will be participating in commencement. Your sponsor is responsible for hooding you during the ceremony. You must select a sponsor who will attend the ceremony with you. The sponsor is normally the chairperson of your committee. If they are not available to attend, a member of your committee should be selected. If no one from your committee is available, please contact the Commencement Office at uhm.commencement@hawaii.edu.

Print your Name Card by logging into the commencement registration site. Be sure to bring it with you to the ceremony as you will hand it to the name reader when you cross the stage. Digital copies will not be accepted.

All candidates must have a cap and gown (and hood for advanced degrees - see below) in order to participate. You can purchase these from the Mānoa Bookstore. Alteration of gowns is prohibited (i.e., shortening the length). We ask that you refrain from decorating your cap with items that will obstruct the view of your fellow candidates.

Advanced degree candidates: In addition to your cap and gown, please obtain the appropriate hood in advance from the UH Mānoa Bookstore.

Master’s, LLM, DArch, DNP, EdD, JD, and MD candidates are to wear their hoods to the ceremony.
For PhDs only - You will carry your hoods. Your sponsor will hood you on stage. Dissertation titles will also be read aloud during the ceremony.

Note: Purchase your regalia early. The bookstore cannot guarantee the availability of all sizes, hood and tassel colors after November 15, 2025.

Prices: (*All subject to change)
Gown prices: Undergraduate $75.95, Master’s $85.95, Doctoral $104.95*. Note: Gowns requiring special sizing must be ordered by Oct 25, 2025. Special sizing orders after this date will be assessed a service charge for air freight.
Hood prices: Master’s $79.95, Doctoral $94.95*.
Tam: $50.95

Bookstore Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m and Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m

For more information, call the Mānoa Bookstore at (808) 956-6884.

A demonstration video from Herff Jones on how to wear the cap and gown is available here:

We strongly recommend participants view it before commencement day.

Day of Commencement

Commencement Instructions Part 2: Day of Commencement

Caps and gowns should be worn at all times. The cap should be worn squarely on the top of the head. The front of the cap, which has the shorter point, should be centered directly over your nose. Tassels on your caps should hang on the right of your cap until after the symbolic conferring of degrees. Advanced Degree Candidates: Tassels on your caps should hang on the left of your cap.

Assemble at the Stan Sheriff Center loading dock by 8:00 a.m. Please refer to your name card for your designated lineup location. Signs will be posted along a rope originated from the loading dock gate entrance. Please check in with your school/college student marshal once you find your sign, then line up in double-file lines behind the appropriate sign for your degree and college (see Loading Dock map above). Friends who wish to sit side by side during the ceremony must line up one behind the other or they will be separated.

Traditionally, flower lei are not presented or worn until after the ceremony.

Note: Large bags (purses, backpacks, etc.), placards or signage, balloons, beach balls, pets (excluding service animals), and children will not be allowed on the arena floor. Please plan accordingly or make prior arrangements with your guests attending the ceremony. The clear bag policy does not apply to UH Mānoa commencement exercises.

Procession

The student procession into the arena will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. under the direction of your faculty marshals. All graduates will be seated facing the stage. Refer to the floor map for additional seating details.

**Subject to change. Layout will vary depending on number of graduates registered to participate.

Ceremony

All candidates except PhD: The faculty marshal will ask you to rise when your school/college is called. Follow your school/college student marshal in a single file line to the side of the stage. You will take your first photograph on the arena floor and receive your diploma cover before going on stage. Give your printed Name Card to the name reader (ensure that it is folded in half) before you cross the stage. As your name is read, proceed to the center of the stage, shake hands with the President/Interim Provost, and have your second photograph taken to capture the moment. Then, return to your seats on the arena floor down the center ramp. Once all candidates have returned to their seats, the President will ask you to stand, shift your tassel to the left as a symbol of graduation, and then be seated.

PhD Candidates: You and your sponsor will be led, single file, to either side of the stage. Name reading and hooding will take place alternately on stage right and stage left. Give your printed Name Card to the name reader (ensure that it is folded in half), and stand on the place-marking in front of the podium. You will be hooded by your sponsor and the faculty marshal as the name reader announces your name and dissertation title. Your first photograph will be taken here. You will proceed to the center of the stage, shake hands with the President/Interim Provost, and have your second photograph taken to capture the moment. You and your sponsor will return to your seats on the arena floor down the center ramp.

The commencement ceremony is a special rite of passage, honoring you and your fellow students who have all worked hard to reach this moment. Please honor your fellow candidates, who have also worked hard for this moment, by treating them with dignity and respect.

After the Ceremony

Commencement Instructions Part 3: After Commencement

Meet your guests by the appropriate alphabetical sign (corresponding to the first letter of your last name) on the following fields:

A – K: Clarence T. C. Ching Complex
L – Z: Les Murakami Baseball Stadium

While giving lei is a Hawaiʻi tradition, we ask that you encourage family and friends attending the commencement to support our campus’ waste reduction efforts towards a zero-waste future by taking the following actions before you arrive on-campus:

Leave the plastic clamshell containers at home.
Carry your lei and makana (gifts) in reusable bags.
Make lei from plants growing in your garden instead of purchasing them from the store.

To preserve our newly renovated athletic fields, potentially damaging shoes (i.e., stiletto heels, metal cleats, etc.), streamers, and confetti are prohibited. Please also pass this information on to your guests.

Everyone will be asked to clear the fields by 12:30 p.m.

Diplomas

The conferring of degrees at the ceremony is provisional and is contingent upon the successful verification that degree requirements have been met by the Office of the Registrar and your college/school.

Diplomas are not distributed at the ceremony. Instead, diplomas will be mailed to the mailing address on record ten weeks after the end of the semester. Graduates who anticipate a change of address should verify/update their address in their myUH account.

Graduates are also advised to continue checking their UH email address for updates and reminders regarding the mailing of diplomas.

For further information, please visit the Office of the Registrar website.

Photographs

A photographer will take your photo as you hold the diploma cover and shake hands with the President/Interim Provost. After commencement, you will receive an email message from the photographer with a link to view your proof online at https://www.pmoh.com/ (if you opted in during commencement registration). You may purchase additional photographs at that time.

FAQs

Who is eligible to participate?

Any prospective summer or fall graduate who has filed a degree application is eligible and encouraged to participate in the commencement ceremony.

Please consult with the Student Academic Services office of your college/school for instructions on filing a petition to graduate.

How do I order commencement announcements?

Personalized graduation announcements are available at the Mānoa Bookstore. Minimum order: 25 cards. You may place your order online at https://www.bookstore.hawaii.edu/manoa/

Do my guests need tickets?

No tickets will be issued. All guests are welcome to the ceremonies on a first-come, first-seated basis. As a courtesy, graduates are asked to limit guests to five (5) individuals. Gates open at 7:45 a.m. Guests are strongly encouraged to arrive early, as the doors to the Stan Sheriff Center will close once capacity is reached. Overflow seating will be available at Les Murakami Stadium.

How do I arrange for my name to be called at the ceremony?

When you register online, you will be prompted to print your name card. Please fold the sheet in half and bring it with you to the ceremony. Present the card to the name reader as you cross the stage.

How do I ensure that my honor society memberships are listed in the program?

Approximately three months before the ceremony, notify the faculty advisers of your honor societies that you are a candidate for graduation.

Do I get a stole or cord for graduating with cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude distinctions?

No, stoles or cords are not issued for graduating with distinction. However, you will be recognized during the ceremony and the distinction will appear on your diploma and transcript.

How can I get an extra copy of the printed program?

Graduates will receive a printed program at their seats, and guests will receive an abbreviated copy upon entry. For additional copies (while supplies last), you may request one beginning Monday, December 22, after the ceremony concludes at this link: go.hawaii.edu/Vzr.

How do I register if I am off-island and without internet access?

Contact the Commencement Office at (808) 956-GRAD or in writing at:

Commencement Coordinator
2500 Campus Road
Hawaiʻi Hall 209
Honolulu, HI 96822

You may also order your cap and gown by phone (808) 956-6884. Orders must be placed by October 17, 2025.

Questions? Please email uhm.commencement@hawaii.edu or call (808) 956-GRAD.