Commencement
Commencement
The College of Education's Commencement Ceremony is on Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 7 p.m. in the Credit Union 1 Arena located at 525 S Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60607.
Congratulations, Spring 2024 graduates!
Please visit UIC Commencement for the most up to date information.
Participation in Commencement Heading link
To be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony, you must apply to graduate via Student Self-Service during the registration period. Meet with your academic advisor and verify your degree requirements to ensure you are eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony. Students completing their degree requirements during the summer or fall semesters are eligible to participate in the December commencement ceremony. For questions about degree progress, please make an appointment with your College of Education Academic Advisor.
Information for Students Heading link
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Who can participate?
Students who complete their degree requirements during the Spring 2024 semester and who have filed their Intent to Graduate form are invited to participate in the Spring Commencement ceremony. Students completing their degree requirements during the summer or fall semesters are eligible to participate in the December commencement ceremony.
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Student Registration and Guest Tickets
Ticket Info
To participate in the Spring 2024 commencement ceremony, students must register. Look for your email with the unique registration link from Marching Orders. If you have not received the link, please email commencement@uic.edu. The deadline to register is April 7, 2024.
Marching Orders will create a display to show your name, degree, and major on the screen as you cross the stage during the commencement ceremony. Marching Orders will also have professional name readers record your name to be played while you are on stage.
Each guest will need a ticket to enter the Credit Union 1 Arena. All tickets will be electronically available to students. Graduates may request additional tickets closer to the date of the ceremony, more information about the availability of extra tickets is forthcoming.
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Ordering Caps and Gowns
Caps and gowns are required to participate in the commencement ceremony. They are available for purchase in Follet, the UIC Campus Bookstore. You can also order your cap and gown online, shipping and in store pickup options are available. Note that cap and gowns cannot be purchased the day of graduation. Tassels are to be worn to the front-right of the cap prior to the ceremony. When degrees are conferred, graduates will be instructed to switch them to the left side.
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Virtual Ceremony
In addition to our in-person events, all events have a virtual ceremony which will include the live webcast and the customizable graduate slides. The virtual sites will be posted on our homepage closer to the ceremony dates. Commencement | University of Illinois Chicago (uic.edu)
All graduates are encouraged to customize a commencement slide through the Marching Orders registration system. Graduates can customize a slide with a photo and personal message that can be downloaded and shared with family and friends or posted to social media. In addition to the virtual ceremonies, the customized slides will be shown prior to the in-person events for most ceremonies.
If you have any questions, please email commencement@uic.edu.
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Video and Photography
The College of Education Commencement is televised live through the University’s Commencement website, and archived audiovisual recordings can also be viewed after the ceremony through the website. In addition, still photographs of Commencement activities are taken for University archival and promotional purposes.Professional photographs will be taken of each graduate as they cross the stage and as they leave the stage with their diploma cover in hand and will be available for order. Within 2 to 3 days following the ceremony, the photographs will be posted online and can be accessed via the following web page by entering the last name of the graduate and the Commencement year: http://www.gradimages.com/universityofillinoischicago. Graduates will also receive proofs and order forms from the photography company to both the mailing and email addresses you provided on the Attendance Reservation Form within 2 to 7 days following the ceremony.
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Diploma Information
Diplomas represent degrees earned, not majors and minors. Majors are only listed on diplomas for students with specialized curricula. See a list of how diplomas and majors are represented (see – “Degree Conferred”). Transcripts, however, list all appropriate majors, minors, and concentrations. Educational goals are not listed on diplomas or on transcripts.
Diplomas will be ordered and sent 4-6 weeks after degrees are certified. UIC’s diploma printing group, Michael Sutter, has provided a link that shows what a student’s diploma will say and when it was mailed. Students can begin checking the website 2-4 weeks after degrees are certified to see when a diploma was sent.
Address Change Information
Personal information (e.g., address change) and diploma information can be found on the UIC Registrar website.
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Important Links for Graduating Students & Their Families
Important Links for Graduating Students & Their Families
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What is the difference between Commencement and Graduation?
Graduation is the official awarding of degrees earned, while Commencement is the event which celebrates the completion of degree programs.
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General Information for Faculty and Staff
Faculty attending the commencement ceremony should arrive no later than 6:00 p.m.
Enter through Gate 2, located to the right of the main doors.
Obtain your academic attire, if needed, from the faculty robing area on the lower concourse of the Credit Union 1 Arena.
By 6:40 am form a double line behind the Platform Party of campus and college officials. Staff will guide you.
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How do Faculty and Staff order Regalia?
Faculty and staff regalia orders are now being accepted. Please click HERE to request your regalia. The deadline to order is Sunday, March 24, 2024. Please order before the deadline to ensure the proper regalia can be provided.
Additional information Heading link
Commencement 2023 Photos Heading link
2024 Commencement Speaker - Juan Salgado, Chancellor, City Colleges of Chicago Heading link
Chancellor Juan Salgado has focused his career on improving education and economic opportunities for residents in low-income communities.
From 2001 to 2017, he served as CEO of Instituto del Progreso Latino, where he worked to empower residents of Chicago’s Southwest Side through education, citizenship, and skill-building programs that led to sustainable employment and economic stability.
As Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago, he oversees Chicago’s community college system, serving more than 60,000 students across seven colleges, 75 percent of whom are Black and Latinx students.
Under his leadership, City Colleges of Chicago has seen an increase in student graduation rates to the highest level on record, an unprecedented systems-level partnership with the Chicago Public Schools called the Chicago Roadmap, the launch of Future Ready, a program to prepare Chicagoans with short-term credentials in in-demand fields at no cost, the launch of Fresh Start, a first-ever debt forgiveness program, the completion of two new major state-of-the-art facilities, a re-energizing of fundraising for student supports, and campus specific plans focused on equity in student outcomes, among other efforts.
Chancellor Salgado is a community college graduate himself, earning an associate degree from Moraine Valley Community College, prior to earning a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, and a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Chancellor Salgado has been nationally recognized for his work, including as a 2015 MacArthur Fellow. Among his civic commitments, he serves as a board member of the Obama Foundation and a Class C Director for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Contact Us Heading link
If you have a question that has not been answered online, please contact us at edstudentsuccess@uic.edu.