Important information
Registration
Registration to attend convocation is mandatory for grads and their guests. Registration for Spring 2024 Convocation will open in May 2024. You will automatically be registered for your convocation ceremony if you register your guests before registration closes.
Please review the checklist information below for important details about convocation.
Prior to convocation day
Step 1: Check your eligibility to graduate and attend convocation
Ensure you've completed all the required steps in order to participate in convocation. Visit the graduation checklist on the Registrar's Office website (for undergraduate students) or the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs website (for graduate students).
Step 2: Check your ceremony dates and times
Ceremonies are held in the main gymnasium of the Physical Activities Complex (PAC). Graduands should arrive 1.5 hours before their ceremony start time.
Step 3: Reserve your gown
If you are participating in the convocation ceremony, you must wear an academic gown or a culturally traditional alternative. You will be able to rent a gown on-site at your convocation ceremony for an additional fee. We recommend arriving early as sizes will be limited.
If you have culturally traditional regalia, you can choose to wear it for your convocation ceremony. For more information, read our policy.
Step 4: Invite your guests
It is mandatory for all grads and their guests to register. Registration for Spring 2024 Convocation will open in May 2024. While we would love to have all of your guests attend in person, grads will have limited tickets for guests. If additional guest tickets become available, you will be notified by email a few days after registration has closed. Additional friends and family who do not have tickets can enjoy watching the livestream ceremony online.
Step 5: Register for your ceremony
Registration to attend convocation is mandatory for grads and their guests. Registration for Spring 2024 Convocation will open in May 2024. You will automatically be registered for your convocation ceremony when you registered your guests.
If you have any accessibility needs, visit accessibility accommodations for more information
Step 6: Book your studio portrait or class photo
Portrait and class photos must be arranged for in advance. Please visit the convocation photography web page for details.
Step 7: Order your diploma and/or portrait frame
Display your degree or portrait in a University of Waterloo frame. Order your frame in advance online through Alumni Relations. Pre-ordered frames can be picked up at the BMH Green on the day of your ceremony.
Frames will be available for purchase on the BMH Green during the day of your ceremony.
Step 8: #UWaterlooGrad
Convocation is an exciting part of your relationship with Waterloo and we want to hear from you! Share messages of congratulation, photos and memories using #UWaterlooGrad.
On convocation day
Step 1: What to wear
What you are wearing underneath your gown will show (less for doctoral gowns), so don't be afraid to dress up. Suits or sports jackets and ties, dresses, and dress pants are all good choices. If the culture you identify with has traditional regalia that you would like to wear, please feel free to do that at convocation. Please note that high heels may be unsafe when you are entering and exiting the stage and during the outdoor receptions.
Many aspects of your convocation will take place outdoors, please ensure you and your guests are dressed appropriately for the weather.
It is not appropriate to carry jackets, flowers, purses, or other articles in the convocation ceremony. We do not provide storage facilities so please leave these items with your guests for safe-keeping.
Step 2: Parking
On-campus parking is free in selected lots during convocation. See maps and parking for more details.
Step 3: Pick up or rent your gown and name card
Pick up your gown and name card at the Graduand Check In located in Studio 1, room 1212 and 1208, in the Student Life Centre between:
- 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. for morning ceremonies;
- 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. for afternoon ceremonies;
- 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for evening ceremonies.
For those that didn't reserve a gown in advance, Visa, MasterCard, and Debit are accepted for rentals.
Undergraduates will receive their hoods when they pickup their gown and will cross the stage wearing it. Master's and PhD graduates will receive their hood when they cross the stage. An academic hood symbolizes the granting of your degree. You will return this hood with your gown after the ceremony, unless you would like to purchase it.
Information about renting your gown on convocation day or purchasing your degree hood can be found through the W Store.
A name card has been prepared for you. Your name card indicates your name and sequence number which is your position in the procession line, your order number for seating, and your order number to cross the stage. You will need to:
- Keep your name card in your hand as it is checked several times by convocation marshals and attendants; do not bend your name card.
- Carry your name card with you as you march in the procession line into the main gymnasium.
- Give it to the attendant just before you go up the stairs to cross the stage. Your card will be placed under a camera so that your name can be read aloud as you cross the stage.
- Important: do not leave your card on your chair. If you forget to carry your card with you to the stage, ask the stage marshal to make a card for you so that your name can be read aloud as you cross the stage.
If time allows after you have picked up your gown, hood, and name card from Studio 1 room 1212 and 1208 in the Student Life Centre, join us on the BMH Green for pre-ceremony photos opportunities. It is not appropriate to carry flowers, purses, or other articles in the convocation ceremony. We do not provide storage facilities, so please leave these items with your guests for safe-keeping.
Step 4: Line up to enter the convocation hall
You need to be lined up in the small gymnasium in the Physical Activities Complex by 9:30 a.m. for morning ceremonies, 2:00 p.m. for afternoon ceremonies, and 6:00 p.m. for evening ceremonies.
- The convocation marshal will help you to line up according to the sequence number on your name card to ensure that you are positioned and seated in the correct order (alphabetical by program). The marshal will also give you instructions about the procession and ceremony.
- You will proceed into the large gymnasium and be guided by an usher to the row where you will sit.
Please be punctual. If you are late, you may not be able to take part in the procession or receive your diploma at the ceremony. You will be seated in a separate area from your classmates for the remainder of the ceremony.
Step 5: Crossing the stage
Here's what happens when you receive your degree:
- An usher will lead you to the stairs at the left side of the stage.
- As you approach the stage, an attendant standing off stage will either drape your degree hood over your arm (for masters and PhD grads) or check to ensure your hood is on correctly (for undergraduate grads).
- You will give your name card to the stage marshal who will direct you when it is time to go onto the stage. If you are receiving an undergraduate or master's degree, you will march across the stage in groups of three. If you are receiving a doctorate, you will cross the stage one person at a time.
- You will stand facing either the University's President, Chancellor, or Vice-President, who will personally congratulate you. Masters and PhD graduates will be congratulated while the hood is placed on their shoulders.
- You will cross the stage and exit on the right side of the stage.
- At the bottom of the stairs, you will receive your diploma.
- Smile! Professional photos will be taken after you receive your diploma.
- Ushers will guide you back to your seat.
Celebrate after the ceremony
Step 6: Convocation receptions
Celebrate your graduation with your family and friends. A reception will be held immediately after your ceremony on the BMH Green. Commemorate your convocation by taking photos with your fellow graduates, family, and friends at the reception with the UWaterloo alumni backdrops.
Water filling stations will be available, please bring a reusable water bottle.
Step 7: Purchase or pick up your pre-ordered frame
Step 8: Return your gown and hood
Your family and friends will want to take photos of you in your academic gown and hood on the BMH Green. Please remember, however, that you need to return your gown and hood to Studio 1, room 1212 and 1208 in the Student Life Centre as soon as possible after the ceremony. Information on purchasing a degree hood or PhD regalia can be found on the W Storeweb page.
Step 9: Treat yourself to a graduation gift
Mark your time spent at Waterloo and graduation achievement with a gift. The W Store offers a wide range of souvenirs and gifts on the BMH Green.
Step 10: #UWaterlooGrad
Convocation is an exciting part of your relationship with Waterloo and we want to hear from you! Share messages of congratulation, photos and memories using #UWaterlooGrad.
Step 11: Being a Waterloo alumni
Being a graduate enters you into an exclusive club. As a Waterloo alumnus, you have access to services that support your success and perks that let you have a little fun along the way.