Commencement FAQs

For those guests who require disability-related accommodations (i.e. hearing-impaired, use of a wheelchair), graduates can reserve seating for their guests during the ceremony and regalia registration process, specific seats are issued on a first come, first served basis. Please visit the Accessibility Arrangements & Information page for more information about arrangements for graduates who need assistance.

Please visit the Accessibility Arrangements & Information page for more information about arrangements for graduates who need assistance. Students will be asked during the ceremony and regalia registration process about whether they require accommodations to fully participate in the ceremony.

As a service to our graduates, professional photographers will take pictures of each graduate during the ceremony. Proofs of these photographs will be emailed within five business days of the ceremony and will include a coupon for a free 5x7 print (no purchase necessary). Fill in your contact information on the back of your name card to ensure you receive your photos.

If you would like to pre-register for photographs and receive a discount on photo purchases, please visit GradImages registration page.

Please note, in order to maintain graduate safety and ceremony timing, professional photographers who are not part of the GradImages team will not be allowed in the graduate seating or on the stage. Families are encouraged to utilize the GradImages team and not hire separate photographers. 

At this time guests will not be required to have tickets for the May ceremony.

Yes, the ceremony will be live streamed on the day of the event. The link will be posted on the Commencement homepage one week prior to the ceremony.

There is no rehearsal for the ceremony. Once graduates have checked in with their school/college they will receive instruction from the faculty marshals on how to proceed.

The Commencement Office will draft a letter of invitation to friends and family abroad to include in a visa application packet. Requests should be sent to commencement@ucdenver.edu and must contain the following information: 

• Your name
• Your preferred pronoun
• Degree to be earned (spell it out)
• Semester attending commencement (month/year)
• Name and relationship of each guest to be invited
• City, country and address of embassy/consulate where visa application interview will take place

An electronic letter will be sent to you within two weeks of your request. 

For safety and consideration for the significance of the ceremony, graduates with children are not allowed to have their children accompany them during the ceremony or bring their child to the stage with them.

The ceremony is estimated to last two and a half hours. In consideration of the audience and the significance of this event, all guests and graduates must remain seated for the entire ceremony.

Graduates should enter through the south doors of the Denver Coliseum, which is located on McFarland Dr. Come dressed in your regalia. Undergraduates wear tassels on the right side of the cap until instructed during the ceremony to move the tassel to the left side. Master's degree candidates wear hoods. Doctoral candidates drape hoods over their left arms until they are hooded during the ceremony.

• 9:30 AM Ceremony: Graduates should arrive at 8:00 a.m. 
• 2:30 PM Ceremony: Graduates should arrive at 1:00 p.m.
  

Complimentary parking will be available on the west side of the Denver Coliseum. Please note that the entrance is located on the east side of the building. Parking is first come, first served. We encourage guests to drop off their friends and family members with limited mobility at the front doors prior to parking as the walk from the parking lot is uphill and between 5-10 minutes. 

The spring 2024 commencement ceremonies will be held at the Denver Coliseum (4600 Humboldt St., Denver, CO 80216). Graduates will line up before the ceremony in the lower level.  

The following items are prohibited: 

• Outside food and/or beverages
• Glass bottles
• Weapons (e.g. toys, guns, knives, chains, studded jewelry) or objects that may be considered a weapon
• Drugs and/or alcohol
• Laser pointers or noise makers
• Helium balloons, stickers, adhesive backed decals and chewing gum
• Audio/video recording equipment
• Pets of any kind. Qualified service animals permitted
• Smoking of any kind is strictly prohibited (including e-cigarettes)
• View the complete list of permitted and prohibited items at the Denver Coliseum.
  

Graduates: Enter through doors on the south side of the building.

Guests: Enter through the main doors locate on the east side of the building.  Please note that parking in located on the west side of the building. 

 

All students and guests will be required to go through a magnetometer upon entrance into the ceremony. 

The following items are prohibited: 

• Outside food and/or beverages
• Glass bottles
• Weapons (e.g. toys, guns, knives, chains, studded jewelry) or objects that may be considered a weapon
• Drugs and/or alcohol
• Laser pointers or noise makers
• Helium balloons, stickers, adhesive backed decals and chewing gum
• Audio/video recording equipment
• Pets of any kind. Qualified service animals permitted
• Smoking of any kind is strictly prohibited (including e-cigarettes)
• View the complete list of permitted and prohibited items of the Denver Coliseum.
  
  

Yes, you can still participate, and your name will be read, but you will be charged late fees. You will need to go to cap and gown pick-up to rent your cap and gown and pay the commencement fees. Please note that all on-site payments will include a $50 late fee, in addition to standard commencement fees.

CU Denver partners with Herff Jones to provide graduation products (announcements, rings, frames, etc.) with the approved commencement dates, designs, and branding. However, you may elect to purchase announcements or memorabilia from any provider. Students are required to use Herff Jones for their cap and gown rental.

Individual student organizations and departments coordinate orders and distribution of participation and recognition cords and stoles. Please contact your organization or the affiliated department to inquire about cords and stoles.

New cord or stole programs must be approved by the Commencement Office. Please submit your request to the Commencement Office at commencement@ucdenver.edu. All requests for new cords and stoles must be approved before ordering. 

Graduates can purchase souvenir tassels, class rings, announcements, and more through the cap and gown registration website without registering to participate in the ceremony. Instructions for receiving your items will be provided.

Contact Alex Frieler at Herff Jones ( ajfrieler@herffjones.com) to inquire about buying regalia. 

Cancellations received by the close of cap and gown registration will receive a full refund. After this date the commencement fees cannot be refunded. If you chose to have your regalia shipped to you, it can be returned for a refund in the return envelope. You will only receive a full refund if the gown was unopened. Contact Alex Frieler at Herff Jones for additional inquiries. 

For those who opt to pick up your cap & gown on campus, there will be a table where you can pick up your honor cord at St. Cajetan’s during cap & gown pick up on campus. For those who opt to ship their regalia to their house, you can pick up your honor cord at cap & gown pick up or your school/college check-in table prior to the commencement ceremony. Honor cords are only presented to undergraduate students.

Yes, if you need someone else to pick up your regalia on your behalf, please email them a copy of your registration confirmation, and they can show that to the regalia provider at pick up.

To ensure that all students are wearing the proper regalia and that it is consistent with the university's quality standards, all graduates are required to rent caps and gowns through Herff Jones, our official vendor. All CU Denver graduates wear custom regalia featuring CU colors.

Graduates do not receive their diplomas at the ceremony. All diplomas are mailed to graduates approximately six to eight weeks after the end of the semester. Diploma addresses can be updated via the student portal.

Diploma covers are available for pick up year-round by visiting the front desk at Lynx Central or emailing commencement@ucdenver.edu.

Diploma covers will not be mailed to graduates.

Yes! We encourage students to express their creativity. Be sure to use #CUDenverGrad on social media, so we can see what you create!

Students can participate in commencement only after completing all degree requirements and applying to graduate. Questions about this policy should be directed to student advisors. Summer graduates are invited to participate in the fall or the spring ceremonies that follows their degree completion.

Exceptions to this policy are limited. For information about the process for requesting an exception, please contact your advisor.

Please note that graduate names are noted in the commencement program only in the semester for which they have been approved to graduate.

No, you do not have to attend. Commencement is an optional activity to celebrate the completion of your degree. A fee is charged to those students who do participate to help offset the costs of producing the ceremony.

Students who select the on-campus pick-up option during registration will pick up their rental items at St. Cajetan’s on the Auraria Campus. Early pick up is not available.

During registration, graduates have the option to pay to ship their regalia to their homes in order to receive them before the on-campus pick-up date.

Once orders are placed, graduates cannot change their delivery preference. 

If you missed early cap and gown pick-up, you can pick up your regalia on Saturday, Dec. 14 before the start of the ceremony. When you arrive at the Convention Center, the regalia table will be on the second floor after you pass through the security checkpoint.