Following the last several months of working with the Graduate & Professional Student Council and in direct response to the resolution, passed during the 2018-2019 academic year, we are pleased to announce the creation of a new commencement and hooding ceremony exclusively for doctoral students beginning this December:
 
Saturday, December 7^th at 10:00AM in Rudder Auditorium.
 
The ceremony will feature doctoral hooding for students who have completed their graduation application and been cleared by the Office of Graduate & Professional Studies and the Office of the Registrar for the Fall 2019 Semester.   Actual diplomas for doctoral students will be delivered via direct mail by December 31^st.
 
This will become the new format for recognizing the accomplishment of doctoral degrees and hooding each semester to follow.  We will no longer present doctoral hooding or diplomas during the ceremonies for undergraduate and master’s degrees. 
 
Hooding faculty, family and guests of the graduates will be welcomed.  Graduates and Hooding Faculty will be asked to arrive by 9:00AM in order to ensure prompt lineup and timely preparations for the program.   An application for a graduating doctoral student to present an expression of appreciation on behalf of the graduating class will be circulated during the Fall Semester.  Traditional elements for this commencement ceremony will include academic regalia, presence of the university mace, performance of the National Anthem and Spirit of Aggieland.  A printed program will include the graduating students’ name, dissertation title and faculty advisor. 
 
All deadlines regarding filing for graduation in the Fall term, dissertation completion, hooding requests, and ordering regalia will remain the same.  Additional information will be sent by the Office of Graduate & Professional Studies and the Office of the Registrar at the beginning of the semester in preparation for the ceremony.  As this new ceremony process will begin in December, students scheduled to graduate in August 2019, will be presented hoods and diplomas in similar fashion to past years with your college designated ceremony. 
 
We are proud to be able to accommodate the Graduate & Professional Student Council’s intentions for this unique recognition event for doctoral students.  Any questions can be forwarded to graduation@tamu.edu.