Frequently Asked Questions

While we may have received your application to graduate through the graduation process we would also like to know how many guests to expect at the degree celebration ceremony and party. We want to make sure we provide enough programs, food and staff to make the events enjoyable.

Yes. The College of Science Degree Celebration and the University Commencement Ceremony require tickets for guests. Details to secure your tickets below:

College of Science Degree Celebration Tickets

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster for the College of Science Degree Celebration. Graduates can use their G# (including the uppercase G) as their one-time use password, add tickets to their cart, and then finish their purchase to claim their tickets. Once tickets have been claimed, they can log into their Ticketmaster account and transfer tickets to family/friends. All tickets are mobile delivery. Be sure your guests pull up their tickets in the Ticketmaster App on their phone(s) prior to arriving at the venue.

University Commencement Tickets

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster for the Commencement Ceremony. Graduates can use their G# (including the uppercase G) as their one-time use password, add tickets to their cart, and then finish their purchase to claim their tickets. Once tickets have been claimed, they can log into their Ticketmaster account and transfer tickets to family/friends. All tickets are mobile delivery. Be sure your guests pull up their tickets in the Ticketmaster App on their phone(s) prior to arriving at the venue. Doctoral students can claim 8 tickets and Bachelors/Masters students can claim 6 tickets. If there are tickets leftover after March 31, more tickets will be available the first week in April.

Please arrive on time as anyone entering a graduation ceremony venue will need to go through weapon detection systems and security. This includes all students, faculty, staff and guests.  Please visit the EagleBank Arena website for additional information on security.

Yes, please bring your Mason student ID to participate in the Degree Celebration. 

Degree Celebration Speaker
Hakeem Oluseyi
Astrophysicist at George Mason University and Princeton University, President of the National Society of Black Physicists, TV Personality, Author of A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars

Student Speaker
Benjamin Simmons
Environmental science with a concentration in environmental health

Important information about timelines and the entire graduation process can be found at registrar.gmu.edu/graduation.

Degree candidates eligible to participate in the spring graduation exercises include:

• Doctoral candidates who completed their studies and requirements as of Fall/Summer 2023 and Friday, April 19, 2024.
• All undergraduate and master's degree candidates who completed their studies and requirements as of Spring 2024 or will complete in Summer 2024.

Caps and gowns are a traditional part of the graduation experience.

Spring Grad Fair will take place February 27 to February 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., located in Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center.

You can buy regalia in the Mason Bookstore on the Fairfax and  Arlington campuses and order regalia online, as well as order a diploma frame or additional Mason products.

The last day to order online for Bachelor and Master regalia is April 14, 2024. Regalia will also be available for purchase in person at the Mason Bookstore until graduation while supplies last.

You can also choose to purchase doctoral regalia.

You must go to the bookstore for measurements whether you rent or buy doctoral regalia.

Rented regalia must be picked up at the Mason bookstore. 

Students (bachelor and master graduates): Report to parking lot A.
Faculty Marshals: All marshals report to parking lot A.
PhD candidates: Report to the green room in EagleBank Arena.
Platform Party and VIP: Report to the green room in EagleBank Arena.

Tassel Placement

• Undergraduate students – right
• Graduate students (PhD, MS, MA) – left

At the end of the Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, the University President will confer your degrees and ask you to move your tassel from the right to the left (undergraduates).

They may view the ceremony from the designated seats at each portal entrance. For disability accommodations at the ceremony, please call (703) 993-9532 or email cosevent@gmu.edu.

The Celebration Party is located in the Exploratory Hall Atrium immediately following the ceremony.  Check back to make sure the location does not change prior to the event.

Yes. Programs for graduates are located on tables in the area where the students line up for the procession.  Programs for guests are at the entrances to the EagleBank Arena concourse level. 

Several hotels are listed near the Fairfax Campus.

The information booths will be supplied with campus maps and maps of the seating on the EagleBank Arena floor. Programs will be distributed at the main entrances.