Graduation 2025
2025 University Commencement
Thursday, May 15 | 9:30 am | EagleBank Arena
President Gregory Washington will preside at the University Commencement ceremony in EagleBank Arena, which will feature student, faculty, and guest speakers. Guests also will enjoy live music during the event. Doctoral candidates will be individually recognized and hooded; bachelor and master graduates will be recognized as a group at their seats.
Doors will open one hour prior to the start of the ceremony and seating is open and available on a general admission basis to anyone with a ticket. It is advisable to arrive at that time.
As a reminder, tickets will be required for any guests of George Mason graduates to enter EagleBank Arena for Commencement. Please visit https://www.gmu.edu/graduation for more information.
If EagleBank Arena reaches capacity, the overflow viewing area will be in the Concert Hall on Mason Pond Drive, across Patriot Circle from the arena. Shuttles will be available at the South Entrance to transport anyone needing assistance to the Concert Hall.
College of Public Health Degree Celebration
May 17 | 2 pm | EagleBank Arena
- Bachelors and Masters graduates are individually recognized and photographed on stage.
- Celebrations include select speakers and performances.
- Caps and gowns are worn.
- Graduates must bring their Mason ID.
Main doors open for guests one hour before the ceremony and tickets are required.
Reserve your tickets at gmu.edu/graduation. Bachelors and Masters students can reserve up to 6 tickets for their Degree Celebration. Graduates can click the links above for the tickets they need, use their 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. Note: Graduates must bring their Mason ID.
May 17, Time TBA, College of Public Health Graduation Reception
Join the College of Public Health for a reception to celebrate our graduates in Peterson Hall. Time and RSVP to be announced soon.
Help us celebrate by sharing your photos!
Students, let's celebrate together!
We encourage Mason graduates to share their individuality and diversity through a creatively decorated cap.
Share your photos and well wishes for the graduates on social media with the hashtag #MasonPublicHealth2025! Tag us @MasonPublicHealth and you might see your photos shared on our account!
Additional Information
Accessible Parking and Seating
For accessible parking and drop-off, please use the Roanoke River Road or Nottoway River Lane entrances off Braddock road to access Lot A. ADA parking is located in Lot A.
Seating in all sections of EagleBank Arena, Rows E, F, and G, are marked reserved for special needs. These rows are on the concourse level and are easy access seating without requiring the use of stairs. Ushers are stationed at each portal to assist with seating. Guests requiring special assistance may be seated with one other guest from their party in these easy-access rows. No advanced notice is necessary to use this seating option and, again, these seats are not ticketed or individually reservable.
- Wheelchair accessible seating is available in the four corner portals 4, 8, 13, and 17.
- Ushers are stationed at each portal to help with seating.
All graduation candidates should enter the EagleBank Arena through the lower level loading dock entrance. Doors will open one hour prior to each ceremony. Faculty marshals will be on hand to guide graduates to their major field of study seating area.
What to Expect
What to expect at the College of Public Health Degree Celebration
We will have brief remarks from Dean Perry and the Department Chairs, and there will be special recognition for our doctoral graduates. During the College of Public Health Celebration of Graduates, all graduates will have the opportunity to cross the stage and have their names called individually. Family and friends are free to attend in-person or virtually.
Share Your Creativity and Celebrate Your Achievement with a Decorated Cap
We encourage Mason graduates to share their individuality and diversity through a creatively decorated cap.
Questions?
Email cph@gmu.edu
Graduation Process
Graduation is not automatic, and students must initiate the process. Please refer to the Registrar’s Office graduation webpages for complete instructions on how to apply to graduate, tips for a smooth degree conferral process, and critical deadlines. If you miss the deadline to file the online graduation application through Patriot Web, you must use the paper Late Graduation Application form. We cannot guarantee your name will be in program if the online graduation application deadline has passed.
All students participating in the ceremonies must wear a cap and gown. You can order your cap and gown, announcements, diploma frame, and other graduation items through the University bookstore.
Questions?
Email cph@gmu.edu
Faculty and Staff Information
NOTE: This is 2024 information. 2025 update coming soon.
Commencement morning
May 9, begins at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast and robing for the faculty, marshals and doctoral candidates in the EagleBank Arena, Concourse Level, East Side. The Commencement ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and the ceremony usually lasts about two hours. Faculty marshals are asked to be in position on the arena floor by 9:30 am. Please note: Only the Platform Party will meet in the Hospitality Room, lower level.
FACULTY are strongly encouraged to participate in the Graduation events. If you are planning on participating, you are asked to wear regalia if possible. Please register here to be added to the list for any or all of the ceremonies.
To support faculty participation, the University will pay for the rental of regalia through the George Mason Bookstore by any faculty member who will make the commitment to attend and participate. If you need regalia, please contact the university bookstore either in person or call 703.993.3870. To avoid the $25.00 late charge, please respond no later than March 29, 2024. The University is not responsible for this charge.
Please note: The rental regalia for Graduation will be available for pick up starting early May 2024. Those who order after the deadline should expect a delay in receiving regalia. You may call to see if it is in before you make the trip in to the store. The Bookstore requires the return of all rental regalia no later than May 12. You will be responsible for paying the replacement cost if you do not return the regalia. If you need to make other arrangements, please email the bookstore.
George Mason University follows the guidelines for regalia established by the American Council of Education
Faculty Advisors
We invite faculty advisers to stand with and hood their doctoral students during the ceremonies.
To participate and hood your doctoral candidate in the Graduation ceremonies, please read the next section.
Instructions for Major Professors hooding Doctoral Candidates:
If you do not own regalia, please contact the University Bookstore to order regalia by visiting or calling the bookstore at 703.993.2666 before the March 29 deadline.
• Plan to arrive at the EagleBank Arena loading dock entrance no later than 8 am. You will be directed to breakfast for the doctoral candidates, faculty and marshals on the Concourse Level (2nd floor), East Side.
• The University Marshals will then direct you and your doctoral candidate to proceed to the arena level, near the Hospitality room for the doctoral processional lineup.
• Advisors will process in and be seated with the doctoral student. At the appropriate time, the marshals will bring you and your student up to the stage. You will hood your student prior to crossing the stage and then proceed to cross the stage and return to the seating area.
CPH Degree Celebration afternoon
Faculty, marshals, and platform party guests should arrive at the Hospitality Room of the EagleBank Arena at 1 pm. There will be enhanced security measures for all graduation events this year – so please be prepared to go through airport-style security measures when entering the arena.
Please check in at the table inside the lobby area outside of the hospitality room. You will be directed to a light reception for the doctoral candidates, faculty and marshals in the hospitality room on the 1st floor of Eagle Bank Arena.
1:40 pm: The faculty marshal will direct the faculty to form a line in the hallway directly across from the Hospitality Room hallway by the loading dock doors to be ready for the procession into the arena. Honorary faculty marshals (retiring faculty) will lead the faculty into the arena and assist with seating. Faculty marshals who are assigned to assist with students should be in Parking Lot A by 1:15 pm.
Volunteers: Assist with graduate line-up, handing out reader cards, and scanning in graduate Mason IDs. Please note: If a graduate is wearing a mask, they will have to be given a wristband to wear during the graduation.
For faculty holding specific roles, see below.
Marshall Information
Marshals will be sent their specific assignments by the CPH Office of Student Affairs.
1 pm Marshal Check-In: Marshals should arrive at the Hospitality Room on the ground floor of EagelBank Arena. There will be enhanced security measures for all graduation events this year – so please be prepared to go through airport-style security measures when entering the arena.
Marshals should check-in with a college staff member at the “Marshal Check-In” table located just inside of the EagleBank entrance and then proceed to the Hospitality Room.
1:15 pm – 1:40 pm Student Line-Up: There will be two lines of students in Parking Lot A on the east side of EagleBank Arena, a bachelor’s degree line and a master’s degree line. Please assist students to line-up in a single file in alphabetical order behind the sign listing their major.
Reader Cards, Mason ID scanning, and Wrist Bands: Help staff distribute a reader card to each student. Ensure that students in your group have filled out the card which they will hand to the reader before they cross the stage.
Staff will be scanning student’s Mason ID’s or inputting their G#’s into the scanner. If a student is wearing a mask, they will have to be given a wristband to wear during the Degree Celebration.
1:50 pm: Events Management staff will cue student lines to move closer to the loading dock door.
2 pm: The processional begins into EagleBank Arena. The bachelor’s and master’s students will enter the arena in two parallel lines. One staff and one faculty line-leader will lead students into EagleBank Arena and count-off the students for each row. Walk with your students into the arena and take a seat with your group at the end of a row. Remember to save one seat for yourself and have the first graduate in line sit in the second seat.
Additional Instructions for faculty advisors hooding Doctoral Candidates at CPH Degree Celebration:
Just before the ceremony begins (around 1:40 pm), the University Marshals will direct you and your doctoral candidate to the processional lineup. Doctoral students should have their hoods on with their regalia, as formal hooding will have taken place at the university commencement on May 9.
Advisors will process in and be seated with the doctoral student. At the appropriate time, marshals will direct you and your student up to the stage. After your student’s name is called, you will walk to the center of the stage (designated space will be marked), place the CPH medal on your student, and then return to the seating area.
The Presentation of Degrees
College staff will cue students to the stage at the appropriate time. When your students are cued to the stage, marshals should stand in the aisle to facilitate students returning to their rows. Graduates should be discouraged from leaving before the ceremony has ended out of respect for their fellow graduates. Students who need to use a restroom should be directed to the college staff in the back of the arena who will direct them to a restroom.
Recessional
At the end of the Degree Celebration, the platform party leaves first, followed by the faculty, the doctoral students, and the bachelor’s and master’s students. Please assist by having students ready to exit row-by-row to their right (when facing stage), beginning front row to back row. All will exit through the loading dock doors in the rear of the arena. There is a reception at Peterson Hall for students, friends, and families following the ceremony.
Questions
Contact cph@gmu.edu.