2023 Commencement
Master’s Convocation Ceremony
Date: Thursday, May 18, 2023
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: BU Track & Tennis Center, Charles River Campus, 100 Ashford Street
MD/PhD Convocation Ceremony
Date: Thursday, May 18, 2023
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: BU Track & Tennis Center, Charles River Campus, 100 Ashford Street
The GMS Master’s and MD/PhD Convocation Ceremonies honor graduates and includes various speakers, individual student recognition and hooding. This is the only event where student names will be called by Degree Program.
Eligibility to Participate
Master’s Candidates & Graduates
The following students are eligible to participate in the Master’s Convocation Ceremony: August 2022 graduates, January 2023 graduates, May 2023 candidates and August 2023 candidates. All participating students must have submitted a diploma application to the GMS Registrar Office and have been given approval; additionally, all students must complete the GMS Master’s Convocation RSVP Survey emailed by GMS Student Affairs.
Doctoral Candidates & Graduates
The following students are eligible to participate in the MD/PhD Convocation Ceremony: August 2022 graduates, January 2023 graduates and May 2023 candidates. All participating students must have submitted a diploma application to the GMS Registrar Office and have been given approval; additionally, all students must complete the MD/PhD Convocation RSVP Survey emailed by GMS Student Affairs.
Regalia Information
Faculty
All faculty are required to wear University-approved academic regalia if participating in the ceremonies. Regalia will be ordered through the GMS Student Affairs Office or they may wear their own. Please compete the 2023 Faculty RSVP & Regalia Ordering Survey by the deadline of Feb. 15.
Students
All candidates and graduates are required to wear University-approved academic regalia if participating in the ceremonies. General information regarding regalia can be found here. All regalia orders must be placed through Barnes & Noble/Herff-Jones online. Ordering options include home delivery or campus pickup. Campus pick up orders will be available beginning May 8 at Barnes & Noble (2nd Floor). It is highly recommended that all orders are placed as soon as possible to avoid processing and transit delays.
Master’s Candidates & Graduates Deadlines
March 24: Deadline for campus pickup option
April 1: Deadline for free domestic shipping
April 15: Deadline for ordering all master’s regalia (shipping charges apply)
Doctoral Candidates & Graduates Deadlines
March 24: Deadline for campus pickup option
April 1: Deadline for ordering all doctoral regalia
MISS THE DEADLINE?
A limited selection of regalia will be available for purchase (or rental if doctoral) at the bookstore beginning May 8. While every attempt will be made to provide walk-ins with the regalia appropriate for your degree, sufficient inventory cannot be guaranteed.
Hooding Information
All candidates and graduates will be hooded when they walk across the stage. Typically, a hooder is a program director, research mentor, advisor, etc. Candidates and graduates may choose to have a non-BU affiliated person to hood them, but they must have earned an equivalent degree (i.e. master’s degree for hooding a master’s candidate or doctoral degree for hooding a doctoral candidate). All hooders participating in these ceremonies are required to wear academic regalia. All candidates and graduates are responsible for confirming that their chosen hooder will be attending the ceremony and have informed GMS Student Afffairs.
BU Faculty Hooders
BU faculty members have their regalia ordered through the GMS Student Affairs Office (or MED Student Affairs) (see deadline above in the Regalia Information section). If hooders own their own set of regalia they may wear them instead. Pick up of regalia orders will take place in the main GMS Office (L-317). Hooders will be notified by email when regalia is ready to be picked up.
Non-BU Affiliated Hooders
Candidates and graduates that wish to have a non-BU affiliated person hood them during the ceremony may do so if they have done the following:
- Completed the Commencement RSVP survey and provided their non-BU hooder’s information (including confirm they have earned the appropriate degree)
- Confirmed with their non-BU hooder that they will in fact attend, participate in, and wear the approved academic regalia for the ceremony
- Ordered the approved academic regalia for their non-BU hooder through Barnes & Noble/Herff Jones
The deadline to order regalia for a non-BU affiliated hooder is April 15.
Disability & Access Services
If a graduate and/or their guests require disability and access services, please complete the Accommodations Request Form. For additional information on accessible seating, individual accommodations (i.e. sign language, open caption (speech to text), accessible parking and wheelchair availability please visit the Individual School/College Convocations section on the BU Commencement 2023 – Disability & Access Services webpage. Information on Service and Emotional Support Animals policies and procedures can be found here.
Upcoming Deadline
*The Accommodations Request Form will open on March 31 and close on May 12. The link to said form will be posted here once available.
CART Services (Speech to Text)
CART services will be available and can be accessed using a personal phone or tablet. The URL to access CART services during the ceremony is go.bu.edu/ttc
MISS THE DEADLINE?
While every effort will be made to provide accommodations requested after May 12, they cannot be guaranteed. If you need additional assistance, contact Disability & Access Services directly at 617-353-3658.
Livestreams
Those unable to attend Convocation in person can watch a live broadcast (with CART transcription) day of. Please see the Disability & Access Services section for more information on CART.
*The link to join the livestream will be posted here once available.
Parking & Transportation
Faculty & Staff
Faculty and staff are highly recommended to either take the dedicated shuttle to and from the MED campus/Track & Tennis Center or use public transportation. If driving, parking is available in the Agganis Arena lot at 925 Commonwealth Ave.
*The dedicated shuttle times will be posted here once available.
Students
Students are highly recommended to take public transportation or choose a ride-share service (i.e. Uber, Lyft) if able to do so. If taking the BU Bus, the closest stop is C8, which is approximately a 10-minute walk to the Track & Tennis Center. If driving, there is no parking available on site for students. If Disability & Access Services are needed for parking, please request through the Accommodations Request Form (see Disability & Access Services section).
Guests
Guests are highly recommended to take public transportation or chose a ride-share service (i.e. Uber, Lyft) if able to do so. If taking the BU Bus, the closest stop is C8, which is approximately a 10-minute walk to the Track & Tennis Center. If driving, parking is available in the Agganis Arena lot at 925 Commonwealth Ave. If Disability & Access Services are needed for parking, please request through the Accommodations Request Form (see Disability & Access Services section).
All-University Commencement
All-University Commencement
Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Nickerson Field, Charles River Campus, 285 Babcock Street
The All-University Commencement will comprise of speeches from Boston University President Robert A. Brown, the Commencement speaker, and the student speaker, plus presentations to the Honorary Degree Recipients and the conferring of degrees. Candidates and graduates will be seated with their school/college and recognized as a group ( i.e. no individual names will be called). For additional information on the All-University Commencement, please visit the BU Commencement website.
Participation Eligibility
The All-University Commencement is open to August 2022 graduates, January 2023 graduates, May 2023 candidates and August 2023 candidates (August 2023 only allowed for Master’s candidates). A diploma application must be completed and approved by the GMS Registrar Office in order to participate.
*Please note that the All-University Commencement is not organized by GMS and requires graduates to register separately on the BU Commencement website. Additionally, this ceremony does not involve students walking across the stage to receive their degree or having their name read.
First-Gen Graduation Pinning Ceremony
First-Generation Graduation Pinning Ceremony
Date: Friday, May 19, 2023
Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Location: Tsai Performance Center, Charles River Campus, 685 Commonwealth Avenue
The Newbury Center’s 3rd Annual First-Generation Graduate Pinning Ceremony is to celebrate the graduating first-generation undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Eligible Terrier F1RST candidates and graduates interested in participating in the ceremony must RSVP by April 14.
Questions may be directed to M.C. Damm (mdamm@bu.edu), Newbury Center Assistant Director.
Health & Safety
*Information to be provided once it is available.
Contact Us
Email GMS Student Affairs (gmssa@bu.edu) with any questions.