Frequently Asked Questions

Students who will complete their degree requirements within the academic year of 2026 - 2027: Fall 2026 (2261), Spring 2027 (2265) and Summer 2027 (2268) are eligible to participate in the May 2027 ceremonies. Please see your academic advisor to confirm your eligibility.

Commencement information is communicated in a number of ways. If a student has applied for graduation, they will receive the following:

• First, information about U.S. visa requirements for guests is sent via email to international students. Keep your address information up to date. You can find or change your permanent address in SIS, as well as edit the name that will appear on your diploma and create a special diploma mailing address.
• Emails will be sent to students during spring semester. If you graduated in December, please continue to monitor your RIT email account for May 2027 commencement information.
• The schedule of Commencement ceremonies is posted on this website. Information about the receptions held by colleges and some departments is posted early spring semester.
• You can also contact your college's Commencement liaison. Your College Commencement Liaison can be found on this page under Contacts.

If you think you should be receiving Commencement mailings but you are not, check your Expected Graduation Term in SIS. 

You can change your Expected Graduation Term with the form found on the Registrar website.

Once a student is eligible to apply for graduation, the Office of the Registrar will send an email each month to complete the application for graduation in SIS, and a notification will pop up on the student’s SIS account indicating they are eligible to apply for graduation. To access SIS, visit http://sis.rit.edu. In SIS, you can change your permanent address or setup a special one for diploma delivery, as well as edit how your name will appear on the diploma. View these helpful SIS screen shots.

IMPORTANT: If you don’t apply for graduation, your name will not appear on the list of graduates that our regalia vendor uses to give out cap and gown. Also, if you want your name to appear in the Commencement Book, you must apply for graduation by April 1, 2027. No exceptions! Best advice – do it when you get the email.

If you like, you can change the way your name appears on your diploma.

NOTE: If you do not change it, your legal name will appear on your diploma. 

Instructions for changing your diploma name

Rehearsals are not held for the ceremonies. When you arrive at your ceremony lineup location, staff from your college will 1) show you where to line up and 2) give you a name card which you will hand to the name reader as you enter the stage. If you do not wish for your legal name to be announced, you must change your diploma name with the Office of the Registrar. 

When the procession begins, all you have to do is follow the person in front of you to your seat. Staff from your college will let you know when it is time for you to go on stage.

Information about each college’s ceremony, and the doctoral hooding ceremony, including graduate lineup time and location are available at rit.edu/commencement/schedule.

Graduates from ALL colleges and their guests may attend the Academic Convocation (Friday, May 7, 2027 at 10 a.m.). This is the ceremony with the Commencement Speaker, where your degree will be officially conferred by President Sanders and you will all move your tassels. Graduates do not cross the stage or receive their diploma cover at this ceremony. Participation in the Academic Convocation is not required, but we hope you will join us.

Candidates who are graduating from more than one college (e.g. College of Liberal Arts and College of Engineering Technology) may walk in both ceremonies as long as they do not occur at the same time. If they do, you should walk in the ceremony that is most important to you. Be sure to contact the Commencement Contact for each college to make arrangements for both ceremonies.

Your degree must be certified before your diploma can be sent. Approximately 8-10 weeks after your graduation, you will receive your diploma in the mail from the Registrar’s Office. Please be sure your mailing address information is correct in SIS. If needed, you can set up a special diploma mailing address. Note that if you have a hold on your account, your diploma will not be sent until the hold has been removed. Questions? Open a ticket with the Office of the Registrar. 

Caps and gowns (regalia) must be worn by all graduating students participating in Academic Convocation and Commencement ceremonies. 

For all regalia ordering information, please visit: buildagrad.com/rit. All regalia must be ordered by March 22, 2027.

Undergraduate students/candidates graduating with honors are indicated with an * in the Commencement Book. The designations that appear in the Commencement Book are based on a student’s GPA at the end of the preceding fall semester. Final honors designations will be posted to the undergraduate’s academic record and reflected on his/her transcript based upon the cumulative GPA upon certification of the completion of degree requirements. Because the final honors designations include all degree requirements, they may be different from those indicated in the Commencement Book.

The numerical criteria for graduation with honors are as follows:

• Cum Laude is equal to a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or greater (*)
• Magna Cum Laude is equal to a cumulative GPA of 3.60 - 3.79 or greater (**)
• Summa Cum Laude is equal to a cumulative GPA of 3.80 - 4.00 or greater (***)

Regardless of the level of honors earned, all graduates wear two cords knotted together. Eligible graduates will receive these cords as part of their cap and gown package. NOTE: Other organizations at RIT give or sell cords, stoles, etc. to their members. These items are not centrally managed. Please reach out to your organization for information.

NOTE: Per policy D05.1 Academic Actions and Recognitions, degree honors are applicable to undergraduate students only.

Only the Academic Honor cords are centrally managed. If you are eligible, you will get your Academic Honor Cords when you pick up your regalia. Many RIT organizations give or sell cords and stoles to their members. Please contact your organization for information.
 

The tassel should be on the right side of the mortar board. During the Academic Convocation when the RIT president officially confers the degrees, you will be asked to move your tassel from right to left.

Candidates wear the regalia that corresponds to their highest degree. Be sure to contact the Commencement Liaison for each college to make arrangements for both ceremonies.

No, tickets are not needed for any of our ceremonies; and there is no limit to the number of guests who can attend. However, for the Academic Convocation, guest seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Overflow seating will be available in the Gene Polisseni Center, where the ceremony will be streamed live. All other ceremonies have ample guest seating.

For the Academic Convocation, we recommend that guests arrive at least 1 hour before the program begins.

• Doors will open at 9:00 a.m. for the Convocation. The Academic Convocation begins at 10:00 a.m.
• Overflow seating will be available in the Gene Polisseni Center, where the ceremony will be streamed live.

For the college commencement ceremonies:

• If you are a graduate, you should consult the line-up information included on the ceremony schedule.
• Guests should know that we have ceremonies occurring all day on both Friday and Saturday, so you may have to wait if there is a ceremony in progress when you arrive. There is ample seating for all guests; seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For all ceremonies, plan to arrive on campus about an hour prior to the start of each ceremony to allow ample time for parking and shuttling to the ceremony sites. If you have special seating needs, please contact a volunteer when you arrive. There will be plenty of volunteers on hand to assist. 

To ensure the highest level of safety and security, ALL persons, guests and graduates, entering the ceremony locations will be subject to security screening including metal detection gates and inspection of all bags. To expedite the screening process, be aware that all objects made of metal must be removed from pockets (though not bags) and placed in a bin for inspection. If possible, avoid bringing metal objects and bags to ceremonies. Please consider the time for security screening when calculating travel time to ceremonies.

Please review the Gordon Field House and Activities Center and Gene Polisseni Center Policies prior to coming to campus. 

Academic Convocation is for everyone. It includes the following:

• A procession of the graduates wearing their caps and gowns
• The official conferral of degrees by President Sanders*
• The address by the Commencement Speaker
• Remarks by the chair, RIT Board of Trustees
• Remarks by RIT's undergraduate delegate and graduate delegate
• A rousing group recognition and celebration of all of RIT's graduates

*Graduates are NOT individually recognized and do not cross the stage at this ceremony. That occurs at the individual college ceremonies and the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony.

Please ask your student the name of their college and major. We also post a complete list of graduating students in late spring that you can search. The details of their specific ceremony will pop up. 

All of the ceremonies will be live-streamed via the Commencement website. The live videos will be available on the day of the event, shortly before the ceremony start time.

The Academic Convocation ceremony featuring the RIT Commencement speaker will also be live-streamed on Friday at 10:00 a.m. on RIT's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RITtigers.

Family or friends coming to the United States from overseas will need to apply for B-1/B-2 Visitor Visas unless their country of citizenship is listed as a participant in the Visa Waiver Program. Visit the International Student Services website for more information.

Dress for comfort – business casual is most common. Both the Gordon Field House and Gene Polsseni Center are air-conditioned. RIT is a large campus, so be prepared to do a lot of walking. Our best advice? Wear comfortable walking shoes!

Yes, RIT Dining Services locations and concessions stands will be open throughout the day on Friday and Saturday of Commencement Weekend. 
Hours, location and menu information will be found at on their website during the weekend.
Many colleges or departments host commencement receptions that include refreshments. 

The Academic Convocation, Ph.D. Hooding ceremony and the college commencement ceremonies are American Sign Language interpreted and real-time captioned. 

Please see the Parking & Shuttle Service page for additional information.

Both the Gordon Field House and Activities Center and the Gene Polisseni Center are accessible to those with disabilities. Guest seating is primarily in the bleachers which have steps. Our volunteer ushers will find seats on the floor together for your guests; however, please note that accessible seating is neither reserved nor guaranteed. We recommend that those who need accessible seating options not in the bleachers arrive 1 hour in advance of the ceremony they plan to attend. Remember: all ceremonies throughout the weekend are live-streamed. 

The RIT campus is large and there is considerable walking involved from all locations to shuttle stops. We encourage you to consider the distances you may have to walk and to wear comfortable shoes. RIT's 2027 commencement ceremonies, held May 7–8, will be live-streamed directly on the RIT Commencement website. 

As part of an ongoing effort to ensure a safe and enjoyable event, all bags will be checked and guests will walk through metal detection gates prior to entering the Gordon Field House and Activities Center and the Gene Polisseni Center.

The following are prohibited:

• Air horns, balls, balloons, beach balls, laser pointers, noise makers, inflatables, alcohol
• Firearms, explosives, fireworks, sparklers

Strollers and wheelchairs are permitted, but cannot be parked in the aisle. Please ask a volunteer to assist you. Service dogs are the only animals permitted inside of Commencement Weekend venues.

Smoking, including e-cigarettes, and cannabis is not permitted in any of RIT’s facilities.

We do not have wheelchairs available on campus. You can rent wheelchairs from Fonte Surgical Supply, 585-338-1000, Westside Medical Supply, 585-227-8750 or Nu Motion 585-385-3920.

GradImages® is the official photographer for RIT Commencement. Each graduate's photo will be taken during the college ceremonies. If have any questions or concerns regarding your photos, please contact GradImages® Customer Service online at www.gradimages.com.

Balfour Class Ring representatives will be at the RIT Campus Store on October 16-18, 2026, during Brick City Homecoming.

They will also be available to take orders on Commencement Weekend. In addition to Class Rings, generic and custom commencement announcements can be purchased online at Balfour. 

Officially licensed, RIT diploma frames are available to purchase at the RIT Campus Store or online from our official vendors Church Hill Classics and Framing Success. Contact RIT Campus Store at campusstore@rit.edu.

RIT diploma dimensions:

• Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Associate, Bachelor's and Master's degree: 12" x 10"
• Ph.D.: 11" x 14"

Flowers and RIT Commemorative T-shirts and sweatshirts, with the names of all graduates, will be for sale at both the Gordon Field House and Activities Center and the Gene Polisseni Center during Commencement Weekend.  You can pre-order flowers and shirts.  

Please download the lawn sign you'd like to use and provide your vendor with the PDF. Class signs are available now.