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Commencement is an open meeting of the Board of Trustees held on the front lawn of Nassau Hall, weather permitting. The program includes brief speeches by the salutatorian, the valedictorian, and the president of the University; the awarding of degrees to undergraduate and graduate students; the conferral of teaching awards to several New Jersey high school teachers and Princeton University faculty; and conferral of honorary degrees. Individual diplomas are distributed following the ceremony.
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| 9:00 a.m. |
Guest seating begins on the front lawn of Nassau Hall and guests must be seated by 10:15 a.m. since the academic procession begins at 10:20 a.m. Ticket entrances are located on both the east and west sides of Nassau Hall and at the gates on Nassau Street. (NOTE: There are entrances on BOTH sides of Nassau Hall, not just on the west side.) Admission to the seating area is by ticket only. Some standing room, not requiring tickets, is available, and once degree candidates are seated, there usually are seats available for guests without tickets (NOTE: there is no unticketed standing room for an indoor Commencement in Jadwin Gym).
The ceremony will be simulcast in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall (adjacent to Nassau Hall); no ticket is necessary for entrance to the simulcast site. This is a good, comfortable location for the elderly or very young -- it is air conditioned; the building has accessible rest rooms; the simulcast of the ceremony makes good, easy viewing.
In case of severe weather (for example, high winds or lightning), Commencement will be held in Jadwin Gym; the change in location will be announced by 8 a.m. through email messages to seniors and on University home page that morning for up-to-date information.
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| 9:45 a.m. |
Seniors form procession between Nassau Hall and Cannon Green facing West College. |
| 10:20 a.m. |
Academic procession begins. No alcohol will be permitted at Commencement. |
| 11 a.m. |
Commencement ceremony begins
Once at their places, degree recipients remain standing until President Shirley Tilghman takes her seat; recipients remove caps when the president removes hers.
Conferral of Bachelor Degrees: Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel introduces candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts by departmental groupings. Candidates are invited to rise as respective departments are named. President Tilghman confers the degree, using the traditional Latin formula: Auctoritate mihi a curatoribus Vniversitatis Princetoniensis commissa, vos ad gradum primum in Artibus et cum honoribus, ut indicatum est, admitto. “By the authority vested in me by The Trustees of Princeton University, I admit you to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, with honors as indicated.” Candidates remain standing until the marshals give the signal to be seated. The same procedure is followed for candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, with appropriate amendments.
Conferral of Advanced Degrees: Dean of the Graduate School William Russel asks candidates receiving various degrees to rise and remain standing until the president confers the degrees.
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Approximately
12:30 p.m. |
At the conclusion of the program, all stand to sing to “Old Nassau.” Guests are asked to remain in their place until the recession has left front campus. |
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Diplomas. Seniors receive their diplomas at receptions in their Residential Colleges immediately following Commencement.
Advanced degree candidates receive their diplomas on Cannon Green immediately following Commencement. Click here for more information about Diploma Distribution.
Note: Alcohol is not permitted at Commencement. Alcohol will be confiscated. |
| 3–5 p.m. |
ROTC Commissioning Ceremony.
Exercises take place in the Faculty Room of Nassau Hall. New officers and their families are invited to a reception in the Memorial Room, Nassau Hall, immediately following the Commissioning Ceremony. |
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