Frequently Asked Questions

Class of 2022: Eligibility to participate in the All-University Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2022 is limited to students who have graduated or will graduate during the 2021-22 academic year. This includes:

• Those who have earned degrees or advanced certificates of study in September 2021
• Those who have earned degrees or advanced certificates of study in January 2022
• Those who are candidates for a degree or advanced certificate of study in May 2022

Class of 2020 and Class of 2021: Eligibility to participate in the All-University Commencement joint ceremony for the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 is limited to students who have graduated during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years. This includes:

• Those who have earned degrees or advanced certificates of study from September 2019 through May 2021

Visit the University Registrar's website for information regarding:

• Deadlines to Apply for Graduation
• Graduation Honors
• Diplomas

Yes, the deadline to apply for graduation for graduation was Sunday, February 13. (This deadline applies to May 2022 candidates. October 17, 2021 was the deadline for Fall 2021/January 2022 graduates.) In addition to your application deadline, you will have to meet the requirements deadline of May 17, 2022. All requirements associated with your graduation status must be satisfied by this date.

Candidates for graduation who have up to two courses remaining to complete their degree requirements (which must be completed by the end of summer) may request permission to participate in Commencement-related activities from their school’s designated academic officer as a Dean's Exception.

Candidates must update their expected graduation term to Summer 2022 and receive approval by May 1, 2022. Approved Dean's Exception candidates should wait 72 hours after approval and confirmation by the Registrar before ordering tickets. Please note that not all schools will allow Dean's Exceptions.

The All-University Commencement ceremony recognizes each year's graduates from all of NYU's schools. The program will include remarks by leadership and select student speakers, the awarding of honorary degrees, the presentation of student representatives from each school, the traditional Ceremony of the Torch, and the conferral of degrees. Before the ceremony begins, there will be a procession of faculty members and of the platform party.

With over 18,000 graduates in each class, individual candidate names cannot be read at the All-University Commencement. Instead, a student representative from the graduating class at each school will receive a symbolic diploma on behalf of their classmates.

The All-University Commencement Exercises will be approximately 90 minutes to two hours long.

The Commencement Preshow is a live production broadcast from the field of Yankee Stadium before the Commencement ceremonies officially begin. The interviews with graduating students celebrate their stories of service, innovation, artistic talent, and academic achievement. The Preshow will begin at 10:00 a.m. ET and, before the evening ceremony, it will begin at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Academic attire is no longer available for advance purchase online. Anyone who still needs to order their attire can purchase it in-person at the Kimmel Center between Thursday, May 12-Tuesday, May 17. Visit the academic attire page for more details about pricing and purchasing information.

Please note that the first two days of academic attire distribution (May 10 and May 11) are limited to those who purchased their attire online by April 8.

If you placed an online order by April 8 and selected on-campus pickup, you can pick up your attire at the Kimmel Center between Tuesday, May 10-Tuesday, May 17. View the distribution schedule.

The main distribution area will be on the 4th floor of the Kimmel Center in Eisner & Lubin Auditorium.

Graduates who do not have current NYU building access will be able to enter the Kimmel Center and will be directed to the Commuter Lounge (2nd floor) to pick up their attire. All those with access to the NYU Daily Screener are asked to go upstairs to the 4th floor for full-service assistance.

To check the status of your academic attire order, visit the Herff Jones order status page. For other concerns or questions about academic attire purchases, contact Paul Reilly at pjreilly@herffjones.com.

Herff Jones will be on campus from Tuesday, May 10-Tuesday, May 17 to distribute advance orders and for in-person sales. Visit Herff Jones during the distribution schedule if you had any problems with your delivery order, such as a missing or incorrect item or a delivery that may not arrive in time.

Tickets are required for entry. Ticket ordering concluded on Friday, May 6 for both Commencement ceremonies.

Tickets will be transferred around Thursday, May 12 to all those who completed their ticket orders. Tickets should be downloaded in advance. They can be presented on a smartphone at the stadium for entry. No screenshots or printouts will be accepted.

Tickets are not interchangeable for the ceremonies. The sale of tickets is NOT PERMITTED.

Yes. The preliminary RSVP survey (sent to members of the Class of 2020 or Class of 2021 in December) is not a ticket order. Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 alumni must still place an online order for tickets.

Extra tickets will be distributed via lottery. Graduates and candidates can opt into the extra ticket lottery when they place their ticket order. Those selected in the lottery will receive one extra ticket.

UPDATE: All lottery requests placed by Monday, April 25 were approved. A second round of the extra ticket lottery launched Tuesday, April 26. Any eligible candidate or graduate can enter the second round of the lottery, regardless of whether they had already received an extra ticket in the first round.

The second lottery will take place at the conclusion of ticket ordering on Friday, May 6. Those who can receive an extra ticket will be notified at that time.

As a reminder, Commencement tickets should not be sold. It is a violation of university policy to do so. Extra tickets should be requested and used by eligible candidates and graduates and their personal guests.

Although we wish we could accommodate all the friends and family members of our graduating students, a limited number of tickets are available for each ceremony. The number of guest tickets is based on the expected attendance for the two different ceremonies.

There are two separate Commencement ceremonies, with different groups of eligible candidates. Tickets are only usable for the ceremony for which they have been issued; tickets are not interchangeable. The 11:00 a.m. Commencement is for the Class of 2022. The 6:00 p.m. Commencement is for the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021.

The sale of Commencement tickets is not permitted. Graduates who offer their tickets for sale risk having their ticket orders cancelled or other potential disciplinary actions.

If you or your guests need US visas to attend Commencement and/or your school ceremony, visit the Office of Global Services’ international visitors webpage and other recommended documentation for international visitors arriving for Commencement, which includes how to request an NYU Commencement letter of invitation.

If you still have questions after reviewing the pages, contact the Office of Global Services at ogs@nyu.edu.

GradBot is an AI chatbot that can answer questions related to the All-University Commencement. Graduates and Commencement attendees can opt into GradBot to get Commencement information. GradBot will go live in mid-March. Details on how to opt in to GradBot will be posted at that time.

Keep your contact information up to date in Albert and through Alumni Relations at nyualumni.com/new-grads.

Details about Latin honors, including the GPA cutoffs, are on the University Registrar's Graduation Honors page. The University does not distribute tassels or cords for Latin honors.

Some schools might distribute cords for certain internal honors. Please reach out to your school with questions about departmental honors.

University Honors Scholars receive a certificate and a gold tassel that they may wear at Commencement and other graduation events. The University Registrar will contact any University Honors Scholars with more details about how they pick up their tassel or have it shipped to their home. Certificates will be mailed to homes after graduation.

Diplomas are mailed to graduates 6-8 weeks after graduation. Make sure to update your mailing address in Albert. For further information, visit the Registrar’s website.