Commencement

Undergraduate students: Student lineup begins at 3:30 p.m.

Graduate students: Student lineup begins at 5:45 p.m.

Students will receive further lineup instructions prior to commencement.

There is no rehearsal for the commencement ceremony, important details will be reviewed with students when they report to their designated classrooms on the day of the ceremony and in advance of the procession. 

Undergraduate seniors will receive full instructions via email from the SFS Dean’s Office. GSFS graduates will receive information from the SFS Events department. Students must review all instructions before commencement day and report to their assigned classrooms strictly on time.

Caps, gowns and hoods are required for graduation and are available to purchase at the Georgetown University Bookstore. Students who purchased a gown during New Student Convocation may elect to buy only the cap, tassel and hood. 

Hoods should be carried on the graduate’s left arm with the bunting toward the wrist. The tassel on the cap is to be worn on the left side of the head, near the left eye. 

Undergraduate students

Undergraduate students who receive Summa Cum Laude Latin Honors will also be instructed to pick up their honor cord from the SFS Dean’s Office a few days before the ceremony. 

Graduate students

For GSFS graduates, MSFS students will need to purchase graduation regalia with a gold hood, whereas MA-ARST, MA-ASST, MA-ERES, MA-EST, MA-IMR, MA-LAST, MA-SEST, and MGHD students will need to buy graduation regalia with a white hood.

The entire ceremony lasts approximately 2 hours. In fair weather, the ceremony is held on Healy Lawn. Graduates line up in Red Square and proceed to the lawn before the official start time, with the procession typically beginning 30 minutes prior to the ceremony.

The faculty procession follows the student procession, and the ceremony begins as soon as the faculty take their places on stage. Graduates are seated by program and in alphabetical order, with the exception of the Class Marshals, who process first.

SFS Dean Joel Hellman conducts the ceremony, which includes the conferral of the honorary degree and the commencement address from the honoree. All graduates are then recognized, crossing the stage as their names are read and then getting hooded.

After all graduates have been recognized, Interim President Groves confers the degree and offers concluding remarks. Following the Alma Mater and benediction, the recession of faculty and then graduates marks the end of the ceremony. 

The decision about whether to hold the ceremony on the lawn or in the gymnasium will be posted three hours in advance on the University Commencement website. Families may also call our inclement weather hotline at +1-202-687-7669.

In the event of severe inclement weather, the ceremony will move to McDonough Gymnasium. Students should report directly to the tent outside McDonough Gymnasium, where they will be lined up for the procession. The inclement weather ceremony will last approximately 2 hours.

Tickets will be required for guests if the ceremonies are held in the gymnasium. 

Tickets are not required for the SFS commencement ceremony held on Healy Lawn. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Rows directly in front of the stage will be reserved for graduating students. If you are seated there, you will be instructed by ushers to relocate. 

We also ask that guests depart the seating area immediately after the ceremony to allow guests for the following ceremony to take their seats. Families and friends are encouraged to plan to meet their graduates on Copley Lawn after the ceremony. 

Tickets for the indoor ceremony

If the ceremony is moved indoors to the gymnasium because of inclement weather, tickets will be required.

Each undergraduate student will receive seven guest tickets. Graduate students will receive six guest tickets. Information about ticket distribution will be communicated to graduating students.

Special accommodation seating is available by request for family members who need sign language interpretation or have mobility issues. One companion may assist guests with mobility issues, and the remainder of the family will need to sit in the general seating area. All special accommodation requests must be made by May 1 (a good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests made after this date). All requests should be directed to sfsevents@georgetown.edu. 

A handicap-accessible shuttle service will be running throughout Commencement Weekend, transporting passengers from parking lots to both Healy Hall (bus stop at Leavey) and McDonough Gymnasium.

Please note: it can be hot in Washington in late May, and there is no guarantee of shade on the lawn. Guests who are susceptible to the heat may wish to view the ceremony indoors at one of the remote viewing locations; it is also streamed live on the university website.

Professional photos are taken of all SFS graduates at the ceremony. For more information, please visit the University Commencement website.

The names of degree recipients from the fall terms, the current spring term, and the upcoming summer term appear in the commencement program. 

The names and honors included reflect the academic record as of the early May printing deadline. This may not align with final grade reporting deadlines, resulting in a difference in honors information reported in the printed program and on the final transcript, the latter of which should be considered the official record.

The commencement ceremony will be broadcast live via webcast on the Georgetown University Facebook page. The ceremony is also recorded and posted on the same page for viewing at a later date.

During Commencement Weekend, we urge visitors to avoid driving and parking on or near campus. A limited number of parking spaces are available in the Southwest Garage for guests. Please visit the University Commencement Website for more information on parking options and alternatives.

SFS undergraduates earn a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) degree or a Bachelor of Science in Business and Global Affairs (BSBGA) degree.

Students are eligible to graduate when they have successfully completed a minimum of 120 credits, a minimum of 2.0 GPA and all SFS core and major courses. All students must satisfactorily complete both the foreign language proficiency requirement and the rest of the university’s curriculum requirements. Questions about degree completion should be directed to the student’s curricular dean.

Latin honors are conferred based on the student’s cumulative grade-point average (GPA). Please see the Graduation and Semester Honors section of the Undergraduate Bulletin for more information.

Latin honors cords

SFS distributes cords to students graduating summa cum laude prior to the Tropaia ceremony. Students qualifying for this honor will receive information from the SFS Dean’s Office on when and where to pick up. Students who qualify for Latin honors will be recognized as a group during the SFS Tropaia ceremony.

SFS Undergraduate Tropaia is an annual awards ceremony, held on the Friday of Commencement Weekend in Gaston Hall. Student honorees will receive formal invitations.

A reception for SFS undergraduates and their families and guests will be held on the Friday of Commencement Weekend following the Tropaia ceremony.

Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) is the nation’s oldest and largest academic honors society. Generally, the top 10 percent of the SFS graduating class is invited to join. Interested students do not need to apply, as all eligible candidates will be invited in early April. The PBK initiation ceremony is held on the Thursday evening preceding Commencement Weekend. Please visit the university commencement website for more information.

SFS graduate students do not participate in the Graduate School commencement ceremony. The School of Foreign Service, McCourt School of Public Policy, School of Continuing Studies and McDonough School of Business hold separate school-specific ceremonies for their graduating students. 

The Graduate School Commencement ceremony is for master’s and Ph.D.s outside of these schools, Biomedical Graduate Education (master’s and Ph.D.s), and GSAS Interdisciplinary Programs (master’s and Ph.D.s). Graduate SFS programs will only participate in the SFS Commencement ceremony. 

Students should contact their graduate program’s academic affairs point of contact for confirmation or questions.

SFS holds one commencement ceremony each year, in May. All graduates participating in the May ceremony will have their names printed in the Commencement book.

August graduates

August graduates may participate in the commencement ceremony in May. August graduates participating in the May commencement ceremony preceding their actual graduation date cross the stage and have their names called alongside May graduates.

December graduates

December candidates are welcome to participate in the May commencement ceremony following their graduation date, cross the stage and have their names read along with May graduates. Please notify the School of Foreign Service if you do not plan on attending. There is no SFS ceremony held in December.

Senior Week is managed by the Senior Class Committee. August graduates may participate in the Senior Week that precedes or follows their graduation date but may only participate once.

The SFS Undergraduate Dean’s Office formally reviews candidates for August degrees in September and candidates for December degrees in January each year. During this review, the Registrar’s Office has the authority to post the degrees on the official Georgetown transcript. If you need a certification letter confirming the conferral of your degree, please contact the SFS Dean’s Office.

For GSFS graduates, please contact your SFS graduate program advisor for inquiries.

There is a reception for December BSFS graduates and their families and guests. A formal invitation will be emailed to degree candidates in mid-fall.