Commencement 2023 | Information

February 15, 2023

Dear Families and Guests of the Class of 2023,

We write to share updates that we hope will be useful to you as you plan for this year’s Commencement weekend. Official university events include a Baccalaureate ceremony on Sunday morning, Class Day exercises on Sunday afternoon, and the University Commencement Ceremony, followed by the awarding of diplomas at residential colleges, on Monday.

The Baccalaureate ceremony features an address by President Peter Salovey and remarks by Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis. The ceremony takes place at 10:00 a.m. on Old Campus on Sunday, May 21. This event is not ticketed.

Class Day exercises, which take place at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, on Old Campus, include an address by the Class Day speaker, the awarding of several undergraduate prizes, and a celebration of Yale College traditions. This event is not ticketed.

During the University Commencement Ceremony on Old Campus on Monday, May 22, at 10:30 a.m., President Salovey will present symbolic diplomas to student marshals from each residential college. Degrees will also be granted symbolically to students graduating from Yale’s professional schools and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Tickets are required to access Old Campus for the University Commencement Ceremony. Each Yale College student will receive four tickets from their residential college. Tickets may be shared among students but not sold. Seats are not assigned, and with 19,000 people expected on Old Campus, guests are advised to arrive early.  

Viewing locations with a livestream of the ceremony will be open on campus for guests without tickets. Locations will be announced later in the spring.

After the ceremony, residential college deans will lead students back to their residential colleges, where individual diplomas will be presented. These ceremonies are not ticketed.
 

Best regards,
Yale Commencement Office