Participating
Faculty who would like to participate in either the Hooding Ceremony or the Commencement Exercises are asked to sign up via this form.
Hooding Ceremony
Candidates for the PhD and the ScD receive their hoods in a ceremony on Thursday, June 4. Faculty, especially mentors of degree candidates, are encouraged to participate.
The ceremony runs from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm. Robing and assembly for faculty and students begin at 10:00 am in the Johnson Athletics Center Ice Rink. Please arrive with your regalia; staff will be on hand to help you robe. There will be a coat rack, and you can expect to leave a jacket or sweater safely, but we recommend that you leave valuables in your office: there is no secure place to leave laptops, briefcases, or confidential files in the robing area.
Faculty must arrive for assembly by 10:15 am on Thursday.
Hoods are invested by the chancellor and the respective department head or his/her designate. We regret that it is impossible to honor requests from faculty to hood individual students, but it is essential for the flow of the ceremony to adhere to this policy. However, because the stage is fairly small, and the students line up in front of faculty before receiving their hoods, you will probably be able to greet a special student from your seat.
The Hooding Ceremony lasts about ninety minutes. Faculty are asked to remain seated throughout, as it is difficult and awkward to leave the stage.
After the ceremony there is a reception, which will be held in the tent on Kresge Oval. Graduates enjoy introducing their guests to their friends on the faculty; all are invited, and no tickets are required.
Commencement
Robing and assembly
Participating faculty are asked to report to the Assembly Tent on Kresge Oval between 8:30 am and 9:00 am on Friday, Commencement Day. Please enter the tent via the Kresge Auditorium lobby on the Student Center side. Continental breakfast will be available. Please do not arrive after 9:20 am: the door will be closed at that time.
Please note that the robing and assembly area on Kresge Oval will not be secure after the procession leaves. Please do not bring anything of value with you, nor leave anything there.
Venue
Commencement is held on Killian Court except in the case of extreme weather (i.e., electrical storms or hail). Although faculty are seated on the stage and therefore sheltered from rain, we do have to walk across the grass to get there. You will want to keep this, and the temperature, in mind when choosing what to wear with your regalia.
In case of severe weather, faculty would assemble in the duPont Gymnasium. You can check for a change in plans after 7:00 am on the morning of Commencement by calling ext. 3-SNOW. The ceremony would be moved to Rockwell Cage for the graduates, faculty, and Corporation members; guests would watch the exercises via closed-circuit television at various locations around campus.
Refreshments
Continental breakfast will be available in the assembly area, and there will be a bottle of water under your seat on the stage.
Commencement Exercises
The Exercises begin when the Academic Procession enters Killian Court at 10:00 am, and ends shortly after 1:00 pm. The names of graduates are read by eight members of the MIT administrative staff in alternating order between undergraduates and graduate students.
After the ceremony
The stage assembly recesses through Killian Court, and all participants, graduates, and guests are invited to a reception on Kresge Oval. Many departments host individual events that day, as well. Please check with your department office to determine the timing and venue for its reception.
Regalia
To order regalia for Hooding and/or Commencement, faculty are asked to use this form. It collects your regalia order and lets us know whether you plan to attend the ceremonies. Questions? Please email commencement@mit.edu.
Regalia PickUp
Rental regalia will be available for pickup in Room 8-119 on Wednesday, June 3 or Thursday, June 4 between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. On Friday, June 5, rental regalia will be available in the Kresge Oval assembly tent at 8:00 am. Please return rented regalia to Room 8-119 by the end of the day on Monday, June 8.
