Spring Graduation

If you’re graduating in the spring 2025 semester, you’re eligible to attend Commencement on Friday, May 9 at 7pm in the Credit Union 1 Arena.  Summer and Fall graduates will be invited to attend the December commencement ceremonies.  (NOTE:  Summer graduates who wish to participate in the spring commencement ceremony must submit the Graduation Petition form above by March 1 to be considered for participation.  Please contact ahsinfo@uic.edu with questions.)

Final graduation check

All students who intend to graduate are expected to meet with their academic advisor at least one term prior to graduation to ensure that they are on track to graduate. You’re encouraged to meet with your academic advisor regularly to prevent delays in term of graduation.

Graduate students must also meet deadlines set by the Graduate College. All graduate students (excluding professional Doctor of Physical Therapy and Doctor of Occupational Therapy students) are expected to comply with the Graduate College deadlines regarding thesis defense, format approval and graduation form submission. Refer to the Graduate College for deadlines and requirements.

RSVP or register to attend Commencement

The campus has partnered with Marching Order to create our graduates’ experience.  Marching will create a display to show your  name, degree, and major on screen as you cross the stage.  Marching Order will also have professional name readers records your name to be played while you are on stage.  All graduates who wish to participate in the Spring 2025 in-person AHS Commencement ceremony on May 9, 2029, must REGISTER to attend the ceremony.  Additional details will be posted in February regarding the spring ceremony. 

You will receive an email about Marching Order with your personalized registration link in early March to create a password and set up your Marching Order account.  If you do not receive a notification by March 8, please email the AHS Student Affairs Office at ahsinfo@uic.edu.  Once you receive your Marching Order invitation, you can then:

• Register/RSVP for the ceremony.
• Create your personalized slide for the virtual ceremony
• Obtain your GRAD PASS that will be used for check-in and announcing your name at the ceremony.
• Set up the “Record your Name” feature on the registration form to ensure that your name is properly announced.
• GUEST TICKETS are required for the ceremony.  Graduates will be able to request tickets for their guests through Marching Order.

NOTE: Marching Order registration links cannot be shared between graduates as each link is customized to each graduate.

For those who are unable to attend the in-person ceremony, there will have a virtual ceremony page that will broadcast the webcast of the in-person ceremony and have a slide for each graduate.  You are encouraged to customize your slide with a photo and personal message by the Marching Order deadline in early April. The slides can be downloaded and shared with family and friends, or posted to social media, but will not be used in the in-person ceremony.  The link to our virtual ceremony will be available on the university commencement website.

Grad Pass

Once graduates register through Marching Order, they will be able to obtain a “Grad Pass.”  A Grad Pass is a personalized code that will be scanned at the commencement ceremony check-in and also as graduates process across the stage.  The Grad Pass is coded to pull up each graduate’s name and degree information.  Please bring your phone to the ceremony or print out your Grad Pass, as you will need it to check-in and before entering the stage.

Cap and gown

Please note that academic dress is required to participate in the in-person commencement ceremonies.  Students can purchase regalia through the UIC Bookstore.  Orders can be shipped directly to your home or picked up in the bookstore.

For more information, please see the university commencement website. Additional graduation products can be purchased through the UIC Bookstore..

Prices for regular retainable student caps and gowns are as follows (prices will be updated for spring 2025 graduates by early March):

• Bachelors – $59.99
• Masters – $89.99 (includes a red stole)
• Doctorate – PhD – $99.99
• Professional Doctorate – OTD/DPT/DCEP – $159.99

Academic regalia consists of the following:

• Bachelor – Blue cap, blue gown, red stole, and tassel indicative of degree conferred
• Master – Blue cap, blue gown, red stole, tassel and hood indicative of College (gold hood and green/gold tassel)
• Doctorate (DPT, OTD) – Black tam, black gown, teal tassel and hood indicative of College
• Doctorate (DCEP) – Black tam, black gown, gold tassel and hood indicative of College
• Ph.D – Red cap, red gown, gold tassel, and hood lined with red and indigo

Tassel color

• Bachelor of Science: gold tassel
• Bachelor of Arts: white tassel
• Master of Science: green/gold tassel and gold-lined hood
• PhD students: gold tassel and a hood unique to your discipline
• Doctor of Physical Therapy: teal tassel and teal-lined hood
• Occupational Therapy Doctorate: teal tassel and teal-lined hood
• Doctor of Clinical Exercise Physiology: gold tassel and gold-lined hood

A tassel is included with cap and gown orders, but additional tassels are available at the bookstores.

Latin Honors eligibility

Latin Honors are awarded to UNDERGRADUATE students who are earning a degree and whose UIC grade point average falls within the following honors categories:

• Summa cum laude: 3.90 and above
• Magna cum laude: 3.75 to 3.89
• Cum laude: 3.50 to 3.74

The UIC cumulative grade point average must be at least 3.50/4.00. Latin Honors designation for commencement purposes will be based on grades and credits earned through the end of the term prior to the commencement ceremony. Student records will be updated after final grades are posted.

Latin Honors cord pick-up:

Honors cords will be distributed in Student Center East (SCE) prior to Commencement week.  Details to follow.  Cords will also be available on site at the commencement ceremony.

Diploma Information

Diplomas will be mailed approximately 4 – 8 weeks after graduation. The printed diploma will be delivered to your active mailing address, unless you have created an active diploma address in my.UIC. Addresses can be updated from the Personal Information menu. Any changes to the delivery address of the diploma after the last day of classes should be reported to the Records Office at 312-996-4381, M-F, 8:30 am to 5 pm.

Diploma Name

It is recommended that you access your final grade report via my.UIC for your records. Your name as it appears in the portal as of the last day of classes will appear on your diploma. If you have a change of name that you would like to appear on your diploma, please complete the current student diploma name change form to request changes to your name.

If you have any questions, contact the Records Office at 312-996-4381, M-F, 8:30 am to 5 pm.

Diploma Covers

Diploma covers will be distributed to graduates participating in the in-person commencement ceremonies.  For graduates who do not plan to attend, you may request a diploma cover be mailed to you.  Please contact the AHS Office of Student Affairs at ahsinfo@uic.edu after the commencement ceremonies to make this request.  Please be sure to include your name, UIN, and mailing address in your request.

Degree information

Degrees are not posted until after final grades have been submitted.  The official degree date for Spring 2025 is Sunday, May 11.  Once grades are submitted, each program begins the process to verify that all degree requirements have been satisfied for each degree candidate.  The college then certifies degrees and sends them to the Records Office for posting to students’ transcripts.  Degrees for the Spring 2025 term will be certified between May 19 – June 6.  Students in professional programs with pending licensure exams are expected to be certified the week of May 19.  Degree dates for each term can be found here.

Degree date

Although each college’s commencement ceremony may be on a different date, there is one official degree date each term for graduating students.  Generally this degree date is the Sunday following final exam week.  For the Spring 2024 semester, the degree date is Sunday, May 5, 2024.  A list of future degree dates can be found at the following link.

Webcast

The ceremony will be livestreamed at the following link:

https://go.uic.edu/AHSCommencementLivestream 

AHS Commencement Student Speaker

You can submit your audition for the AHS Commencement student speaker using the link below.

The Office of the Dean will begin accepting submissions for the 2025 Commencement Student Speaker in February 2025.

Details on submitting an audition for commencement student speaker will be posted in early Spring 2025.  A You Tube video of your speech should be included with your submission. The 2025 Student Commencement Speaker will be selected based on the following criteria: Presentation, Content and Engagement.

All auditions should be submitted no later than March 15, 2025.  For additional questions, please contact Eileen Doran at eileend2@uic.edu.

NOTE:  Professional , graduate, and undergraduate students are all eligible for submission

Nominations for Outstanding Teaching and Advising Awards

Graduating students can submit nominations for the AHS Excalibur Award for Teaching Excellence to recognize an outstanding instructor.   The AHS Student Council will collect nominations and identify one instructor from each department to be presented with the Excalibur Award.  Nominations are due March 1 and can be submitted via the following link.

Graduating students may also submit nominations for the AHS Advising Award to recognize outstanding advisors in the College of Applied Health Sciences.  The AHS Student Council will select 1-2 advisors to be recognized with this honor.  Nominations are due March 1 and can be submitted via the following link.

UIC e-mail address

Graduates from the Class of 2020 and later can request to keep their UIC email address and forward emails sent to their UIC address to a personal account of their choosing.  Please following the following link for additional details.  Graduates must opt-in for this service using the following opt-in form.  For Spring 2025 graduates, you must wait until your degree has officially be posted to opt-in to this service.  Spring degrees are generally posted by the first Friday in June.

Announcements and class rings

Graduation announcements, diploma frames, and class rings can be ordered through the UIC bookstores . Additional information regarding these items will be posted later in the spring term.

Seating and Venue Policies

Please note that all bags will be subject to search and all graduates will enter through a metal detector.  Please refer to the seating guidelines and venue policies for more information about prohibited items.

Day of Ceremony Details – tickets, seating, and more…

TICKETS: Tickets are required for guests for the AHS 2025 Commencement ceremony on May 9, 2025 in the Credit 1 Arena. Only guests with a ticket will be allowed entry into the Arena.  There will be plenty of additional tickets available for the AHS ceremony.  Graduates can request additional tickets for the Applied Health Sciences Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 9 at 7pm after the registration deadline.  Additional details to follow.

CHECK-IN:  Doors open at 6pm, one hour before the ceremony begins.  Graduates need to check-in by 6:30pm in the Arena and should bring their Grad Pass to check-in.  Graduates should leave their personal belongings with their guests with the exception of their phone which may be used for their Grad Pass.

SEATING:  Graduates will be seated by degree level in the graduate seating area, but specific seats will not be assigned within programs.  Seating is not assigned for guests.

Graduates or Guests who require accommodations or additional seating assistance should contact the Venue staff at 312-413-5700 prior to the day of the College Commencement to arrange for a seat location and assistance.

PARKING:  Parking is FREE for commencement attendees in Lots 1A and 1B (1109 and 1139 West Harrison Street) .

Additional information about parking can be found here.