University Events & Programs

Please view the criteria for eligibility to participate.

You must register online to walk at the Commencement ceremony. You will receive an email confirmation upon registration. Registration will open the week of Spring Break 2013.

There is no limit to the number of guests a graduate can invite. There are no tickets required and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is seating for approximately 12,000 guests on Memorial Field, with standing room to accommodate several hundred more. There is additional seating capacity of approximately 7,500 in the Whittemore Arena for simulcast viewing. View map.

View all information on Caps and Gowns.

Approximately 2,500 students attend the annual Commencement ceremony.

Candidates walking in the ceremony are asked to arrive at their lineup areas by 9 a.m.. Please view the maps to identify where each college is lining up.

Guests should plan on arriving in Durham by 8 a.m. to allow time for parking and shuttle transport to ensure that they are at Memorial Field for the start of the procession at 9:45 a.m. Click here for directions to the UNH campus.

It is impossible to determine how early a guest must arrive to ensure seating on Memorial Field. It is very much dependent on weather and the draw of a particular Commencement speaker.

The ceremony begins with the procession at 9:45 a.m. and is anticipated to end by 12:30 p.m.. Post-event reservations should be made for no earlier than 2 p.m.

Senior pictures are coordinated through the Granite Yearbook office. Please refer to the Dates and Deadlines page to see when photos are being taken on campus. The official yearbook portrait photographer is Mark Lawrence Photographers. Visit thier Web site to schedule a sitting. Please direct all questions to thegraniteyearbook@hotmail.com.

The UNH Alumni Association Marketplace offers custom graduation announcements, diploma frames, commemorative DVDs, and class rings. Information regarding qualifications for Latin Honors, which is sometimes on graduation announcements, can be obtained from the Registrar's Office.

UNH Media Relations, in cooperation with the Registrar's Office, sends lists to all New England newspapers with the names of students who have graduated (after May Commencement). Individual newspapers control how and whether they publish this information.

If you live outside New England and would like to have the Commencement announcement sent to your hometown paper or you have a question about Commencement hometown news, contact Stephanie Weatherbee at s.weatherbee@unh.edu or (603) 862-2494.

Click here for additional information on submitting information regarding student achievements.

The ceremony takes place outdoors rain or shine. Regardless of weather, there will be a live simulcast in the Whittemore Center Arena for those individuals who would be more comfortable viewing the ceremony from indoors.

View information on accomodations for guests with disabilities.

Honors Convocation is on Friday, May 17, in the Whittemore Center Arena from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Students need to arrive at 3 p.m. to line-up. There are no tickets required and no limit of the number of guests a student may invite.

Click here. If you have any questions, please contact commencement.awards@unh.edu.

For the health and safety of our guests, and the cleanliness of our event grounds, dogs of any type/size, with the exception of service dogs, are not permitted at the UNH Commencement ceremony. Please do not bring your dogs to campus. Event staff and University Police will enforce this policy.

During the Honors Convocation and Commencement ceremonies, all graduates will be photographed as they receive their diploma cover. There is no fee for this service, and there is no obligation to purchase photos. Graduates will be sent proofs and information on ordering photos at their permanent address, as held by the Registrar, following the ceremony. For information, call GradTrak® at 800-424-3686. Guests will not have access to the front of the stage to take photos.

UNH Photographic Services will be capturing candid moments at Commencement from beginning to end. These images will be available for viewing and purchase through SmugMug. Images will be continually added over several days following the ceremony.

If you have additional questions that were not answered above, please contact commencement@unh.edu.