Any last-minute changes to Commencement exercises will appear here. Full instructions are below.
From The Grove to The Pavilion
You will receive, if you have not already, a letter from the Office of the Registrar giving instructions for the Spring Commencement Convocation in the Grove along with parking information to share with your guests and a Frequently Asked Questions sheet that should be very helpful to you as you prepare for commencement. As soon as the ceremony in the Grove ends, you will need to proceed immediately to the Pavilion, where the School of Applied Sciences commencement program will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m. You will not have much time to get lined up before the procession starts, so you need to get over to the Pavilion and start lining up as soon as possible. We are encouraging guests to park in the lots located along Hill Drive and Jeanette Phillips Drive. If you have guests who need ADA handicapped parking, they should park in the parking garage on Hill Drive and Manning Way. There will be a shuttle provided to bring ADA guests to the Grove or the Pavilion. There will also be walking paths marked to bring guests from the Grove to the Pavilion and back. This will allow them to attend both the morning ceremony in the Grove and the Applied Sciences ceremony in the Pavilion.
Name Cards
Name cards with your information on it will be available for pickup in your department office beginning April 29th. Satellite campus students, (DeSoto, Tupelo, or Grenada) your card will be available in the office of your local campus. You will hand this card to the reader when you cross the stage at the Applied Sciences ceremony. Below is a list of where to pick up your name card. You must bring this card with you to graduation. This is the card that you will hand to the announcer before crossing the stage. Do not leave the lineup card in your seat. Please complete the information on the back of your card as the cards will be given to the photographers, who will then send you proofs of your photos by e-mail within 3 days.
- Communication Sciences and Disorders – South Oxford Center
- Criminal Justice and Paralegal Studies – Odom Hall
- Exercise Sciences and Sport & Recreation Administration – The Turner Center
- Nutrition and Hospitality Management – Lenoir Hall
- Social Work – Longstreet
Finding your Place in the Pavilion
You will enter the Pavilion through the main doors. Once you arrive in the Pavilion, you will need to go downstairs to find the line for your major. Use the stairs between sections 105 and 106 and between sections 108 and 109 to go all the way to the floor. Below is a list of the degree programs that will be in each hall. If you are lining up in the red hall, go to the left once you reach the floor. If you are in the blue hall, continue to the right and walk along the wall until you reach the portal. At the entrance to each hall there will be a flag on a stand to indicate the hall you are entering. Your reader card should also match the hall you are lining up in. Continue down your hall and look for the sign with the name of your major and line up behind the sign. There will be staff posted throughout the halls to help guide you. Please line up as soon as you arrive as we will be starting promptly at 11:00 a.m. You do not have to be in alphabetical order within your major.
Red Side:
- B.S. in Hospitality Management
- Bachelor of Social Work
- B.S. in Exercise Science
- B.A. in Sport & Recreation
Blue Side:
- ALL GRADUATE STUDENTS
- B.S. in Communication Sciences & Disorders
- B.S. in Criminal Justice
- B.S. in Law Studies
- B.S. in Dietetics and Nutrition
Your Turn on Stage
UM staff will guide your line to your designated area in the seating arrangement. If you will need ADA seating, please contact me by e-mail at kdjames@olemiss.eduso that we can make those arrangements ahead of time. I will need this information no later thanFriday, May 3rd. You will be ushered to the stage by the Dean’s Office staff one row at a time. When you reach the stage, you will hand your card to the reader (again, don’t leave your card in your seat!) who will announce your name as you receive your diploma cover. A photographer will be present to capture the moment. Out of respect for any graduates who have not received their diplomas, you are asked to return to your seat until the end of the program, which should end around 1:00. Choosing to participate in commencement means you are committing for the entireceremony. It is very disrespectful to your fellow classmates if you leave before all students have had their turn on stage. No student will be allowed to leave the floor without prior written consent from the Dean’s Office.
Graduation Attire
When you pick up your cap and gown at the C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum, please be sure that your tassel is gold. At the Applied Sciences ceremony, undergraduates wear their tassels on the right and will move them to the left side after walking across the stage to shake hands with the Dean. (For the early ceremony in The Grove, you may be told by Office of the Registrar staff to wear them on the left side—just follow their directions for The Grove Ceremony.) Please be careful to wear shoes that are comfortable and will not damage the hardwood floors at the Pavilion. You will deposit your gown at the designated area outside the Pavilion. You may keep your cap.
Honor Cords
Students who have met the university requirements for Latin Honors (the overall and resident GPA as of the end of the Winter Intersession 2019semester are used for this purpose) will find the honors listed beneath their names on your card. If you are receiving Latin Honors (Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Summa Cum Laude), you need to stop by the George Street House sometime the week before graduation to pick up your honor cord. If you are a satellite campus student, (DeSoto, Tupelo, or Grenada) your cord will be available for pick up at your local campus after April 29th. All honors graduates will be notified by email no later than April 26th. The UM requirements for honors are as follows:
- At least half of the hours required for your degree must be completed at the University of Mississippi (for 120 hours programs, 60 hours; for 124 hour programs, 62 hours)
- A minimum UM and overall (we have to go with the lower of the two) GPA of:
- 3.5 for Cum Laude
- 3.75 for Magna Cum Laude
- 3.90 for Summa Cum Laude
If you have met the above requirements but do not have honors listed on your name card, please call our office immediately so that we can print you a new card. Please do NOT call us, however, unless you meet all of the minimum requirements. Other Honors Announced-We do NOT announce any other honor societies at graduation. Please do not write in any honors on your card as the readers have been instructed only to read the PRINTED information. You may wear any cord or stole provided by other honors organizations.
Web Info
Please check the UM commencement website (https://commencement.olemiss.edu/) frequently for updated information such as maps of designated parking areas, special needs accommodations, changes due to weather, etc. The School of Applied Sciences also has its own commencement information at https://sas.olemiss.edu/.