Tradition at Colorado State calls for Ph.D. students to be hooded by their advisors at the commencement ceremonies. In the event that any of your advisees are planning to go through the commencement exercise, the Graduate School encourages you to attend the ceremony and participate in their hooding. If you are not able to attend, you are are encouraged to ask another faculty member to come to the ceremonies in your place. In some cases, this may be a member of the student’s committee or someone else who has been significant to the student during their graduate career.
There is no mechanism by which we can know whether your advisee(s) are in fact planning to attend the ceremonies. Past history suggests that most who attend get in touch with their advisor. However, if there is any doubt, you might want to initiate contact.
Procedures for the ceremony
- Assemble with your advisees in the Moby Arena Intramural Gym 45 minutes before the ceremony begins. Each candidate will bring an appropriate hood to the ceremony, having received it with the rest of the academic regalia. Please take the hood from each of your advisee(s) because you will need to carry it for the formal hooding ceremony.
- As the Processional enters Moby Arena, proceed with your advisee(s) to the proper reserved seating on the floor. A Marshal will direct you to appropriate places. Each advisor should be seated with his or her advisee(s).
- For the hooding, the candidates, accompanied by their advisors, will approach the platform from the left, viewed from the audience. The student should stand on the lower tier. The announcement will be read; the Ph.D. student will move forward and be hooded by his/her advisor (advisor should stand on 2nd tier). The name of the advisor will be read as part of the citation.
- Candidates will individually ascend the platform. The College Dean will present the diploma; the President and the Dean of Graduate Affairs will congratulate the graduate.
- Following the Vice Provost’s congratulation, both graduate and advisor are to return to their original seats.
We hope that you will be able to attend this important function. Thanks for helping make it a success.