Spring 2023 Convocation
May 5 at 12 pm
Kingsbury Hall
We look forward to celebrating this momentous occasion with you and are so proud of all the hard work, creativity, and risk-taking you do in the University of Utah College of Fine Arts. We compile information about convocation here, so keep checking back for updates!
Please check your uMail daily for other information/news from the University, the College, and your Unit.
Congratulations to the Class of 2023!!!!
Meet Your Fellow Classmates (updated April 28, 2023)
Diana Tran, 2023 CFA Convocation Speaker (Department of Art and Art History)
The College of Fine Arts Outstanding Seniors 2023
May 5 - Convocation Schedule (updated April 24, 2023)
We are excited for the College of Fine Arts Class of 2023, their friends, family and loved ones near and far to celebrate the CFA Convocation with us on May 5, 2023 at Kingsbury Hall. The ceremony will start precisely at noon. Please see the below suggested schedule to make sure that graduates and their guests enjoy the ceremony:
11:15am--Students may begin to arrive at Kingsbury Hall. Please proceed to the west side of the building using the sidewalk between Kingsbury Hall and Gardner Hall. Undergraduate students (bachelor degrees) will enter Kingsbury Hall through the west ground floor entrance. Once in the building please follow signs to your designated departmental gathering areas. Graduate students (masters and doctoral degrees) will line up outside of the west side doors. Doctoral and MFA candidates will carry their hoods into the theater and be hooded on stage. All other master degree candidates will wear their hoods for the entirety of the ceremony. ALL GRADUATES: Please arrive in your regalia, and leave any personal items with your guests. There is nowhere to store personal effects during the ceremony.
11:30am--Kingsbury Hall will open doors to ticketed guests. Please do not forget your tickets as they will not be reprinted or redistributed. All guests including babes-in-arms MUST have a ticket. All ticketed guests are encouraged to be seated by 11:55am. Those not seated by the start of the processional may have to wait until the processional ends to be seated. Overflow seating is available at David Gardner Hall. (Immediately west of Kingsbury Hall)
12:00pm--The Convocation Ceremony will commence. Latecoming graduates should look for a CFA volunteer (wearing a CFA lanyard) in the Kingsbury Hall lobby to be seated with their cohort. Latecoming guests will be seated at the discretion of the Kingsbury Hall ushers.
May 4 - University Commencement Update (as of April 17, 2023)
The University Commencement ceremony is a campus-wide celebration for all graduates at the University of Utah. The commencement event will be held on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. MDT in the Jon. M. Huntsman Center.
There is no registration process for graduates to participate in the University Commencement ceremony. Graduating students who wish to attend commencement must arrive at the east entrance of the Central Garage and Rooftop Playfield facility (near the Huntsman Center) by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 4, 2023 to join your college lineup and experience the pre-commencement festivities. University staff will lead you into the Huntsman Center with the University Commencement processional to begin the event.
To ensure safety for all attendees, be advised graduates and guests are required to walk through a metal detector prior to entering the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Students are discouraged from bringing bags with them to the event or encouraged to place their belongings in a clear bag.
SHARE WITH YOUR OUT-OF-TOWN LOVED ONES: Can't make it to University Commencement in-person? Watch the event in real-time online at www.utah.edu/live.
Please arrive in your regalia!
Important Information
Ticketing & Department/School Contacts (UPDATED: May 4, 2023)
Ticketing for the CFA Convocation has now ended. Many thanks to your department ticketing representatives for their hard work in making sure that your guests have what they need to enter Kingsbury Hall for your big day.
As a reminder, all guests that enter Kingsbury Hall for the ceremony must have a ticket to include babes-in-arms. Before heading to the ceremony, please make sure that you have your physical tickets in hand. Safeguard your tickets as they will not be reprinted.
Overflow seating for non-ticketed guests will be available next door to Kingsbury Hall at David Gardner Hall.
Student Regalia
All students must have degree appropriate regalia to wear at the Commencement and Convocation ceremonies. Student regalia is available to purchase through the Campus Store website or at the University Campus Store location.
The Campus Store's Graduation FAQ page is a great resource for all of their graduation related services and products.
During the CFA Convocation, the tassel on your cap should be worn to the left of the wearer. (Your degrees will have been conferred at the University Commencement Ceremony the evening before.). Check yourself and your friends.
Students who qualify for Honors at Graduation (thus being able to wear Honor Cords with their regalia) have been notified by the College of Fine Arts Dean's Office directly via uMail. Honor Cords may be picked up at the CFA Dean's Office during operating hours. They will not be available at the ceremony. More information about how Honors at Graduation are calculated you may visit this University Registrar's site.
Graduate Student Regalia--Doctoral and Master Degree Candidates UPDATED: May 4, 2023
During the Convocation ceremony, Doctoral and MFA candidates (terminal degrees) will be hooded on stage after their name is called. Please remove your hood from the plastic and have it ready to go. As you walk into the theater and across the stage, your hood will be draped over your left arm. The top of the hood will face inward toward your body. Please see the pictures below. The small hanging loop is on the top of the hood. The loop is used to affix to a button in the front of your gown so that your hood doesn't choke you. You'll be able to fix this after you get off of stage.
All other Masters candidates will wear their full regalia including hood throughout the ceremony. Please follow the directions that come with your regalia. If you have a question ask a volunteer or a faculty member for assistance
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(Model: Eden Merkley)
Faculty Regalia
The deadline to order Faculty regalia was February 28. We understand that some faculty members may have missed this deadline, so The Campus Store will offer “Last Chance Rental Pick-up” beginning Monday, May 1st on a first come, first serve basis. The rental regalia offered at Last Chance Pick-up will be specific to the University of Utah. They will not offer regalia for any other institution.
Faculty rental regalia must be returned to the Campus Store no later than May 26th.
In addition to the rental regalia option, fine quality custom regalia is available to faculty. Please contact Abby Hirschberg at the Campus Store as soon as possible if you are interested. The production timeframe for fine quality is typically 8-10 weeks, please submit orders ASAP to guarantee delivery in time for Commencement & individual college Convocations.
Faculty with questions should refer to the Campus Store FAQs pageor call Abby Hirschberg at 801.581.4733 or .
What is the difference between Commencement and Convocation?
University of Utah Commencement 2023- Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 6:00 pm - Jon M. Huntsman Center
The University of Utah celebrate all of its graduates at the University Commencement ceremony on May 4, 2023. This gathering honors graduating students from our colleges and schools across campus during this university-wide event. Graduate degrees are conferred on colleges and schools as a whole when students stand as one. Individual students do not walk across stage in this ceremony, and their names are not read aloud. For more information please visit the University Commencement website.
CFA Spring Convocation 2023- Friday, May 5, 2023 at 12:00 pm - Kingsbury Hall
Each college and school at the University of Utah recognizes the achievements of its own graduating students in a smaller, more intimate Convocation ceremony. The College of Fine Arts Convocation is the ceremony where students walk across stage, hear their names, and receive their diploma covers. Convocation is a ticketed event. There will be overflow seating provided in David Gardner Hall, in the Thomson Chamber Music Hall.
Who may participate in Commencement and Convocation ceremonies?
Commencement and Convocation ceremonies are held at the end of each Spring semester. Since they are only held once a year, all candidates/graduates from that commencement year and the following Summer are allowed to participate (i.e. for the May 2023 Commencement/Convocation, candidates/graduates for Summer 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023 may participate and will be in the program if they apply for graduation by March 1). Anybody outside of the allowed semesters are referred to their school/department for approval to participate, but their names will not appear in the program until the following year.
Note: Summer candidates are allowed to participate in the ceremonies either the Spring before or the following Spring with their graduating class. Summer candidates who participate before they graduate will not be recognized for honors that may be designated once they have graduated.
University of Utah Commencement website
Parking (UPDATED: April 17)
Commuter Services has published parking maps for Commencement and Convocation ceremonies. Please click below to see each map:
University Commencement Parking Map (Huntsman Center)
CFA Convocation Parking Map (Kingsbury Hall) Please note that most parking to the directly east and directly south of Kingsbury Hall will be reserved.
Regular shuttles will be available from most major parking lots and TRAX stations. TRAX use is FREE between on campus stops (Stadium-University Medical) For more information on parking for Commencement and Convocation, please visit the University’s Commencement Parking website.
Photography
Island Photography is the CFA's official Commencement Photographer for 2023. They will be providing professional photo coverage for every graduate as they are recognized during the ceremony. 
They ask that you register to receive proofs of your photos via a QR code that is below. This code will also be on the name card that you hand the reader before walking across the stage. Please get this registration done prior to arriving at the ceremony. Note that the site will ask for a selfie for better photo recognition, so you don’t get someone else’s proofs. Even though photos may not be important to you, they may be important to your loved ones.
Proofs will be delivered via email within 48-72 hours after the ceremony.
Please contact their customer service team if you have any concerns or questions. or Phone # 1-800-869-0908
Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Graduation Ceremony
Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Graduation 2023: May 2 · 5:30 - 8 p.m. MT · Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House
To generate space for celebrations within the larger graduation event, the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Graduation invites this year’s graduating class to create an extraordinary gesture that honors not just their milestone, but the cultural and community traditions that have supported them toward their achievement.
Participating graduates may also choose to acknowledge the traditions that they’ve participated in and helped weave throughout campus—so that the University of Utah may always reflect the intersectionality of our student body.
Join us in creating new ways of celebrating the whole of us. Student Registration closes on April 17 at 5 p.m. MT.
More information and event logistics including guest ticketing information can be found at the EDI Graduation website.
Lavender Graduation 2023
Lavender Graduation is an annual ceremony conducted on numerous campuses to honor graduating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Aromantic, and Ally students. At the University of Utah, Lavender Graduation is traditionally held the week of general commencement to acknowledge LGBTQIA+ student achievements and contributions to the university. Students (undergraduate and graduate) graduating in May, August, or December, are invited to take part in the celebration.
Graduates will receive gifts, including a Lavender Graduation stole to commemorate your accomplishment. Refreshments will be served and a photo booth will be included to capture your special day!
Register by April 24 on the Lavender Graduation 2023 website.
All requests for event access support and other questions or concerns may be directed to .
Where can I purchase items to help celebrate my graduation?
There are a couple of resources on campus for you to purchase graduation regalia, memorabilia and other things. Please follow the links below:
