Commencement FAQs

Graduation refers to receiving a degree when a student has been certified by the university as having met all degree requirements. Students submit an application to graduate in order to receive a diploma and transcript.

At CU Anschutz, commencement generally refers to the CU Anschutz Commencement Ceremony. This all-campus event is attended by members of the University of Colorado Board of Regents, CU President Saliman, CU Anschutz Chancellor Don Elliman, and other dignitaries. All degrees are conferred at the CU Anschutz Commencement Ceremony and university awards presented. All graduates are expected to attend this campuswide recognition.

Convocations are the program-specific ceremonies in which graduates cross the stage to receive individual recognition for their achievements and are handed a diploma cover.

CU Anschutz Commencement Ceremony and the program convocations together comprise the graduation experience.

Graduates may invite as many guests as they wish. No tickets are issued for the ceremonies.

Please note that in the event of severe weather, some outdoor ceremonies might relocate to indoor venues and guest limits could be implemented.

Yes, all ceremonies will be available to view remotely. Links are available here. 

Please visit the Accessibility Arrangements page for more information.

CU President George Norlin first read the charge to the June 1935 graduating class. 

Though written decades ago, his words were relevant to his times, but his insights were ahead of his time. The Norlin Charge is still read today at every University of Colorado commencement ceremony to remind graduates of their connected past and encourage them to look toward the future.

 The Norlin Charge

"You are now certified to the world at large as alumni of the university. She is your kindly mother and you her cherished sons and daughters.

This exercise denotes not your severance from her, but your union with her. Commencement does not mean, as many wrongly think, the breaking of ties and the beginning of life apart. Rather, it marks your initiation in the fullest sense into the fellowship of the university, as bearers of her torch, as centers of her influence, as promoters of her spirit.

The university is not the campus, not the buildings on the campus, not the faculties, not the students of any one time—not one of these or all of them. The university consists of all who come into and go forth from her halls, who are touched by her influence and who carry on her spirit. Wherever you go, the university goes with you. Wherever you are at work, there is the university at work.

What the university purposes to be, what it must always strive to be, is represented on its seal, which is stamped on your diplomas—a lamp in the hands of youth. If its light shines not in you and from you, how great is its darkness! But if it shines in you today, and in the thousands before you, who can measure its power?

With hope and faith, I welcome you into the fellowship. I bid you farewell only in the sense that I pray you may fare well. You go forth but not from us. We remain but not severed from you. God go with you and be with you and us."

Yes, registering for the ceremonies confirms your participation and provides you with information about renting your cap and gown.

Visit the Regalia and Memorabilia page for more information, including registration deadlines and links.

Diplomas will be mailed out automatically to the mailing address on file after degrees have been awarded. Please ensure your mailing address in your student record is up to date. Visit our guide on how to update your student profile. Diplomas will take about 5-8 weeks to receive from Paradigm.

If you have any questions, please contact the Registrar’s Office at: [email protected]

Graduate School, Carol Hadd, (303) 724-2915 or [email protected]

College of Nursing, Office of Admissions and Student Affairs, (303) 724-1812 or [email protected].

Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant Program, Danielle Thompson, [email protected]

Parking is limited on campus and attendees are highly encouraged to consider carpooling, utilizing ridesharing services, or taking public transportation.

Free parking is available on commencement day in all visitor lots on campus. We recommend that attendees park in the lots closest to the convocation that they will be attending. This will ease congestion in the lots closest to Boettcher Commons for the University Commencement Ceremony and facilitate the exiting of campus when ceremonies conclude.

Additionally, traffic backups are common in the morning on the east side of campus coming from I-225. Please consider entering campus from Peoria St. and Montview Blvd. for quicker access to campus.

Commencement Ceremony Map  

ADA Parking

Guests needing transportation assistance on campus are directed to the Ignacio and Kiowa lots. Golf carts will be available to shuttle guests from these lots to the various ceremonies and back again. No handicapped stickers or placards are required to park in these lots. Parking attendants will direct any guests who need close-in parking to these locations.

Several lodging options exist within walking distance of campus. Be sure to ask if special rates are available for commencement.

The Benson Hotel

Hyatt House Denver/Aurora

Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center

SpringHill Suites by Marriott Denver at Anschutz Medical Campus

All but the Graduate School ceremony are held outdoors on campus in the spring. Generally, weather is excellent in late May for our graduation festivities. However, perfect weather is not guaranteed. Our ceremonies will be held outdoors rain or shine, and graduates and guests should be prepared.

Ceremonies may be delayed for up to two hours to allow for weather to pass or they may be shortened if weather is moving in. Graduates should check their email and the commencement website regularly for updates if severe weather is in the forecast.

If severe weather is expected that is likely to threaten public safety, outdoor ceremonies will be cancelled and moved to indoor backup locations on campus over the course of the day. This decision may come as late as 6:00 a.m. on commencement day. Seating is limited in the indoor venues. Additional information will be sent by the programs regarding guest limits. 

The following items are not permitted at commencement:

                  - Glass bottles

                  - Signs larger than 11 x14

                  - Drugs and/or alcohol 

                  - Prohibited weapons as outlined in campus policy

                  - Coolers

                  - Laser pointers

                  - Balloons which obstruct the views of others

                  - Animals of any kind; qualified service animals permitted

           - Any item that obstructs the view of others 

                  - Noise makers or audio amplification devices  

 

Individuals may be removed for:

                  - Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol

                  - Violating any rules or policies of the campus

                  - Bringing prohibited items to the ceremony

                  - Engaging in behaviors that cause a significant disruption or interference with the commencement

                  ceremony.

                  - Examples of such behaviors include obstructing the lines of sight of audience members, making

                  persistent loud or amplified noises, projecting light or images, or otherwise creating significant

                  disturbance.