School of Communication and Information Graduation Convocation 2025

View the ceremony remotely!
If you are unable to attend, you can watch it live online on our YouTube channel. 

Who can participate in SC&I's graduation convocation? 

If you are a SC&I undergraduate major or master's student with a 2025 degree (January, May, August), ours is the ceremony where your name will be called and you will walk across the stage and be congratulated by your faculty.  

Doctoral candidates with August 2024, January and May 2025 graduation dates can participate.

You and your guests must have a ticket to enter the arena.  During April, use the "Tickets" section below to request your tickets. No parking permits are needed.

Click here to view and/or print an invitation to share with your guests.

Critical Information for Graduation Day

WHERE AND WHEN
  • Thursday, May 15, 2025, at  Jersey Mike’s Arena on Livingston campus.

  • Graduates must arrive by 9:00 a.m. to line up for the processional.

  • Guests should plan to arrive in time to be seated by 9:45 a.m.

  • The ceremony itself will run from 10:00 a.m. to noon. You can count on us to begin and end promptly.

  • A small reception will follow the ceremony.

TICKETS

All events at Jersey Mike's Arena are ticketed. Don't worry, we will have enough tickets for your guests!  But you will have to sign up for tickets.

Each graduate will receive one ticket for themselves and can claim up to SEVEN guest tickets for our ceremony.  If you will need more than seven guest tickets, you will be able to request them, and it is extremely likely we will be able to issue you those extra tickets.

You will be able to register for tickets from April 1 to April 30.  Use this link to register for your tickets for yourself and your guests.

Then your tickets will be issued to you on Monday, May 12, to your Rutgers Ticket Account.  You will log in with your net ID to claim them.  >Click here for everything you need to know about claiming your tickets, including a step-by-step guide if you have never used your Rutgers Ticket Account before.  Once you have claimed your tickets, you will be able to transfer them to your guests.

CAPS AND GOWNS

We strongly recommend you wear academic regalia for SC&I's convocation.  Regalia is required for the Commencement event at SHI Stadium on Sunday, May 18.

Visit the Barnes and Noble Rutgers University Bookstore website for information about ordering regalia. You’ll be able to order online and have it shipped to you if you prefer.

  • Last day to order your regalia online (Ship-to-Home): March 28, 2025.
  • Regalia will be available at Barnes and Noble starting April 2, 2025, while supplies last.
  • GRAD FAIR at the bookstore: April 2 & 3, 2025 - in addition to buying regalia, you will be able to purchase class rings, personalized announcements, diploma frames, and much more.

If you are an undergraduate, you will get a gown based on your four-year Rutgers school (e.g., SAS, SEBS). You will wear a white hood for a B.A. degree.

If you are a graduate student, make sure you get a black cap and gown and the appropriate colored hood: for MCM it is crimson; for MHCI it is white; for MI it is lemon yellow; for Ph.D. it is a deep blue. 

SECURITY AT THE ARENA AND WHAT YOU CAN BRING

There is strict security to get into the arena.  You will walk through a metal detector before you can enter the stadium.

Please note that any bag larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches MUST BE CLEAR.

  • Use a clear tote bag that is 12 x 12 x 6, or
  • Use a clear gallon resealable bag

An exception will be made for medically necessary items after they are inspected at Guest Services.

A small clutch that is 4.5 x 6.5 can be brought in.

Not permitted:  Coolers, backpacks, large camera bags.
Not permitted:  food and beverages, balloons, selfie sticks, strollers.

Please leave all of these items in your car before walking into the arena.

 

FOR THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

For graduates who have guests coming from abroad and need a letter to accompany their visa application, please contact your international student adviser.

Graduates who need accommodations of any kind for themselves at the ceremony, please send an email to Associate Dean Karen Novick as early as possible or call 848-932-8820 to make arrangements.

Guests who need accessible seating inside the arena will be directed to the special needs seating area.  Because we have limited accessible seating, only one member of your group will be able to sit with the person who has special needs; the rest of the group will be directed to regular seating.

Parking for those with special needs: The best place for someone with accessibility issues to park is in the Green Lot near JMA. There will be golf cart shuttles running from the parking lot to the stadium door. If someone else is driving, they can drop the person with special needs off relatively close to the front door and then go and park.

Graduation Day

Driving directions: Jersey Mike’s Arena is at 83 Rockafeller Road in Piscataway, NJ, on the Rutgers-New Brunswick Livingston Campus.  Use our link for directions.

Parking: No special parking tags are needed to park at SC&I's ceremony. Follow directions to Jersey Mike’s Arena, and as you get close, there will be signs, and attendants will direct you to park.

Photography: A photographer will take photos of every graduate who walks across the stage. The vendor, Island Photography, will email you shortly after the ceremony with a link so you can review and purchase your photos. If you want, you will be able to register with them right at graduation to view your photo gallery – this is especially important if you are no longer using your Rutgers email address. You can enter your own email and up to six emails of family and friends with whom you would like to share your photos.  Purchase is optional.  For questions and more information, contact Island Photography at 800-869-0908.

Food and drink: Drinks will be available for sale at the concession stands within the stadium. SC&I will host a small reception in a tent outside after the ceremony.

Flowers and graduation gifts will be on sale at our event.

Convocation program: Click here for the full graduation program with graduates' names.

Watch it live remotely: Family and friends who are not able to attend the ceremony in person can watch it live online on our YouTube channel

Getting your diploma: Your Rutgers diploma will be mailed to you at the address you gave the Register when you completed the Online Diploma Application during your last semester of classes. It takes about six weeks for the diploma to be sent to you.

Other Rutgers Ceremonies You Can Attend

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Check the website of your four-year school (SAS, SEBS, etc.) for information about their ceremonies.  SAS students with an SC&I major generally attend the SC&I graduation, but you are eligible to also attend an SAS ceremony if you want.

You are also invited on Sunday, May 18, to SHI Stadium for the Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health Commencement. Check the University Commencement website for more information about obtaining tickets and parking permits.  This is a celebratory event for all Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health students. No individual student names are called.

MASTERS STUDENTS

In addition to the SC&I graduation, you are invited on Sunday, May 18 to SHI Stadium for the Rutgers University—New Brunswick and Rutgers Health Commencement. Check the University Commencement website for more information about obtaining tickets and parking permits.  This is a celebratory event for all Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health students. No individual student names are called.

DOCTORAL STUDEENTS

In addition to the SC&I ceremony, doctoral students may also participate in the School of Graduate Studies ceremony on Wednesday, May 14.  And you are invited on Sunday, May 18, to SHI Stadium for the Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health Commencement. Check the University Commencement website for more information about obtaining tickets and parking permits.  This is a celebratory event for all Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health students. No individual student names are called.

Watch last year's SC&I Graduation on May 9, 2024, at the Jersey Mike’s Arena.