Commencement

Here is the exciting slate of graduation festivities that will take place in May. 

Celebration Breakfast 

Please mark your calendars for a celebration breakfast and info about Commencement logistics on Friday, May 16th at 9:00 am at YSN. The university does not do a commencement rehearsal.  At this breakfast, the Office of Student Life will go over all the details with maps and photos.  A zoom link will be provided. Students attending in person will need to RSVP for the food planning.

How will you attend commencement? REGISTER HERE

Doctoral Hooding 

The Doctoral Hooding will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, May 17th in the Grace Hopper Auditorium at the West Campus Conference Center. Immediately following, there will be light refreshments in the Yale School of Nursing Hub. This is only for doctoral students and their guests. 

YSN Awards Ceremony and Pre-Commencement Celebratory Reception 

This event will be held on Sunday, May 18th from 2pm-5pm at the Yale Schwarzman Center.  At this event we will announce our commencement award winners, honor our distinguished alumni, and celebrate our graduates! Graduates plus 4 guests are welcome to attend this event. Paper tickets will be distributed in the Office of Student Life.  

University Commencement and Degree Conferral  

The University’s Commencement Ceremony and Degree Conferral will be held on Monday, May 19th at 10:30 am on Old Campus. Gates will open at 8:00 am, and all guests should be seated by 10:00 am. The University has allotted two electronic guest tickets per graduate student for the Old Campus ceremony. These will be distributed via email. Guests who do not have a ticket are invited to cheer on their graduates by watching the livestream at locations across the university. It will also be available on Yale’s YouTube channel. A child 3 or under can sit on the lap of an adult and will not need a ticket. This event is outside and is held rain or shine. Guests are encouraged to find seating near the large screens on Old Campus. 

More information about the University ceremony is available on Yale’s Commencement Website. The site will be updated frequently as we get closer to Commencement Weekend. There will be a bag check for guests to enter Old Campus.  Only bags 12” x 12” and smaller will be allowed.  Streets will be closing around 9am usually – as more information becomes available, I will share it with you.  Our students line up for the procession on the grass in front of Sterling Library.  You must be in line by 9:30am. There is a LOT of walking on uneven ground, it is strongly recommended to wear comfortable shoes.  

YSN Diploma Ceremony 

We are delighted to share that we will hold our YSN Diploma Ceremony at the Shubert Theatre in downtown New Haven, beginning at 1pm on Monday, May 19th, 2025.  Graduates must be at the Shubert Theatre by 12:30 to start lining up. This event space allows us to offer each graduate 8 guest tickets to our Diploma Ceremony. Guests who do not have a ticket are invited to cheer on their graduates by watching the livestream on YSN’s YouTube channel. Paper tickets will be distributed in the Office of Student Life. If you have extra tickets, you are welcome to share them with a classmate. Per the Shubert fire code, every person, including children under 3 need a ticket for the Shubert. 

Parking 

Guests can find parking information for Old Campus and the Shubert Theatre on the Yale Commencement website and the Shubert Theatre website. The Yale Shuttle will be running and available for guests, but it cannot accommodate everyone, so plan accordingly. 

Accessibility 

Questions regarding accessibility for the Old Campus ceremony can find many answers here. For the Shubert Theatre, answers can be found here.   

Regalia  

Academic regalia must be worn to participate in Commencement activities on May 19th.  This can be ordered here.  The deadline to purchase regalia is MARCH 28TH AT 4PM and regalia will be distributed from May 15th to May 20th.  Pick-up will be at the Payne Whitney Gym. You must bring your Yale I.D. and show it when picking up your regalia.  If you are not able to pick it up yourself, you can send someone else, but they must bring a picture ID and a note from you with your signature authorizing them to pick up your regalia. 

**MSN Students 

The cost is $63.00 and it is yours to keep and made of recycled bottles. 

**DOCTORAL Students 

The cost is $72.00 and it is yours to keep and made of recycled bottles.  This version is black. 

If you want to purchase custom Yale “blue” doctoral regalia that is intended for long-term use and made of cloth, you order it directly through Oak Hall by using this link.

It takes 8-9 weeks to ship, please plan ahead. The cost is $1,218.00. 

Photography 

YSN has hired a photographer who will be taking photos during Commencement and the YSN Diploma Ceremony.  These images will be made available to you at no additional cost. In some years, a few students have decided to hire a private photographer.  This is not common. However, if you choose to do this, you will need to work with our office and the YSN Office of Communications to coordinate their access points, etc. Some students like to pick their regalia up the week before Commencement and take photos around Yale and YSN that weekend. 

Hotels and Dining 

Hotels, AirBnBs and restaurants book up quickly for Yale Commencement Weekend.  I would strongly recommend making reservations early. 

You all have worked incredibly hard in your classes and in your clinicals, and we are so proud of you. We cannot wait to share this joy with your families and friends!