Spring 2026 Undergrad Commencement Ceremony Information for Students

In order for you to be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony and for your name to appear in the program, you must submit your graduation application before April 1, 2026. After April 1, graduation applications will still be accepted; however, your name will not appear in the program.

This is an online application that you can access from your Student Webservices Landing Page.  A diploma application fee of $5.00 will be charged to your student bill when you submit your diploma application.  A step-by-step video demonstrating where to locate and how to submit the online diploma application is available on the Registrar’s Office website.

For any issues or questions, please email graduation@oneonta.edu or visit the Office of the Registrar, Rm. 216, Sherman Hall.

A cap and gown are required to participate in the ceremony. They are available Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Red Dragon Outfitters.

If financial assistance is needed to acquire a cap and gown, please email Aolat.Salami@oneonta.edu.

Senior Portrait 

For students in Oneonta

Schedule your appointment with Lauren Studios:

1. Go to the Lauren Studios website
2. Enter the Client ID found in your email from Lauren Studios and your last name, OR, enter the school passcode: SUNYO2026
3. Follow the prompts to schedule your session.

Portraits will be taken in your Business Attire, and Cap & Gown. Academic attire will be provided.

Please be prepared to provide the photographer with your major and home town at the time of your sitting.

Yearbook

Sign up to receive a FREE 2026 yearbook via the Red Dragon Network. This site will prompt you to register first before being able to request a yearbook.

You can access your guest tickets by going to oneonta.universitytickets.com starting on May 1, 2026. Each graduate will be provided with six guest tickets.

1. Log in (upper right corner) with your Oneonta credentials. As long as it is after May 1, 2026, you should see “Spring ’26 Commencement” under the list of upcoming events.
2. Select the ceremony that corresponds with your major. If you are a dual major, you are assigned to attend the ceremony for the primary major in your academic record.
3. Click on the “Get Tickets” button. *
   1. * If you see the following message, “These tickets are limited to specific users based on their login. See event details for further information,” then you should check with the Registrar’s Office to make sure that your diploma/graduation application has been submitted properly and processed. You can also come to Grad HQ with questions.
4. On the next screen, you will see the full description and a green bar that says, “Ticket Options.” Use the drop-down box to select the number of tickets you would like (up to the maximum). Then click “Select Seats.”
5. Review your request to make sure it is correct and select “Checkout.”
6. This brings up your confirmation. You can click either of the green buttons at the top of your order details to send all of your tickets electronically via mobile (to yourself or someone else) or to download them as a .pdf to print out. You can also click the cell phone icon or .pdf icon next to each ticket in the list to share/download them one by one.
7. It is up to you to distribute your tickets to your guests, either electronically or printed. Each ticket has a unique barcode, so you must distribute a separate ticket to each of your guests. The same ticket cannot be used by more than one person. The barcodes will be scanned at the doors to the ceremony. Once a barcode is scanned, no one else can use that barcode. Anyone who tries to use a ticket with a barcode that has already been scanned will not be able to enter. Guests cannot get tickets from anyone but you. Please confirm with your guests that they have received the ticket(s) you share with them.

Please come to GradHQ (Monday, 5/11, through Thursday, 5/14: 10 AM to 2:30 PM, and Friday, 5/15, 10 AM to 4 PM, International Lounge, Hunt Union) if you would like assistance with this process. We are glad to help and want to make this day of celebration as easy as possible for you.
 

GradHQ

Graduation Headquarters, or GradHQ, lets you check off everything you need to prepare for Commencement at one time and in one place. There will also be free food, music, giveaways and a photo booth with props!

When: Monday, May 11, through Thursday, May 14, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Friday, May 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: International Lounge, Hunt Union (area outside of the Experiential Learning Center)

Class Gift

The SUNY Oneonta Alumni Association recognizes students who go above and beyond by making their Senior Class Gift to the Fund for Oneonta. Every dollar donated to the Fund for Oneonta is used to provide students with need-based scholarships and access to professional development and career readiness programs.

SUNY Oneonta students and alumni have a long history of giving back to help students achieve their own dreams. In the spirit of this tradition, we encourage all graduating seniors to make their Senior Class Gift to the Fund for Oneonta and earn their limited-edition item to wear at Commencement. All student donors are invited to the 2nd Annual Student Donor Banquet on May 8, 2026.

To attend the banquet, donations must be made by May 4, 2026. All other donations from graduating students can be made until May 14, 2026.

During the Spring semester, students can receive their limited-edition item immediately when making their gift by emailing the Fund for Oneonta to arrange pickup, or by picking it up at Grad HQ.

Make your gift today to be part of the legacy for generations to come!

For questions or more information, contact:

Essence Delmonte
Fund for Oneonta
Essence.Delmonte@oneonta.edu
607-436-2572
Alumni Hall, 029

Caps and Gowns

Caps and gowns can be picked up at any time during normal business hours at Red Dragon Outfitters. Red Dragon Outfitters store hours are Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Alumni Engagement is hosting a "craft your cap" station at GradHQ. There will be light refreshments and plenty of crafting supplies to decorate your cap if you choose.

Honors Medallion and Cords

If you have achieved honors, you will be able to pick up your honor medallion at GradHQ. If you have earned cords for LEAD milestones or service hours, you will be able to pick those up at GradHQ as well.

Commencement Rehearsal Information

A rehearsal video with instructions will be available for viewing by May 1, 2026.

On Friday, May 15 (line-up starts at 2:30 p.m.), you'll gather between Fine Arts and the Welcome Center to line up for your second Pass Through the Pillars experience. If you are 21 or older and would like to participate in the Champagne Toast event following Pass Through the Pillars, bring your license or state ID to be checked during line up.

As freshmen, you officially joined the Oneonta community by literally following in the footsteps of your predecessors and walking between the historic pillars of Old Main and toward a welcoming crowd. Now, you will walk the opposite way through the pillars --with friends, family and faculty cheering you on -- away from the hub of campus and into the next phase of your life.

Pass Through the Pillars ends with a champagne toast at the academic quad at approximately 3:20 p.m. The rain location will be Chase Gymnasium.
 

Commencement is an official academic ceremony that celebrates the accomplishments of all students who have completed the requirements of their degrees at SUNY Oneonta. In recognition of the significance of commencement, all SUNY Oneonta commencement ceremony participants are required to wear full academic regalia, including gown, cap, and tassel. Those holding or earning a master’s degree are expected to wear a hood and tam.

To maintain a professional, consistent, ceremonial academic atmosphere while respecting the diverse identities and traditions of all graduating students, all commencement participants must wear full University-approved academic regalia. (Special exceptions include religious officials and military service members who may wear traditional/customary ministerial robes and military service dress uniforms, respectively.)

These procedures apply to all ceremony participants, including:

• Students/Graduates
• Faculty and Staff
• Vice Presidents and Administrators
• President

Procedures

All ceremony participants are required to wear the appropriate academic regalia in concordance with their degree to participate in commencement ceremonies. (see degree-specific information below)

Wearing and adorning gowns:

• Gowns are to remain formal, with no non-academic embellishments/decorations. Gowns must remain zippered for the duration of the ceremony.
• Graduates can wear honor cords, stoles and medals depicting official university and/or department recognitions, or national organization honors. Award pins from organizations are worn on clothes, not academic robes.

Wearing and decorating caps/mortarboards:

• Graduates may decorate the top of their mortarboard.
  • Only the top of the mortar board may be decorated. Decorations must remain flat (not increase the height of the cap) so they don’t obstruct the view of other participants.
  • Only the traditional tassel may hang down from any side of the cap.
  • It is appropriate for mortarboard decorations to have expressions of well-wishes and gratitude or affiliation with campus-sanctioned organizations.
  • Decorations should be tasteful and cannot contain advertisements, promote disruptive behavior, reference illegal activities, contain obscenities or slurs, or threaten the safety and welfare of others.
• The cap should be worn flat on the head, so the mortarboard remains parallel to the ground. Do not lean it backwards or sideways – it must not impede the view of those behind you and will be more likely to fall off.

Bachelor’s Academic Regalia

• Includes black academic gown, black mortarboard, and tassel.
• Undergraduate students who are graduating with academic honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude) will receive a special academic honors medallion from the University during Grad HQ.

All commencement ceremony participants should secure regalia from the Red Dragon Outfitters according to the deadlines listed on their website. Costs for commencement regalia are the responsibility of each graduate. Faculty and staff participants are responsible for securing their own regalia – if needed, gowns, hoods, tams, and more are available for rent or purchase through Red Dragon Outfitters.

The University reserves the right to require ceremony participants to remove any adornments or modifications to regalia that are not in alignment with the above procedures before they can participate in the Commencement ceremony.

On Commencement day, Sat. May 16:

• Arrive to campus early.
  • Traffic on and around campus will be busy (Hartwick College's graduation is the same day).
  • Please use the campus entrance on East Street/Bugbee Road to avoid and prevent delays.
    • You will be directed to the nearest open parking lot. Shuttle vans will be available to transport you and your guests to and from all parking areas.
• Graduates check in one-hour prior to each ceremony:
  • Bachelor's degree candidates must check in at the Chase Gymnasium one hour before your ceremony starts. Here you will line up in alphabetical order within your academic department and get ready to process into the ceremony.
  • You must come dressed in your cap and gown. You will not be able to leave any personal items in Chase. Any bags or belongings will have to be carried in with you to the field house. We recommend you only bring essential items.
• Guests report to the Alumni Field House or IRC:
  • Guests with tickets will be able to enter the Alumni Field House up to one hour before your ceremony begins. Only guests with tickets will be permitted to enter the Alumni Field House.
    • Non-ticketholders will be able to watch a live-stream of the ceremony on campus in IRC, room 3. The live stream will also be accessible from the commencement webpage for any friends or family who want to watch from home.
• After each ceremony, there will be a commencement reception in the tent in the President’s Garden, between the Milne Library and the Chase Physical Education buildings. All graduates and guests are invited to enjoy refreshments and mingle with faculty and friends.
• Celebrate on social media!

What to Bring

• Your regalia. (see regalia procedures above)
• Comfortable shoes that you can walk, stand and navigate stairs in. You will be walking to Alumni Field House and standing for several minutes at a time before and during the ceremony.

What Not to Bring

• Bags/backpacks, bulky jackets, or other unnecessary items. You cannot leave any items in the area where you line up. We do not recommend you bring bags or other items as these will have to be carried with you during the processional and stored under your chair during the ceremony.
• Signs, banners/flags, selfie sticks or any other objects that might block the view of others or interrupt the ceremony. These are not permitted in the Alumni Field House.
• Noisemakers of any kind or balloons. These are not permitted in the Alumni Field House.
• Alcoholic beverages. Alcohol (including champagne) of any kind is not permitted anywhere on campus.