Cornell will hold two Commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2025 and their guests on Saturday, May 24, at Schoellkopf Field. The ceremonies are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

President Michael I. Kotlikoff will give the Commencement address at both ceremonies. The morning ceremony and the afternoon ceremony will both be livestreamed. The livestreams will include the procession of graduates, which begins one hour before each ceremony.

Cornell’s 157th graduating class comprises more than 8,000 students, including undergraduate and graduate students.

Graduating students will sit in chairs on the field, grouped by their degree-conferring college; guests will sit in the Schoellkopf Crescent stadium. Tickets for guests are required. Ticket information was emailed to graduates who registered to attend one of the Commencement ceremonies. The graduate will distribute the electronic tickets or printable ticket file to their guests.

Each college’s degree candidates will rise when instructed; Kotlikoff will formally confer degrees en masse.

Commencement ceremonies will take place outdoors at Schoellkopf Field even in the event of rain. Attendees should be prepared to sit in hot sun or rain; umbrellas are allowed in the stadium. If the weather poses danger, the ceremonies will be canceled and will not be rescheduled. Updates on delays and cancellation will be available at Cornell’s website.

The schedule of ceremonies at Schoellkopf Field is as follows:

Saturday, May 24

Ceremony One – 10 a.m.

The stadium gates will open at 8 a.m.; the academic procession will start at 9 a.m.

Colleges and schools:

• Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
• College of Human Ecology
• Cornell Graduate School (review list of fields to attend)
• Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
• Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration
• Cornell Tech
• Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Ceremony Two – 2:30 p.m.

Stadium gates will open at 12:30 p.m.; the academic procession will start at 1:30.

• Colleges and schools:
• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Engineering
• College of Veterinary Medicine
• Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science
• Cornell Graduate School (review list of fields to attend)
• Cornell Law School

Convocation and other ceremonies

Senior Days are May 17-22. Events include Senior Convocation, with ballet icon Misty Copeland as keynote speaker, on Thursday, May 22, from 1-2:30 p.m. in Barton Hall. More information is available on the Student and Campus Life website.

In addition to Commencement, graduates and guests are invited to attend smaller college, school and department ceremonies, to be held across campus.

The ROTC Tri-Service Commissioning ceremony is scheduled for Friday, May 23, at 9 a.m. in Statler Auditorium; the event will be livestreamed.

The University Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony will be held Friday, May 23, at 6 p.m. in Barton Hall; the event will be livestreamed.

Transportation, parking and security

Campus parking is free from the morning of Friday, May 23, through 5 p.m. Monday, May 26. Central campus roads will be closed on Saturday, May 24, to ensure pedestrians’ safety. Guests are encouraged to park in the outlying large parking lots and ride the free shuttles to Schoellkopf Field for Commencement. Please review the parking and directions website for parking, buses and accessibility information.

The Cornell University Police will conduct bag-check security at Commencement ceremonies. Please review security measures for the weekend.

For more details, please check the Cornell Office of Commencement Events website.