Cornell prepares for 2023 Commencement, Convocation

Cornell will hold two in-person commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2023 and their guests on Saturday, May 27, at Schoellkopf Field. The ceremonies are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

President Martha E. Pollack will give an address at both ceremonies. Ceremony one and ceremony two will both be livestreamed, including the procession of graduates, which begins one hour before each ceremony.

Cornell’s 155th graduating class comprises approximately 8,600 students, including more than 4,700 graduate students and around 3,900 undergraduates.

Graduating students will sit in chairs on the field, grouped by their degree-conferring college; guests will sit in the Schoellkopf Crescent. Graduates are encouraged to invite no more than four guests to the stadium ceremony.

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

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

The University Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony will be held May 27 at 5 p.m. in Barton Hall; the event will be livestreamed. The ROTC Commissioning ceremony is scheduled for May 26 at 9 a.m. in Statler Hall Auditorium.

In case of inclement weather, ceremonies could be delayed up to an hour. If the weather poses danger and it’s necessary to cancel, the ceremonies will not be rescheduled. Updates on delays and cancellation will be available at Cornell’s website.

Senior Days will be held May 21-25; refer to this page for additional information.

The Senior Convocation event, with actor Ken Jeong as keynote speaker, will be held May 25 from 1-2:30 in Barton Hall. More information is available on the Student and Campus Life website.

The schedule of ceremonies at Schoellkopf Field is as follows:

Saturday, May 27

Morning ceremony – 10 a.m.

Guests arrive beginning at 7:30 a.m.; the academic procession will start at 9.

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

Afternoon ceremony 2:30 p.m.

Guests arrive beginning 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

Transportation and parking

Campus parking is free for guests of graduates, May 26 through 9 p.m. Monday, May 29. Several road closures will be in effect on Saturday for the safety of pedestrians. Guests are encouraged to park in the outlying large parking lots and ride the free buses to Schoellkopf Field for Commencement. Please review parking and directions for parking, buses and accessibility information.

Cornell visitor text messages

Cornell visitors can sign up for emergency notifications, such as weather alerts, by texting “CornellVisitor” (without the quotation marks) to 226787.

Safety and Security

The Cornell 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.

Media Contact

Abby Kozlowski