Undergraduate Commencement Celebration

Students can graduate (that is, have completed all requirements for their degree and have stopped taking classes) during any quarter of the year. Then, several months after they have declared their degree expected term (through MyUCLA), they will be issued a diploma from UCLA.

Commencement ceremonies, however, occur only once per year and you are invited to walk through these ceremonies whether or not you are actually graduating in Spring Quarter (see below for details). This is the time for you to be publicly recognized by the university and your friends and family for your scholastic achievements.

Participating in any commencement activities does NOT guarantee that you will actually earn a degree. You should consult a UCLA college and/or departmental counselor for detailed information on satisfying degree requirements.

Psychology, Psychobiology, and Cognitive Science majors who graduated in Fall 2024 and Winter 2025, and degree candidates for Spring and Summer 2025 may participate. Fall 2025 degree candidates can file a special inclusion petition through their college counseling office (CAC, AAP, Honors or Athletics) to participate beginning Spring 2025.

Graduation Etc. will begin taking orders for caps & gowns, announcements, diploma plaques and frames, Alumni Association memberships, and graduation gifts the beginning of March. Visit them online at https://www.asucla.ucla.edu/graduation-etc or call 310.825.2587.

At the beginning of May, information regarding the Psychology Department Celebration will be emailed to all students who are eligible for commencement.

Yes, students will need a graduate ticket to enter Pauley Pavilion.

Each graduate will be allowed a limited number of guest tickets. Four will be complimentary. You may purchase additional tickets for $20 each via MyUCLA (to be charged to your BruinBill).

More information about ticket ordering for the 2025 Psychology Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will be posted to this webpage in Spring 2025.

Graduates will need to indicate their participation, reserve their complimentary tickets, and purchase any additional tickets on the MyUCLA ticketing system. All ticket sales are final and no refunds can be issued.

All tickets for the Psychology Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will be electronic. You will receive email messages from tickets@cto.ucla.edu that contain links to your tickets. Please be on the lookout for two emails: one email will contain your graduate ticket, and the second email will contain your guest tickets. Please make sure you check your spam folder for these emails. Tickets will be sent to the email you have listed in MyUCLA.

The Psychology undergraduate ceremony will be on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 8:00AM in Pauley Pavilion.

The Psychology undergraduate ceremony lasts about 2 hours. Out of respect to your fellow graduates, all attendees and guests should plan to remain in Pauley Pavilion for the entirety of the ceremony.

Graduates should arrive an hour before the Graduation Ceremony (7:00 AM) and enter on the southeast side of Pauley Pavilion between Pauley and Spaulding Field to check in.

Guests should arrive at least 45 minutes prior to the graduation ceremony (7:15 AM). Guests will line up outside of Pauley Pavilion. Tickets will be scanned for entry. Guests will not be allowed in without a ticket.

When you first arrive at the Psychology commencement ceremony, you will need to enter from the southeast side of Pauley Pavilion between Pauley and Spaulding Field. Here, you will check in and go through security. After checking in, you will proceed to enter Pauley. Graduates do not have to line up in any particular order.

All guest seating in Pauley Pavilion is general seating, so please tell your guests to arrive early.

All guests will be required to use clear bags when entering Pauley Pavilion. Please be sure to communicate this guidance to any guests that may be attending the ceremony.

Note that no bottles, beach balls, helium balloons, silly string, banners, signs, flags, etc. will be allowed, and all persons entering the ceremony will be checked.         

The graduates will sit in a designated section in no particular order. You will then be directed to step forward and give your name card to the announcer to have your name read. You will then walk across the stage. Several individual photos of each graduate will be taken during the celebration, and a group photo will be taken at the end of the celebration.      

Your diploma will not be handed to you at the celebration, but it will be available from the Registrar’s Office a few months after you graduate from UCLA.

Family members and guests will not be allowed near the graduate section to take pictures, but they will be able to take photos from their seats. Grad Images will be taking individual photos of each graduate as well as a group photo at the end of the celebration. These photos will be available for purchase from Grad Images. Within two weeks after the celebration, Grad Images will be sending information to each graduate indicating how the pictures can be purchased from them.

Please make sure to wear your cap and gown to the Psychology Department Undergraduate Commencement Celebration. It is recommended you bring safety pins and/or bobby pins for your cap and gown just in case!

No rehearsal will be held.

If you have a disability that will limit your mobility inside Pauley or if you have guests with disabilities, contact the Psychology Advising Office via Message Center so we can be prepared for your participation in the ceremony. The department can provide information about parking and other assistance at Commencement. Sign language interpreters are available upon request. Guests with wheelchairs, disabilities or strollers are encouraged to arrive early as seating is not reserved.

The best parking for Pauley Pavilion is Parking Lot 7 or 8. Current UCLA permit holders may park at their assigned spot during commencement without additional costs. You can also pre-purchase parking passes for your guests through the Bruin ePermit Event Parking portal beginning mid-Spring 2025. To avoid long lines at the self-service pay stations on campus, it is recommended to purchase your parking permit in advance of attending the Commencement ceremonies. To learn more about commencement parking, please visit: https://transportation.ucla.edu/campus-parking/commencement-parking

For more information about the college ceremony and other departmental ceremonies, please visit: https://commencement.ucla.edu/.