No tickets will be issued. Gates will open at 2:00 p.m. Please advise your guests that balloons and strollers are not allowed into the arena for safety reasons. Also advise your guests that photographs and video may be taken from their seats only.

All campus parking will be free, and all parking areas, except the area near the ROTC buildings will be open to the public. Please note that the road leading from the Waiʻalae entrance will be closed. The road will reopen following the ceremony for exiting only. Plan to arrive early, as there will be considerable congestion surrounding the campus entrances. Those needing disability parking are especially encouraged to arrive early

All candidates must have cap, gown and hood in order to participate. Please obtain the appropriate hood in advance from the UH Bookstore. We ask that you refrain from decorating your cap with items that will obstruct the view of your fellow candidates.

• Master's, DArch, LLM, JD and MD candidates are to wear their hoods to the ceremony.
• DrPH/PhD candidates are to carry their hoods.

The trim at the front should fall at collarbone level. Keep the hood in place by attaching the cord to a button, or pin the cord underneath the gown. The border at the back is turned outward and under so that the colors form a teardrop shape. The cord is attached directly to its opposite button so that the hood does not slip off. Volunteers will assist you with this.

Print your Commencement Confirmation page from the online registration system and bring to the ceremony. Include pronunciation hints, if necessary, for the reader.

Plan to arrive early, as congestion is expected. Campus parking is free and all parking areas will be open to the public except the area by the ROTC buildings. The road leading from Waiʻalae entrance to the Stan Sheriff Center will be closed. For disability access information for your guests, please call 956-GRAD. Candidates needing disability accommodations are required to notify the KOKUA Program at 956-7511.

Assemble at the Stan Sheriff Center Security Entrance by 2:00 p.m. Line up in double-file lines behind the appropriate sign for your degree and college. Friends who wish to sit together during the ceremony must line up one behind the other or they will be separated.

Procession begins promptly at 3:00 p.m. under the direction of your college student marshal. All graduates will be seated on the arena floor facing the stage.

Caps should be worn at all times except during the playing of Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi, the alma mater and the national anthem, when men should remove their caps. The tassel should be worn on the left side, signifying that you already have a degree.

Master's, DArch, LLM, MD, JD Candidates (in that order): Rise when your college and degree are called, follow your marshal single file up to the right side of the stage.

Present your printed commencement confirmation to the name reader (ensure that it is folded in half) as you cross the stage. As your name is read, move to stage center to receive diploma cover and congratulations, exit the stage and return to your original seat. Remain standing until you are instructed to be seated.

PhD Candidates: You and your sponsor will be led, single file, to the right side of the stage. Present your printed commencement confirmation sheet (folded in half) to the name reader, and stand on the place-marking in front of the podium. You will be hooded by your sponsor and the faculty marshal as the Assistant Dean reads your name and dissertation title. Your sponsor will walk behind the stage and be seated with the faculty. You will proceed across the stage, shake hands with the Chancellor and administrators, receive your diploma cover, and proceed to upper stage seating with the faculty. Please remain standing until the Chancellor instructs you to be seated.

Traditionally, flower lei are not presented or worn until after the ceremony.

Meet your guests near the appropriate alphabetical signs on the athletic fields (A-L meet at the football practice field, M-Z meet at the soccer field). You should consider meeting guests with physical disabilities at a closer location.

Because semester records will not be available by the date of commencement, the conferring of degrees at the ceremony is provisional, pending verification that degree requirements have been met. Diplomas will be available for pickup 10 weeks after the ceremony at the Office of the Registrar, Queen Liliʻuokalani Center for Student Services 010. To receive your diploma by mail, complete a "Request to Mail Diploma" card at the Office of Admissions and Records (be sure to check postal rates for mailing outside the United States). For further information, call 956-8010.

Audience members may take photographs and video from their seats only. A photographer will take a photograph of each candidate receiving his/her diploma. A proof of your photograph will be sent to you via email after commencement, and you may order additional photographs at that time. If you do not wish to have your contact information forwarded to the photographer so that he may send your proof, please submit your request in writing by May 1, 2013 to the Commencement Coordinator, 2500 Campus Road, Hawaiʻi Hall 209, Honolulu, HI 96822.

For further information, contact the Commencement Coordinator at graduate@hawaii.edu, or by phone at 956-GRAD.