Saturday, May 3, 2025, 2 p.m.
Wendy Williamson Auditorium

The Hooding Ceremony is a formal acknowledgment of master's and doctoral degree students' years of devoted study and academic achievement. Candidates will be officially hooded at this ceremony and can proudly wear their hoods, receive their diploma covers, and have their degrees conferred at UAA's Commencement on Sunday, May 4. Here are a few important things to know: 

Check-in

Report to the lobby of the Professional Studies Building (PSB) at 1 p.m. Check in and receive your reader card. A volunteer will direct you to a room where you can get ready. The check-in area is reserved for graduates only. 

A coat rack is available in the PSB Lobby and will be secured in PSB 109 during the ceremony. Please do not bring valuables with you inside and retrieve all items directly after the ceremony. 

Processional

At 1:45 p.m., volunteers will direct you to line up for the processional into the Wendy Williamson Auditorium. You do not need to line up in alphabetical order. Ph.D. graduates will sit on stage with their advisor. Master's graduates will be led to sit in the reserved front rows of the audience. Please read through the How to Participate section for full details and view our Instructions for Carrying the Hood (Video)

Take your hood in your right hand with the velvet facing into the "V" of your thumb and index finger. The long side of the hood will be on the left, the velvet on the right. Take your right hand and drape the hood over your LEFT arm with the velvet on your hand and the large part of the hood closest to your body. Your advisor will take the hood from your left arm. You will be hooded by your dean and advisor on stage. 

Please do not wear honor or leadership cords at this ceremony. You can wear honor cords at Commencement on Sunday. Tassels should be on the right side of your cap. 

Once you have been hooded and exit the stage, a volunteer will adjust your hood then direct you back to your seat. 

Names of graduates who submitted an RSVP to watch online will be read once in person graduates from their college have been hooded. 

Exit Procedure at the Close of the Ceremony

At the end of the ceremony, the stage party and faculty exit first to form an honor aisle up the stairwell leading to the lobby (or outside, depending on the weather). Please rise when directed and file out through the honor aisle. The audience will leave last and can meet you in the lobby (or outside) where light refreshments will be served. 

Guests

Tickets are not required for guests attending the hooding ceremony. Guest seating begins at 1:30 p.m. Guests arriving early may wait in the auditorium's lobby. The ceremony begins at 2 p.m. 

Parking

Parking may be challenging on campus Saturday. Plan to arrive in time to park and walk to the PSB lobby by 1 p.m. 

Viewing the Ceremony Online

The Hooding Ceremony will be streamed on Facebook Live. The link is included below. A Facebook login is not required to view the event. 

Link to Ceremony Event

Congratulations, and we'll see you Saturday, May 3!

As we prepare for events surrounding hooding and commencement, we are carefully monitoring the activity of Mount Spurr and will keep you updated if the status changes.