Graduation Ceremony

Graduation ceremonies are held in the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center located at 505 West Pensacola Street. Panama City (FL) students can find information about the annual Panama City Spring graduation ceremony on their website.

If you are a registered FSU student attending a commencement ceremony and require accommodations, please contact the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) at 850-644-9566 or oas@fsu.edu in advance to make special arrangements. If you are a guest attending a commencement ceremony and require accommodations, please visit Guest Services at the Civic Center during the event for assistance.

An ASL interpreter may be provided upon request with 2 weeks notice in advance. Closed captioning is also provided on the arena corner boards.

NOTE: Before degrees are awarded, your final semester grades must be recorded and records rechecked for total hours, quality points, and other degree requirements. PARTICIPATION IN GRADUATION EXERCISES IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF GRADUATION.

Prohibited Items

For the safety and security of our guests and graduates, a list of prohibited items is provided below. Additional items may be prohibited at the discretion of the law enforcement officials as directed by increased threat conditions.

Alcohol or illegal drugs Video equipment, tape recorders, cameras with tripods, GoPros, selfie sticks, or lenses longer than 6" Weapons or explosives of any kind; Fireworks
Food and beverages from outside the Tucker Center Chairs, folding chairs, or any other type of chair for individual use Pets (except service animals)
Coolers or containers, including cans, cups, bottles, glass or glass vases Beach balls or other airborne objects Laser pointers
Artificial noisemakers (whistles, bells, air horns, etc.) Laptops Wallet chains; Long chains/sharp spikes
Any flags, banners, posters or signs (with or without sticks or poles) Bags larger than 12" x 6" x 12" or backpacks of any kind Skateboards; Sticks or poles of any kind

NOTE: All graduates and guests will be required to pass through metal detectors prior to entering the Civic Center. Security personnel will remove students or guests disrupting the ceremony.

Commencement Program

Upon arrival at any graduation ceremony, FSU graduates are offered a professionally produced, keepsake commencement program.

You will find your name, degree/s, major/s, honors, and additional credentials and organizations (where applicable) printed in this commencement program unless you previously submitted a FERPA request to prevent the release or publication of your directory information.

If you did restrict publication of your directory information, prior to your graduation date, our office will send you an email communicating the deadline by which you can request that we add your name and graduation-related data to the commencement program.

If you have any questions regarding your previously submitted directive to prevent the release or publication of your directory information, please contact the Office of the University Registrar.

Ceremony Etiquette

The Commencement Ceremony's dignified traditions and regalia date from the thirteenth century. We expect all participants to exhibit courteous behavior and to observe the decorum merited by the occasion. Thank you for familiarizing yourself with the following notes on etiquette.

Arrival. Doors open one hour before the ceremony begins. Please arrive no later than 30 minutes before the ceremony begins.

  • At the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, the entrance for graduating students is by the back parking lot on the south side of the venue and easily accessible from the main Civic Center parking lot. The map provided below shows the graduates' entrance. Guests may use the Center's main entrances.
  • Have your Grad Pass out and ready to be scanned before stepping up to the venue entrance. All graduates must present their Grad Pass and a photo ID to enter the Tucker Center. Graduates will be sent a link to their personalized Grad Pass the week of the ceremony. To gain entry, you may:
    • present a printed Grad Pass.
    • display the Grad Pass on your mobile phone.
    • take and display a screenshot of the Grad Pass from the link we send you.
  • When you arrive, you should be carrying your gown, not wearing it. You will not be allowed through security wearing your gown. Caps can be worn before entry. After you enter the Tucker Center, you will be able to dress in your regalia.

Civic Center

Seating and Crossing the Stage. If you RSVP to attend the commencement ceremony, bachelor, master, and specialist graduates will receive an email notification the week of the event that will include their specific seating assignment.

Once you have entered the venue and have dressed in your regalia, you should find your way out to the arena and locate your assigned seat. A seating chart of the arena can be found on the Schedule of Ceremonies page under the semester you are graduating for each event. After finding your seat, you may not walk around in the arena. Marshals and staff will be available in the arena to assist graduates with finding their seats and, when it is time, the marshals will direct each row of graduates to the stage to have their names announced.

  • Note: Doctoral students attending the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony will not have a seat assignment sent to them prior to the event; instead, after meeting with their faculty members at a designated meeting room, doctoral students will be directed out to the arena to find their college section and then their seat with the assistance of a marshal. More information about the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony can be found on the Graduate School website.

After finding your seat in the arena, on the back of your chair, you will find your yellow "Name Card." Please hold onto this card for later in the ceremony. When the marshal directs your row to the stage, you will take this card with you.

  • This card will be scanned by a staff member before going up the ramp to the stage, which will allow your name to appear on the Tucker Center jumbotron overhead. After your card is scanned, you will hold onto it until you reach the top of the ramp at the stage. Please stay in the order your name card is scanned, as your name will appear on the jumbotron in that order.
  • After reaching the stage, this card will be handed to a marshal to have your name announced. As you cross the stage, you can shake your College Dean's hand and then the President's hand.
  • Only the graduate name will be announced.
  • Only the graduate name and any expected degree of distinction honors being earned will be presented on the jumbotron. All majors, programs, tracks, specializations, and any other honors will not appear on the jumbotron or be announced.
  • The commencement photographers will take pictures just before you 1)reach the ramp leading to the stage, 2) as you cross the stage, and 3) after you exit the stage.

After exiting the stage and taking your final commencement picture with the photographers, please return to your assigned seat. Marshals will be there to assist.

Departing. Graduates are expected to stay for the duration of the ceremony. The ceremony will last about an hour and a half.

At the end of the commencement program, after the representatives on stage have exited, graduates will be directed to leave through the back of the area.

Sanctioned Cords & Medallions

Students may wear only approved cords or medallions with their regalia. These include:

  • Degrees of Distinction Cords
    • Cum Laude (gold cord)
    • Magna Cum Laude (garnet cord)
    • Summa Cum Laude (garnet and gold cord)
  • Student Veterans Center
    • red, white, and blue cord
  • University Honors Program
    • medallion
  • Honors in the Major
    • medallion
  • Any cord, medallion, or stole from one of the twelve university-wide honor societies denoting academic achievement (scholastic or leadership honor societies). See https://honorsocieties.fsu.edu for the list of honor societies.

No other cord, medallion, or stole is permitted to be worn at the commencement ceremony.

Photos

GradImages Photography wil take several pictures of you during the ceremony. Following commencement, GradImages photographers will be circulating outside the venue to capture additional candid photographs of our graduates with their loved ones. The GradImages staff will be wearing red vests, so they'll be highly visible and easy to locate. Graduates can expect to receive their individual picture proofs by email within 18 to 24 hours of the graduation ceremony. Additionally, paper proofs are mailed through the U.S. Postal Service and can be expected to arrive within three or four days. Direct any questions about your photos to GradImages by calling (800) 261-2576 or by contacting a representative through their website.

Guests

  • All Tucker Center doors open one hour prior to the start of the ceremony.
  • Enter ONLY on the Concourse Level of the Tucker Center.
  • At no time are guests permitted on the arena floor.
  • Accessibility seating is available on the Concourse Level; approach the Tucker Center from the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Madison Street. Tucker Center parking is available at that entrance.

Guests should not leave until the ceremony concludes. Leaving causes disruption and noise, which disturbs those families whose graduate has not yet been recognized. Please arrange to meet your families at designated areas outside the civic center (i.e., flagpoles, plaza, gates).

Parking

Several parking options are available on days scheduled for commencement ceremonies. Please consult this detailed map for directions and additional instructions.