Instructions

Graduation Fair

The Graduation Fair is scheduled for Friday, February 7th, from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Prospective graduates will receive an appointment time to be photographed and order regalia and other graduation-related merchandise.  The Commencement Information Form and Bar Course Commitment Form will be collected, including ticket reservations for the Commencement Exercises.

Commencement Tickets

Guests attending the 2025 Commencement Exercises are required to present a ticket for admission to the Artis-Naples this year. Tickets are free and must be reserved in advance. Seating is not assigned. Wheelchair seating is available. Candidates for graduation may request up to six (6) guest tickets using the Commencement Information Form at the Graduation Fair on February 7. Children who are less than 30 inches tall do not need a ticket but must sit on an adult’s lap during the ceremony without obstructing the view of other guests.

Additional ticket requests will be maintained by Dean Castro at kcastro@avemarialaw.edu. Candidates who anticipate they may use fewer tickets than they reserved on the Commencement Information Form are encouraged to notify Dean Castro so that those tickets can be made available to others. Commencement tickets may not be sold or copied.

Tickets will be distributed during cap and gown distribution.

Regalia Pickup and Return

Candidates will pick up their cap and gown from reception in the Administration Building, Dean’s Suite.  Hoods will be presented during the Commencement Exercises.

All regalia must be returned following the Commencement Exercises to the designated area at Artis-Naples.

Wearing Regalia

Candidates should report for both the Baccalaureate Mass and the Commencement Exercises in cap and gown.  The tassel should be worn on the right front of the cap. Students will be hooded as they cross the stage.

Baccalaureate Mass Instructions

Students of all faiths are encouraged to attend.  Participants should report no later than 5:30 p.m. to St. Agnes Catholic Church.  Do not bring valuable items as there will be no place to secure them during Mass.  Mass begins at 6 p.m.  During the Baccalaureate Mass, men should remove their caps at the end of the Opening Hymn and replace them at the end of the Mass at the beginning of the Recessional Hymn.

Commencement Exercises

The doors to the Artis-Naples open at noon on Sunday, May 17.  Candidates for graduation should report no later than 12:15 p.m. (45 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony).  The Marshals will arrange candidates in alphabetical order and distribute name cards to be handed to the announcer before crossing the stage.  Do not bring valuable items as there will be no place to secure them during the ceremony.

The Marshals will lead candidates to reserved seating in the auditorium.  Candidates remain standing until after the Invocation.  Men should remove caps during the National Anthem, the Invocation and later during the Benediction.

When it is time for each candidate to approach the stage, the Marshal will indicate when a particular row is to stand.  Candidates proceed to the stage, hand the name card to the announcer, proceed to the hooding table and then cross the stage.

At the end of the ceremony, the faculty will exit first.  The Marshals will lead the candidates from the auditorium.