Undergraduate Ceremonies: Faculty Information

First Ceremony: 

• 9 am: Graduates arrive; procession participants arrive; doors open for guests

• 10 am: Ceremony begins

Second Ceremony: 

• 12:15 pm: Graduates arrive; procession participants arrive; doors open for guests

• 1:15 pm: Ceremony begins

Third Ceremony: 

• 3:30 pm: Graduates arrive; procession participants arrive; doors open for guests

• 4:30 pm: Ceremony begins

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Fourth Ceremony: 

• 9 am:  Graduates arrive; procession participants arrive; doors open for guests

• 10 am: Ceremony begins

Fifth Ceremony: 

• 12:15 pm: Graduates arrive; procession participants arrive; doors open for guests

• 1:15 pm: Ceremony begins

Sixth Ceremony: 

• 3:30 pm: Graduates arrive; procession participants arrive; doors open for guests

• 4:30 pm: Ceremony begins

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You may attend one or more ceremonies as a member of the platform party or audience; each ceremony will have a reserved section for FIT faculty within the audience. 

Faculty: RSVP for Undergraduate Commencement

Each event will be approximately 90 minutes in length and will be held outdoors in the park, rain or shine.

Those who RSVP by the April 25 deadline will be added to the backstage entrance list. Venue personnel, not FIT staff, are responsible for check-in.

Academic regalia—the traditional cap and gown—is required attire for everyone who has a role in the commencement exercises and plans to sit onstage among the platform party. 

 To rent your regalia, use the Herff Jones' faculty regalia rental website, facultydirect.herffjones.com:

• Select the Fashion Institute of Technology, then your preferred method to receive your regalia. It may be picked up at the FIT Campus Store in May for no extra charge, or your may have it delivered to your home for an extra shipping fee ($18.10 through March 28; $26.65 after March 28). Home orders will receive a return shipping label for no additional charge.
• Then choose your terminal degree and click "shop."
• On the following screen, be sure to choose the "Cap & Gown" tab in the middle of the page. This will take you to the full rental form. 

To purchase your regalia, visit Herff Jones' site for purchase orders: academicregalia.herffjones.com.

• Enter state and city of your alma mater and select it from the drop-down menu.
• Your school will now appear near the top of the site. Just below that, choose "Standard Regalia" from the tab options.
• From there, select the gown that corresponds with your terminal degree.
• Please take note of Herff Jones' production and shipping deadlines notes on their website. 

Since access to mass transit is readily available, there will be no transportation provided by FIT.

On commencement day, enter the park at Fifth Avenue and East 69th Street—the main entrance for the event. Proceed straight to East Drive, go across East Drive, and turn right to go up the path to the Mother Goose statue with benches encircling it. The path will lead you to Rumsey Playfield. It is approximately a four-minute walk from Fifth Avenue. Your name must appear on the faculty entrance list for venue staff to check you in and provide you with a wristband to access the backstage area.  

Getting to Rumsey Playfield

For 2025, the faculty and administrators robing area will be located in the large tent backstage.

The robing tent will be outfitted with tables, chairs, and mirrors. The area will be staffed by FIT personnel during the event, so personal belongings may be left there. Restrooms are nearby.

Following the recessional, the platform party will return to the robing area.

Please note that faculty and administrators are responsible for returning rented regalia to the FIT Campus Store.

A table with light refreshments, located adjacent to the robing tent, will be available throughout the events for platform party participants. Those who choose to sit in the general faculty audience, may partake of the refreshements available at the graduate and guest celebration areas.  

Approximately 15 minutes before each ceremony, college staff will be directing the platform party to lineup to proceed to the stage. Each ceremony will run approximately 90 minutes in length from the start of the procession.

The proceedings of the event are guided by a script. Scripts will be delivered ahead of time to all those with speaking or support roles.

Programs will be available at seats on the stage.