FAQ: Faculty and Administrators

Click here for the full list of commencement ceremonies dates and times by school and major.

Each ceremony is approximately 90 minutes long.

You are invited to attend the ceremony for your program and are encouraged to support your colleagues and the graduating students at all the other ceremonies. Both days’ schedules are identical.

Seating (both onstage and in the audience) is limited, therefore invitations are reserved for faculty and administrators only. 

Yes. An RSVP form will be shared closer to the date. 

Academic regalia (cap and gown) is required attire for all who plan to participate in the procession and sit on stage. Faculty and administrators may rent their regalia from Herff Jones. 

Regalia may be rented through Herff Jones to 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.

Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, New York City. You can find a map and get personalized directions to the venue on the Central Park website.

We recommend you use the park entrance at 69th Street and Fifth Avenue; the path at this entrance leads directly to Rumsey Playfield. It's approximately a four-minute walk to the gate.

The nearest subway stations are 68th St/Hunter College on the 6 train on the east side; 72nd Street on the B and C trains on the west side. (Note: There are no elevators at either station.)

The closest bus routes are the M1, M2, M3, M4, M66, and M72.

The venue is ADA-accessible for the mobility-impaired. Enter from the East 72nd and Fifth Avenue side

No. Public transportation is encouraged and readily available.

There is no parking in Central Park. To find parking nearby, you can use a parking app, such as SpotHero, or try these parking lots that are close to the venue, which offer daily and hourly rates:

• iPark: East 67th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• MGP: Parking: East 73rd Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• iPark: East 67th Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue

Commencement events are held rain or shine. Cancellations will only occur if conditions are dangerous—lightning, high winds or flooding, for example. In the event of a cancellation, we will inform you via the commencement website (fitnyc.edu/commencement) and through Gmail.

There will be no ceremony rehearsal.

Doors open one hour prior to each ceremony. 

You may bring:

• Hats, sunglasses, your phone—basic things you need to enjoy your time at Central Park!

Food and beverages will be provided throughout the day.

Before and after each ceremony there will be a brief time available for you to visit with your students and their guests as they partake in refreshments, take family portraits, pick up gifts, and purchase memorabilia and other mementos in the Celebration in the Park tents.

Yes! You will be able to tune in live on the commencement website, fitnyc.edu/commencement. The video from each ceremony will also be available on demand after they are completed.

Smoking and vaping of any kind is not allowed at Rumsey Playfield and throughout Central Park under the city’s Smoke-Free Air Act. Also, commencement is a college activity and is covered under FIT’s Tobacco Free Policy, which prohibits smoking.