Students

Grad Fest gives all graduating students the opportunity to get everything you will need for graduation, including cap & gown, Tulane Ring, graduation announcements, diploma frame, and more. Grad Fest is typically held each year in March. 

Wave Goodbye is an annual party for graduates that is modeled after New Orleans' many springtime festivals. All graduates and their guests are invited to mingle on Gibson Quad on the uptown campus on the Friday before University Commencement. Wine and beer will be available for purchase (cash only). Graduates are allotted seven tickets each, one of which the graduate will need to use to enter the party. Children 10 years and younger do not need tickets. Tickets are issued to graduating students via the Gibson Online student portal in the weeks before the event.

All commencement activities originally scheduled for May 15-16 have been postponed, including Wave Goodbye. Rescheduled commencement activities will include as many of the traditional campus festivities that typically occur on commencement weekend as possible. As soon as more details for the postponed festivities are finalized, they will be announced via email and posted on this site. 

The University Commencement Ceremony honors graduating students from all of the university's schools and colleges. It features the pomp and circumstance expected of a traditional commencement celebration with a New Orleans twist. At this ceremony, expect to see the procession of graduates and faculty, the conferral of degrees and hear live jazz.

All in-person commencement activities originally scheduled for May 15-16 have been postponed. The university is exploring all options for rescheduling the ceremonies and additional information will be posted on this site as details are confirmed. The conferral of degrees will still take place on schedule on May 16 and President Fitts will invite graduates and their families to participate in a virtual event to acknowledge this academic achievement. 

In addition to the University Commencement Ceremony, graduates are invited to the ceremony of the school awarding their degree. It is at these graduation ceremonies that your name is called and you walk across the stage. These ceremonies are at various times and locations on the Friday and Saturday of commencement weekend. Visit the Schedule page for more details about these ceremonies.

Please note, students who are receiving degrees from two different schools can choose to participate in either or both ceremonies if scheduling allows. Additionally those students receiving two degrees can purchase either or both tassels. 

Students must wear regalia at all ceremonies in order to participate in the procession and walk across the stage at commencement. Regalia will be available to purchase or order at Grad Fest or online through the bookstore.

Also note, students who are receiving degrees from two different schools can choose to participate in either or both ceremonies if scheduling allows. Additionally those students receiving two degrees can purchase either or both tassels. 

Former and current students of The School of Professional Advancement with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater should contact sopa@tulane.edu to receive a Military Graduation Honor Cord; all other honorably discharged U.S. Veteran students or Active Duty service members should contact Belinda Ramie at bramie@tulane.edu, veterans@tulane.edu or call 504 865-5231.

All graduates shall be permitted to wear only those stoles or honor cords earned through University Honors, or recognized organizations officially sanctioned by the University, or by U.S. Military Veterans who attain the prescribed academic achievement to earn Veteran’s cords. Personal stoles or cords are not permitted. Tulane encourages students’ personal expressions of creativity in the decoration of mortar boards (robe decorating is not permitted), while reserving neck-worn stoles and cords only for officially recognized honors.

With the exception of Doctor of Medicine students, diploma distribution will not change and all graduates will receive their diplomas delivery four to six weeks after degree conferral. The diploma will be mailed to the diploma mailing address provided by the student on the application for degree. This address can be updated via Gibson Online at the “Update Diploma Address” link found under the Student tab. Doctor of Medicine students typically need to receive their diplomas on commencement day, and we are currently exploring all options for distribution.

If you have chosen to withhold your directory information from disclosure by selecting the confidentiality box in your Gibson account, you will not appear in the newspaper listings of graduates or any other external report on Tulane Commencement. This confidentiality flag can be updated through Gibson Online.