Graduating Students

Tickets are issued based on the Registration Form which is distributed to each student's College of Charleston email address. This form is also how students will verify the pronunciation of their name, and how those with multiple majors choose which one they wish to walk with.

Spring Commencement

Each graduate will receive four tickets to the Spring commencement ceremony in which they are walking. We cannot issue any additional tickets. Guests without a ticket are welcome to visit the satellite viewing location on campus, at the Rita Liddy Hollings Science Center. This space is indoors and airconditioned and does not require a ticket for entry.

Winter Commencement

Each graduate will receieve ten tickets to the Winter commencement ceremony. We cannot issue any additionally tickets.

Transferring Tickets:

All tickets are delivered through the Student Ticketing Portal. A link to access your tickets will be sent via email about two weeks prior to the ceremony.

Once signed into your Student Ticketing Portal, go to the 'My Account.' From there, you should be able to click on 'Transfer Tickets,' select the tickets you'd like to transfer, and fill out the information for the transfer recipient. You will then be taken to a confirmation page to review your transfer and double check the information. Once approved by you, the recipient will be sent a link to accept the tickets. The recipient will need to create or sign in to their own account within our ticketing system in order to receive the tickets. If the recipient does not have their own account and does not accept the ticket transfer from you, they will not receive the tickets and you will have to repeat the process above.

Rather than caps and gowns, the long-standing College of Charleston tradition calls for graduating undergraduate women to wear white dresses and graduating men to wear white dinner jackets. For the Winter Ceremony, graduates wear black dresses and black dinner jackets.

Our master's candidates wear regalia with their graduate school discipline's corresponding hood and do not carry flowers. Visit the Graduate School for details about how to order regalia, rental options, hood colors, etc. 

Attire for undergraduates may be purchased, rented, or crafted from a store or person of your choice. Master's candidates order caps and gowns through the Graduate School. Below are a few tuxedo rental companies (provided for informational purposes only and not affiliated with or endorsed by the College). 

• Tux on Trux  www.tuxontrux.com 
• Charleston Tuxedo www.charlestontuxedo.com 
• Berlins www.berlinsclothing.com 

Traditionally at Commencement, women have carried red roses while men have worn a red rose boutonniere. Flowers, including bouquets and boutonnieres, can be ordered from The Commencement Group for pick-up on the day of commencement. 

We encourage ordering ahead of time to guarantee availability. 

College of Charleston Ring

Celebrate your graduate by ordering an official College of Charleston Ring. 

Shop for your official College of Charleston Ring

Instagram Frames

• Silver Instagram grad frame (1890x1920)
• Maroon Instagram grad frame (1890x1920)
• Square silver grad frame (1800x1800)
• Square maroon grad frame (1800x1800)

Personalized Graduation Announcements
Personalized graduation announcements may be ordered online through Balfour. Please place your order 4-6 weeks prior to ceremony. You can then mail your graduation announcements to family and friends two weeks prior to ceremony.

Special Note: Graduation announcements are not tickets for reserved seating at the College's commencement ceremony in the Cistern Yard.

Guests with graduation announcements and no ticket can sit at one of the satellite viewing locations, which are located in close proximity to the Cistern Yard and do not require a ticket.

Order your graduation announcements through Balfour

Hometown News Announcement

Media Relations at the College of Charleston regularly distributes news releases announcing graduation, awards, offices held and other student accomplishments to the hometown newspapers of our current students.

To submit your Hometown News item, please complete and return the Hometown News Form to the contact and address listed on the form.

Download the Hometown News Form

Leading up to the ceremony, College of Charleston monitors the weather for Commencement weekend 24 hours a day.

If inclement weather occurs, the President’s Office will make an announcement that will be prominently displayed on the College of Charleston website home page (www.charleston.edu) as well as on local TV and radio stations. 

Weather can also delay the start time of the ceremony, and if so, this information will be included in any announcements.

Graduates should report to Maybank Hall 90 minutes prior to the start of their ceremony. There, you will be organized by School, Major, and last name. You will also be given a card that lists your name, Latin Honors, and any additional majors than the one you walk with.

Please note that the Latin Honors read at the ceremony are based on your status as of the previous term. Because final grades are submitted just days before the ceremonies, we cannot record your final honors.

We recommend bringing as little as possible. The clear-bag policy is in effect, and water will be provided to graduates. We also provide a program and fans to each graduate.

Keep in mind that after you cross the stage, you might not return to the same seat you were in before, so anything you don't want to carry across the stage with you should be left at home.

Graduates will be led into the Cistern and ushered to their seats by Student Marshals, followed by the Faculty. Before degrees are awarded, you will hear remarks by the President, the Commencement Speaker, a student speaker, and an Alumni representative.

For the awarding of degrees, you will be led, row-by-row, from your seats to the East side of the stage. From there, you will hand your name card to a Commencement Team member. They will scan your card, afterwhich your name will be read as you cross the stage, receive your diploma, stand for photographs, and then return to your seat.

After the degrees are conferred, all graduates will recess through Porter's Lodge by way of the Cistern.

Diploma Frames

Show off your achievement with a College of Charleston diploma display frame.

Shop the College of Charleston Bookstore for diploma frames.

Gifts & Accessories

Select that perfect College of Charleston gift for your grad.

Shop the College of Charleston Barnes and Noble Bookstore

Class Notes & Alumni Benefits

Once a Cougar, always a Cougar.

Join us by staying connected with your classmates and forging new relationships with fellow College of Charleston alumni.

Whether it’s through a local chapter event, or through social media, the Alumni Association is your source for all things College of Charleston.

As soon as you graduate, you become a lifetime member of the Alumni Association and there are no dues.

Update your information and submit a Class Note!

Within a week or so after the ceremony, your graduation photos should be available through GradImages. Just search by your name, school (College of Charleston), and graduation year.