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Renting your regalia

Wearing full academic regalia (cap and gown) at all events on Commencement Day is a long-standing, celebratory tradition as well as a requirement of graduating students participating in the day-long festivities.  

Graduating students have the option to rent or purchase regalia through Herff Jones, Harvard's vendor for its academic regalia needs. 

The order deadline is Thursday, April 10. Here are a few tips for submitting your order:

• Explore the "Rental Graduation Packages," "Announcements," and "Diploma Frames" tabs to purchase items in addition to your regalia rental
• Click the "Rental Cap and Gown" tab to submit a rental regalia order only
• Each regalia set comes with a black tassel to be worn on your cap. The tassel listed for purchase on the website is an optional commemorative keychain and is not part of the required regalia.
• Select to ship your regalia either to the Harvard COOP for in-person pickup or to your local address
  • In-person pickup at Harvard COOP will ship for free
  • Home address deliveries incur a shipping fee 

If you are graduating from two Harvard schools, email Herff Jones customer service to place your order. This will ensure that your regalia comes with the "crow's-feet" emblems—embroidered emblems on gown lapels that represent each school.

For information or assistance with your order, visit the Harvard-wide Grad Fair at the Harvard COOP April 3-5, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. to speak with a representative from Herff Jones or email Herff Jones customer service.

Student Orations Competition

The  is one of Harvard’s oldest Commencement traditions. During Morning Exercises on Commencement Day, three students chosen by a panel of judges each deliver a memorized address to some 32,000 audience members, including the governing boards, honorary degree recipients, faculty members, parents, alumni, and graduates.

at the 2023 Morning Exercises.

2025 Schedule

• Monday, March 3, 3-4 p.m., Emerson Hall 105 | Orations Information Session
  • Learn about the competition and the application process
• Friday, March 28, 11:59 p.m. | Speech submission deadline  
• Wednesday, April 16, 4-6 p.m., location to be confirmed | Preliminary Auditions
• Wednesday, April 23, 4-6 p.m., location to be confirmed | Final Auditions

Visit the for further details.

First Destination Survey

As ����vlog���� students know, data is important to clarify trends and impact.

In the coming weeks, the  (HarvardKey required) will reach out to graduating students about the ����vlog���� First Destination Survey. Your responses will be an opportunity to give feedback to OCA, report on your post-graduation plans, and equip OCA with valuable information on how to serve you now and in the future. Reponses are shared in the annual employment snapshot.

Who to contact

����vlog���� Commencement Team

Associate Director of Student Services Jane Finn-Foley serves as the ����vlog���� Commencement Coordinator and leads the Degree Programs and Student Affairs Commencement planning team. She is the school's primary contact for all things related to Commencement. 

Contact Jane with questions or if you need assistance.

Class Marshals

Being elected as Class Marshal is an honor bestowed upon two graduating members of each degree program.

As a group and with oversight from the Office of Student Services and the Commencement Coordinator, the 8 class marshals execute the Class of 2025 Awards Ceremony (including selecting, with input from their classmates, the Carballo Teaching Award and the Sue Williamson Spirit Award for Staff) and serve as a resource for their classmates regarding Commencement and related activities.

Class 2025 Class Marshals 

Master in Public Policy (MPP)    
Marie Giandomenico
Annie Hait

Master in Public Administration (MPA)    
Rupen Dajee
Ben Marshall

Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID)
Katie Chen
Vaibhav Parik

Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA)
Rico Pasamba III
Elmira Tarivierdiieva

The ����vlog���� community is looking forward to celebrating the remarkable achievements of the ����vlog���� Class of 2025 in May. Whether you will be joining us in-person or remotely, we are thrilled you will be part of the celebration.  

The full ����vlog���� Commencement Week Schedule of Events is at the top of this page. However, specific details for guests on Commencement Day are listed below.
 

THURSDAY, MAY 29 | COMMENCEMENT DAY

• 6:45 a.m. | Gates to Harvard Yard open | 
   
• 9:45-11:45 a.m. | | 
  This is a ticketed University-wide event. Each graduating student receives two (2) guest tickets; however, a ticket does not guarantee a seat. All graduating students participate and sit with their schools.
  
  If you are attending Morning Exercises in person, . Backpacks and luggage are not permitted.  
  
  Morning Exercises will be livestreamed on the . It will also be livestreamed on the ����vlog���� campus, in the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum and dining area, where you have access to bathrooms and may purchase food and drinks at the ����vlog���� Café. This is a comfortable alternative to attending the festive but (very) crowded Morning Exercises where you are unlikely to see your graduate. In addition, you will be able to secure seats sooner under the ceremony tent in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park for the ����vlog���� Diploma Ceremony where graduates cross the stage to receive their diplomas.  
   
• 11 a.m. | Guest seating opens for ����vlog���� Diploma Ceremony | 
  All guests are required to go through a security bag check to enter the park. Pick up your grab-and-go meals in the reception tent from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
   

• Approximately 12:45 p.m. | ����vlog���� Diploma Ceremony | Ceremony Tent in
  Diplomas will be awarded to graduates individually on stage. Tickets are not required for this event. 
  
  For everyone's safety and security, guests are not permitted to leave their seats to take photos of graduates during the ceremony. Professional photographers from Grad Images will photograph each graduate as they receive their diplomas. Graduates will receive an email linking to their photos several weeks after the ����vlog���� Diploma Ceremony with the option for them to purchase.  
   

  Bathrooms

  Portable and accessible bathrooms are available in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. Follow signage or ask ����vlog���� staff members in red shirts if you need assistance. You may also use bathrooms inside the ����vlog���� buildings; however, you must pass through security bag checks again to reenter the park.

  Water 

  Water trucks are located in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. Follow signage or ask ����vlog���� staff members in red shirts if you need assistance. 

  General Assistance

  Visit our information tables in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park and the Wexner Building main lobby if you have questions on Commencement Day. ����vlog���� staff members in red shirts will also assist you.    

  Medical Assistance

  In case you need medical assistance, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are next to the information table in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. For medical emergencies, speak to an ����vlog���� staff member in a red shirt or one of the police officers stationed in the park.
   

Additional information

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• Lactation rooms are available throughout the University campus. to access a lactation room during Commencement Week.
   
• Prayer and meditation space is available on the ����vlog���� campus in the Littauer Building ground floor (L-G28). The meditation room with an attached ablution facility provides space for quiet reflection, meditation, and prayer throughout the day. ����vlog���� welcomes all practices and faiths in this space.  

Contact the ����vlog���� Commencement team for assistance. 

The safety of our graduates, guests, and the ����vlog���� community is our top priority, including during events impacted by severe weather. Continue to visit this page for any potential weather-related impacts to ����vlog���� programming during Commencement Week.

Families and friends who will be attending Commencement Week events in person are encouraged to sign up to receive Harvard University's &�Բ�����;�ٱ���&�Բ�����;��������ٲ�—t���� HARVARDALERT to #333111 to enroll. MessageMe text alerts will be used to communicate changes in programming due to severe weather as well as other important information in case of an emergency.

Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programming and activities.

Graduating ����vlog���� students will be asked to submit a form in March 2025 to request accessible seating and other accommodations for their guests. The University will make every effort to secure services, but they are subject to availability.

Live captioning is provided at the Class of 2025 Awards Ceremony, Address to Graduates, and ����vlog���� Diploma Ceremony.

Please contact us if you are a guest of a graduating ����vlog���� student and have questions.

Air travel

This Commencement, ����vlog���� asks that you consider buying carbon offsets to mitigate the negative climate and health impacts of air travel if you are flying into Cambridge.

The School’s Sustainability Leadership Council has identified two platforms,  and , that provide a way to calculate your greenhouse gas emissions impact from air travel and purchase carbon offsets. There are many other ways to  of your air travel. Harvard University does not endorse any provider of carbon offsets or other vendor.

����vlog���� will purchase carbon offsets for the Class of 2025's Address to Graduates speaker. 

Food-related

Harvard uses more than 250 local farmers to supply food for our campuses’ events and community members throughout the year. We select our menus based on seasonal availability to make sure we are able to provide more climate-friendly foods for our community.

Harvard University Dining Services partners with the local nonprofit, , to collect and donate leftover food to distribute to more than 100 food donation programs for the food-insecure. 

Plastic/water-related

����vlog���� has been working to reduce plastic waste in our on-campus operations, limit the amount of plastic that arrives on campus, and collaborate with our vendors to change their purchasing practices to more climate and health-friendly products with less plastic.

����vlog���� no longer serves individual plastic water bottles at Commencement. Instead, we offer water trucks in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, where compostable cups will be available. We also encourage you to bring your own reusable water bottles.

The forks, knives, spoons, plates, and napkins at this year’s Commencement are 100 percent compostable. Please use the green compostable bins to reduce our waste streams. 

Landscaping

Harvard’s campuses are part of a larger, interconnected ecosystem, and the actions we take have ripple effects on our natural environment.

Harvard helps to protect and enhance the ecosystems and green spaces that our University owns, manages, and impacts to enhance regional biodiversity and personal wellbeing. The majority of Harvard’s landscaped areas use an organic landscaping program free of pesticides. 

Paper

Harvard Commencement is reducing its paper use to save trees. We are printing fewer materials and moving more information online to reduce our paper footprint.