Two people drape a hood over a male graduate's head at the Master's Hooding Ceremony
Two people drape a hood over a male graduate's head at the Master's Hooding Ceremony

Congratulations to All may 2025 Graduates!

The Spring 2025 Master's Hooding Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in the Northeastern Illinois University Auditorium. The first ceremony, for students graduating from degree programs in the Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education, will begin at 5:30 p.m. The second ceremony, for students graduating from degree programs in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business and Technology, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Mid-March, an invitation will be sent to your NEIU email address from the College of Graduate Studies and Research with an RSVP link. The RSVP deadline is Monday, April 7, 2025, but we ask that you RSVP as soon as you receive the invitation. It will help us with our planning for this event.

REGALIA INFORMATION

  • All graduates participating in the Master's Hooding Ceremony MUST attend in the appropriate regalia (cap, gown, and hood).

  • The deadline to order caps and gowns is Friday, April 4, 2025. This is a hard deadline from Jostens, Northeastern’s official cap and gown manufacturer, to ensure students receive their orders before the ceremony. 

  • All orders placed online will be mailed directly to the address provided with the order, not to Northeastern. 

  • All inquiries regarding cap and gown orders should be directed to Jostens at (800) 854-7464 or via their customer service help center.

Master's Hooding Ceremony GUEST TICKETS

  • Due to limited seating, graduating students participating in the Hooding Ceremony may request up to 2 (two) guest tickets each. Guest tickets will be offered until seating capacity is reached on a first-come, first-served basis.

  • Guests (over the age of 3 years) will not be admitted to the Ceremony unless they have a ticket.

  • Graduates will have the opportunity to place their name on a waiting list to receive additional tickets should there be any remaining tickets available.

  • Beginning Monday, March 10, 2025, tickets for your guests may be picked up between 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday from the College of Graduate Studies Office located on the lower level of Lech Walesa Hall, LWH 0041.

  • Guest tickets will also be available for pick-up at the Commencement Resource Fair in Alumni Hall from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 and from 3-7 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, 2025.

  • The guest ticket pickup deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 14, 2025. If you are unable to pick up your guest tickets at the Resource Fair or by the April 14, 2025 deadline, please call (773) 442-6011 or email us at graduatestudies@neiu.edu to make other arrangements.

  • After the Monday, April 14, 2025 guest ticket pickup deadline, if we have not reached seating capacity, we will distribute remaining tickets to our wait list and cannot guarantee the availability of your guest tickets if they have not been picked up. 

  • Please note: Ticketing is separate for the Master's Hooding Ceremony and Commencement. You'll need to pick up tickets for each event if you plan on attending both. If you have questions about Commencement tickets, please contact suecs@neiu.edu or (773) 442-4630.

THE DAY OF THE master's hooding CEREMONY

  • Complimentary parking is available on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Parking Facility, which is marked as Building 16 on the NEIU Campus Map.

  • Wear your gown and cap and bring your hood. In keeping with the formal nature of academic regalia, robes and hoods must be fully visible; caps may be decorated; and graduates may wear stoles, chords or medallions signifying academic honors, University clubs/organizations and veteran status with their regalia.

  • Leave personal belongings in your vehicle or with your guests; the University is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

  • Go to the check-in table located outside of the Auditorium to obtain your reader card which will feature your name and program. It will be used to announce your name as you walk across the stage.

  • An usher will be available to escort you and your guests to the appropriate seating area. Your guest(s) will not sit with you during the ceremony.

  • No balloons will be allowed inside the Auditorium.

Your participation in the master's hooding ceremony

Check this website and your NEIU email for more details.

  • You will be seated with classmates from your program.

  • Ushers will indicate when to go on stage.

  • Take your reader card with you to the stage.

  • Hand your reader card to the reader on stage.

  • Walk to the center of the stage. You will be congratulated and hooded by your College’s Dean and the Graduate Dean. A professional photographer will take a photo of this celebratory moment.

  • Continue to the other side of the stage for a photo with the NEIU’s Interim President.

  • Quietly return to your seat; an usher will be available to assist you.

  • Out of courtesy to your fellow graduates, please stay in the Auditorium for the entire program.

  • After the conclusion of the ceremony, the graduates will march out of the Auditorium (row-by-row, at the direction of an usher); guests will exit the Auditorium after all the graduates have processed out.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We encourage graduates, friends, and family to use the hashtag #NEIUgrad on Facebook, X and Instagram. Don't forget to follow NEIU on Facebook and Instagram (@neiulife) and X (@neiu)!

HAVE QUESTIONS?

Contact the College of Graduate Studies and Research at (773) 442-6011 or graduatestudies@neiu.edu.