Know before you go: Commencement 2026

Mount Holyoke College strives for all on-campus experiences to be accessible to everyone to the greatest extent possible. To that end, please visit the Commencement access and accommodations page for more in-depth information regarding your specific access and accommodation needs, including seating, wheelchair rentals, service animal information and more.

Whether you are a graduating student or a guest, service animals — as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — are allowed at Commencement ceremonies. All other animals, including emotional support animals and pets, are prohibited from the Commencement ceremony and related events. Individuals with service animals are not required to complete the Access and Accommodation Form. For more information, please see the Mount Holyoke College Service Animals Policy and the Pets on Campus Policy.

If you have any questions, please email section504coordinator@mtholyoke.edu.

Mount Holyoke College asks everyone to familiarize themselves with its policies concerning protests and similar activities. No disruption or misconduct during Commencement will be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, air horns, noisemakers, signs, balloons, banners, chants or shouting. We kindly ask that you refrain from any of these so that each graduate’s guests may hear their name being called. Any prohibited items that are found or noticed will be confiscated by event staff.

There will be no food service during or after Commencement. Guests can familiarize themselves with the area’s wide array of restaurants at this web page.

Each graduate will have five tickets for friends and family for seating on Pageant Green. Seating will begin at 9 am and guests must enter by 10:15 am. Non-ticketed seating will be in the Gettell Amphitheater and is open to all guests.

If the Commencement ceremony is moved indoors, students will receive four guest tickets due to the smaller capacity of the Field House. If a relocation is necessary, it will be announced by noon on Thursday, May 21. 

Additionally, air-conditioned livestream viewing locations will be available in the Blanchard Community Center, as well as the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center. Tickets are not required for these locations.

Please note that in case of forecasted heavy rain or extreme heat, the ceremony will be relocated to the Field House in Kendall Sports & Dance Complex. If such a relocation is necessary, an announcement will be made by noon on Thursday, May 21. If a relocation is deemed unnecessary, no announcement will be made. Graduates and other members of the Mount Holyoke community are encouraged to monitor their email, the College’s social media and the Commencement webpage for updates.

Before Commencement, all College community members should ensure their contact information is up to date in the emergency notification system. Guests who will be on campus for Commencement weekend can opt into this system for three days by texting “MHCGuestAlert” to 67283.

If the ceremony is relocated to Kendall, each graduate will have a limited number of tickets for their guests. Guests without a ticket can watch the ceremony via livestream at one of our on-campus viewing stations: the Great Room or Room 227b in the Community Center, or the Morrison Room in the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center. Gamble Auditorium will be available as a viewing station only if the ceremony is relocated.

The outdoor ceremony will not be tented, so guests may want to bring sunscreen. Additionally, guests should consider bringing a jacket and a hat, as the ceremony will not halt for light rain. However, for safety reasons, umbrellas are not allowed on Pageant Green. Guests are encouraged to bring a reusable water bottle; water stations will be available in select locations on campus, identified by signage. Boxed water will be provided for graduates. The College will also have indoor, air-conditioned seating available to watch the livestream in the Great Room, the Unity Center and Room 227b in the Community Center, as well as the Morrison Room in the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center.

Guest parking for Commencement will be in the parking lots at Kendall Sports & Dance Complex, Torrey Hall, Ham/MacGregor Halls, Mary Lyon Hall, the Observatory, the Equestrian Center, Morgan Street, the Gorse Children’s Center and Mandelles/1837 Halls. Accessible parking will be in all lots except for the Torrey and Morgan Street parking lots. There will be shuttle pickup and drop-off at Pageant Green and the Kendall, Mary Lyon, Morgan Street, Gorse and Mandelles/1837 parking lots.

Grad Images will be providing professional portrait photography services for Commencement. Graduating students will have an opportunity to take their cap and gown photographs on Monday, May 18, in the Great Room located in the Blanchard Community Center. Grad Images will also take students’ photos at the Commencement ceremony as they cross the stage, along with a formal photo of each graduate holding their diploma. Additional information about scheduling portrait sessions and ordering photos will be sent later in the spring semester.

Families and guests are welcome to take photos with their graduates on campus grounds before and after the ceremony, but they will not have photo access to the stage or graduate seating areas.

This year’s ceremony will be outdoors (weather permitting) on Pageant Green. The procession for faculty and graduates is as follows: faculty will proceed from the Kendade Atrium, graduates will proceed from the Gamble Auditorium in the Art Building and Abbey Chapel (assignments will be sent to students ahead of the Commencement rehearsal). Gamble Auditorium is close to an accessible bathroom and air conditioned. Students with mobility concerns can choose to line up in Gamble Auditorium. The Green is an untented and grassy space.

Graduates should be prepared for the rehearsal to last until noon. After a brief presentation, there will be a review of the processional, name pronunciations and the recessional. There will be opportunities to advise on any changes to name pronunciations.

Students are required to know their assigned line-up location (Gamble Auditorium, Hooker Auditorium or Abbey Chapel) for the day of the ceremony. A spreadsheet illustrating location assignments will be shared via email by the Commencement Committee. These line-up locations are where students will go on the morning of the ceremony.

After the Commencement rehearsal, students will proceed to the Rt. 116 side (the main road/street side) of Mary Woolley Hall for the Laurel Parade rehearsal.

Only students — seniors, graduate students and those eligible to participate in Commencement — may pick up tickets. Tickets can be picked up from the front desk of the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center, and students must show their OneCard and can only pick up their own tickets. Ticket pickup hours are daily from noon to 8 pm, starting Thursday, May 21, 2026, through Saturday, May 23, 2026.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available via livestream. Live captioning (CART services) will be available on two large screens flanking the ceremony stage and via livestream. Assistive listening devices, which include headphones, are available for borrowing for the duration of the ceremony.

Guests can fill out the Guest Access and Accommodations form to share requests for in-person ASL support or an assistive listening device. Graduates can fill out the Graduate Access and Accommodations form. If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please feel free to contact us at commencement@mtholyoke.edu. Tablets and devices will be available for pick up at the Information Tent on Pageant Green located near the entrance to the Art Building.

Live language translation services for Spanish and Mandarin will be available, and anyone interested in accessing them should email commencement@mthoyoke.edu.