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.

As of Thursday, May 21, 2026 this year’s ceremony has been moved to the Kendall Sports & Dance Complex Field House. Therefore, students will now receive four guest tickets (not five) due to the smaller capacity of the Field House.

Additionally, air-conditioned livestream viewing locations will be available in the Blanchard Community Center (the Great Room or Room 227b), as well as the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center (Morrison Room) and Gamble Auditorium. Tickets are not required for these locations.

Please note that the Field House in Kendall Sports & Dance Complex is not air-conditioned.

Due to Sunday’s forecasted inclement weather, Mount Holyoke College’s one hundred eighty-ninth Commencement ceremony will be moved indoors to the Field House at the Kendall Sports & Dance Complex to ensure the safety of attendees and an enjoyable, memorable experience for our graduates.

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.

Each graduate will now have four tickets instead of five for their guests. Guests without a ticket can watch the ceremony via livestream at one of our air-conditioned on-campus viewing stations: the Great Room or Room 227b in the Community Center, the Morrison Room in the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center and Gamble Auditorium.

Please note that the Field House in Kendall Sports & Dance Complex is not air-conditioned.

The College will 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 and Gamble Auditorium in the Art Building.

Guest parking for Commencement will be in the parking lots at 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 Morgan Street parking lots. The Kendall lot will be reserved for accessible parking only. There will be shuttle pickup and drop-off at the MHC Art Museum and the Kendall, Torrey, Mary Lyon, Morgan Street, Observatory, Ham/MacGregor, Gorse, Equestrian Center 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.

As of Thursday, May 21, 2026 this year’s ceremony will now be indoors at the Kendall Sports & Dance Complex Field House. The procession for faculty and graduates is as follows: faculty will proceed from the Dance Studios, graduate and undergraduate students from Howard Gymnasium and the platform party from the Streeter Lounge.

The rehearsal for Commencement will take place on Friday, May 22. Graduates will meet in the Field House in Kendall at 9 am and should be prepared for the rehearsal to last until noon. The practice lineup will be in Howard. Students will practice marching from Howard to the Field House. Additionally, there will be a run-through of the calling of names, and there will be opportunities to advise on any changes to name pronunciations. The group will also practice recessing. Immediately following the Commencement rehearsal, students will proceed to Mary Lyon’s Grave 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 just outside the entrance to Kendall Sports & Dance Complex.

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