Graduating doctoral students should ensure they have completed the essential steps to participate in Commencement weekend listed on the Receiving Your Graduate Degree webpage on the Graduate School website.

Regalia (cap or tam, gown and hood) must be worn for the Procession and Commencement ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday. Commissioning students and those with military service have the option to wear formal military attire in place of the cap and gown if they so choose and if permitted according to their status with the military. More information regarding the purchase and rental of regalia is available on the Brown Bookstore website.

Registration details for the Doctoral Ceremony will be announced in early 2027.

Guidance for International Guests

International students who want to invite family members to attend Commencement can find information about obtaining a visitor visa on the International Student and Scholar Services website.

Details about Procession lineup will be provided a few weeks before Commencement.

The doctoral division will process through the Van Wickle Gates and follow the Procession route to Pembroke Field for the Doctoral Ceremony. 

Guests of graduating doctoral students should find their seats on Pembroke Field before the Procession begins, to watch via livestream. This will ensure guests can enjoy all the important moments from both the Procession and the Doctoral Ceremony. 

After the ceremony, graduates and their guests are invited to the College Green for the University Ceremony. Seating is limited, and specific seating is reserved only for students. Guests are welcome to watch the University Ceremony from other livestream viewing locations.

The Doctoral Ceremony celebrates the academic achievements of those graduating from Brown University doctoral programs. The order of events during the ceremony is:

• National Anthem
• Invocation
• Doctoral student speaker
• Awards presentation
• Conferral of degrees
• Benediction
• Alma Mater

In the weeks before Commencement, the Graduate School will provide detailed instructions to help graduating doctoral students prepare to participate in the Doctoral Ceremony.

Graduating students who require accessibility accommodations for Commencement should contact Student Accessibility Services at 401-863-9588 or SAS@brown.edu as soon as possible.

Guests of graduating students who require accessibility accommodations for Commencement should complete the Guest Accessibility Accommodation Request Form when it is made available in early spring.

Visit the Accessibility Accommodations page for additional information.

Graduate slides with the name, degree and program of the graduating student display on a screen when their name is called during the Doctoral Ceremony. A second version of the slide, with an optional photo and dissertation, can also be shared or downloaded through the virtual ceremony webpage. Students must submit slide information through the Tassel platform when they complete their ceremony registration.

Graduating doctoral students must register with GradImages in advance to receive photos taken during the ceremony. Students will receive proofs of both on- and off-stage poses. They will receive one free photo and can purchase additional photos through the GradImages website.