The ticketing system for Commencement and Reunion involves a combination of wristbands, traditional tickets and access badges, based on the nature of access-control measures best suited to each event. Graduating students who plan to participate in any of the ceremonies listed below, or plan to access the College Green area during the weekend, need a smart wristband to serve as their ticket for access. Wristbands are nontransferable and must be registered and printed by the graduating student (see information about the special printing of wristbands at designated locations in the How to Print Wristbands section of this webpage).

Any guest who will be joining a graduating student for these events, or watching via livestream at designated viewing locations, also needs their own wristband:

• Baccalaureate
• Master’s Ceremony
• University Procession
• Doctoral Ceremony
• College Ceremony
• University Ceremony

Some Commencement and Reunion Weekend events require additional tickets, including Campus Dance on Friday and the Warren Alpert Medical School Ceremony on Sunday, as well as some departmental ceremonies. Graduating students should consult with their departments to learn what the ticketing requirements are for those events.

Before registering for smart wristbands, graduating students should finalize their guest list as much as possible. Anyone who plans to attend Commencement events in support of a graduating student — including current students, family and friends — is considered a guest and needs a wristband.

Students are encouraged to request no more than eight wristbands to help manage crowd size and maintain equity. (Graduating students may register for the number of wristbands they need if they have a greater number of guests who already have made arrangements to attend.)

Students will need their Brown SSO login name and password to register for wristbands for themselves and their guests.

This section is for graduating students. Brown faculty and staff members, nongraduating students and vendors working Commencement and Reunion Weekend will receive separate access bands and badges for event locations, depending on their roles. Faculty will continue to RSVP for Commencement activities in the same way they have done in the past and will receive separate communications in the coming weeks.

1. Graduating students must log in to the registration website using their Brown SSO login name and password.
2. Confirm that your first and last name is correct, enter your Brown email address and note your relationship to Brown as “Current Student.” Please note: This is the email address where you will be sent a confirmation with the QR code that you need to print the wristbands.
3. Provide the first and last name of each of your guests, including adults and children 5 years and older. When selecting your guest's relationship to Brown, please select the best fit. Please note that guests will not receive confirmation emails.
4. Select Saturday Brown Commencement Ceremonies if you will be attending either the Baccalaureate service or Master’s Ceremony on Saturday.
5. All graduating students and guests will be registered automatically for the Sunday Brown Commencement Ceremonies. This includes the University Procession or the College, Doctoral or University ceremonies on Sunday, and grants access to the College Green, Front Green and Simmons Quad areas throughout the weekend.
6. Select events for all of your guests. If they will be attending the same events as you (Saturday, Sunday or both), choose “Copy [Student Name]” under the guest name to copy your selections. Otherwise choose “Make Selections” and select the appropriate events for each guest. (If multiple guests will attend the same set of events that differ from yours, the portal also allows you to copy the selections for multiple guests, though each must still be separately registered.)
7. Review your event selections and registered guests, then scroll to the bottom of the page and select Continue to complete your wristband registration. While you can add new guests after submission, you cannot remove a guest once they are registered, so please confirm guests are able to attend before registering them. Smart wristbands are nontransferable.
8. Once you complete the process you will receive a confirmation email with a QR code that will be used to print your smart wristbands at designated times and locations. Only the graduating student will receive a confirmation email. Guests will not receive confirmation emails.

The “smart” wristbands serving as tickets for various ceremonies are scannable and made of a durable material intended for use throughout the weekend. They must be printed on designated machines in established printing locations.

Once students have completed their registration, they must bring the QR code from the confirmation email (printed or visible on a phone or other digital device) to one of the designated times and locations listed below. Students will scan their code and print wristbands for themselves and their guests. Students should keep wristbands in a secure location and distribute them to guests in advance of Commencement and Reunion Weekend, or before the first event they plan to attend.

Wristbands should be worn on both Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24, to provide access to the College Green, Front Green and Simmons Quad areas, and to key Commencement ceremonies. They serve as the ticket for access.

Wristband Printing Locations

Online and Hybrid Students

Graduating students in online and hybrid programs, as well as October and February graduates who may not be on campus prior to Commencement, may print their smart wristbands in the lobby of Page-Robinson Hall, 69 Brown St., on Friday, May 22 between noon and 5 p.m. or Saturday, May 23 beginning at 8 a.m.

Only graduating students may make changes to smart wristband registration, for themselves or their guests.

Shortly upon completing your registration, you will receive a confirmation email. Please wait up to 20 minutes after initial registration to make a change — your record may not be found immediately. If you need to add names to your guest list, click on the personalized link provided in your confirmation email.

You may only add new guests to your wristband registration. Once a guest is added and the wristband registration is processed, removals or swaps cannot be made through the registration website.

If one of your guests cannot attend, please update your wristband registration by emailing commencement@brown.edu (include “wristbands” in the subject line).

Graduating students and guests will need to show their smart wristbands to be scanned at entrances to the College Green, Front Green and Simmons Quad areas, and certain Commencement ceremonies and events.

Guest Services tables will be located outside the College Green area with staff members who can assist students and their guests with wristbands and other questions throughout the weekend.

Smart wristbands are for general admission only. Seating is available on a first-come basis. Families and guests are encouraged to arrive early as a group so they can find seats together.