Family & Friends

Class of 2023 Commencement exercises will be held under the tent on the Quadrangle.

• Graduate Commencement Ceremony: Thursday, May 11, 5 to 7 pm  
   
• Undergradaute Commencement Ceremony: Saturday, May 13, 10 am to 2 pm

We strongly suggest you arrive early (on Thursday by 3:30 pm, and Saturday by 8:30 am). The length of the ceremonies is determined by the number of participating graduating students.

Please plan to arrive early to give you enough time to park, get to the Quad, and find seating.

Here is a message each graduating student received about Commencement.

Ticketing information: This information will be refined over the spring semester. 

• Tickets are only required for the Undergraduate Ceremony.
• Each student who RSVP’d for the ceremony will receive their dedicated tickets for their guests. 
• Parents -- Please help us remind your student that they MUST sign-up for tickets if they wish to have guests in the tented audience. 
• In past years, the maximum number of tickets available to a student has been 4; we anticipate this maximum to continue this year.
• Tickets will be sent to the e-mail address identified by the student. Each seat may have a single guest seated in that location.
• Tickets will be scanned at the drop-off sites and are required to access the Quad.

See our pages for additional information about Accessibility and Parking.

The Commencement parking (PDF) has information about where to park, timing for parking, and accessible entrances and parking places.

• All ceremonies will be live-streamed via the WPI website. Ceremony length is dependent upon how many graduates participate. 
• Please see this map for the entrances to the tented seating area. We ask that guests not congregate around the tent, due to noise interfering with the ceremony.  
• Restrooms will be available in Harrington Auditorium (adjacent to the Quad) and the Recreation Center. During student line-up, the Harrington restrooms are unavailable until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Recreation Center, Innovation Studio and Rubin Campus Center rest rooms are available. 
• Seating on the Quad will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, and 7:15 a.m. on Saturday. Guests must be seated at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony so as to not interfere with the student processional entering the Quad area (i.e. by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday or 9:30 a.m. on Saturday). We recommend you arrive by at least 3:30 pm on Thursday and 8:30 am on Saturday!
• Please use every seat (i.e. do not leave a space between guests), and we ask that guests remain seated once their ceremony begins. 
• Auxiliary seating areas are available for guests without tickets. Olin 107 seating requires that a mask be worn at all times. The Rubin Campus Center, The Innovation Studio, and Higgins Labs 116 & 218 are other auxiliary viewing locations. 

WPI provides an open network for all Commencement attendees. Please connect to the "Commencement2023" network for your Internet needs.

Please note: these basic guidelines are continuously being monitored and adjusted. They may change as our planning changes. 

• WPI strongly encourages everyone attending to be vaccinated/boosted or have a negative COVID-19 test taken within 24 hours of the event. Masks are welcome and strongly encouraged yet not required on campus. WPI encourages everyone to respect the choices that individuals make about their own masking. 
• WPI also expects that guests will not come to campus with symptoms or having recently tested positive for COVID-19. 

We thank you for supporting the safety and welfare of our campus community.

Please note: these basic guidelines are continuously being monitored and adjusted. They may change as our planning changes. 

• Strollers are NOT permitted under the tent, due to the tight seating.
• As is usual at our Commencement Exercises, we appreciate your understanding as our security personnel will be conducting random checks of camera bags, backpacks, and other large items on Commencement day.
• WPI uses a text alert system for emergency notifications. If you’d like to opt in to this text system for Commencement, text WPIGRAD23 to CAMPUS (226787). Should there be an emergency, you’ll receive a text from WPI Alerts. Your opt-in will automatically expire Sunday, May 14.
• Please read the Campus Police safety message.

We know that parents and students want to get a great photo as they cross the stage. We've taken care of this; each graduate will receive a digital photo compliments of WPI. The photo will be taken as the student receives their diploma from the President, and will be sent to each students WPI e-mail account in late may from Island Photography.  

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