Smiling graduate waits for her name to b called during commencement.
illustration of yellow rolling hills

Commencement

Spring 2026 Commencement

It’s time to celebrate our graduating students and their achievements at the University of Northern Colorado. Whether you’re a graduate, guest or faculty member, find all you need to know to be prepared for commencement, including a full schedule of ceremonies, programs, parking information and more.

A graphical text treatment that reads "Congrats Grads!"

Schedule of Ceremonies

  1. Friday, December 12: Graduate Commencement
    1. 6:00 p.m.
      • Doctoral, Specialist and Master’s students
  2. Saturday, December 13: Undergraduate Commencement
    1. 9:00 a.m.
      • Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business
      • College of Natural and Health Sciences
      • College of Performing and Visual Arts
    2. 12:30 p.m.
      • College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
      • College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Must Know Info

  • All Ceremonies are held in the Bank of Colorado Arena.
  • Doors open one hour prior to each ceremony. The west entrance, directly off the main parking lot, closes 15 minutes prior to each ceremony. Guests will then be directed to the north entrance.
  • ALL guest entrance doors close at the start of the ceremony for the graduate processional. Late guests will wait in the lobby or in the security area until it’s finished–arrive early to make sure you see your graduate enter.
  • Guest tickets are required. Visit the ticket section for more info.
  • Accessible seating is available for all ceremonies, with the first row of arena seating reserved for mobility access.
  • ASL interpretation and mobile device closed captioning is available at all UNC commencement ceremonies.
  • Spanish interpretation is available at all ceremonies. Listening devices can be checked out inside the arena.
  • Family-friendly and sensory-friendly spaces with livestream are available off the north lobby.

Spring 2025 Ceremony Recap (Fall 2025 Recap Coming Soon)

Commencement Gallery

Doctoral student smiles at her commencement ceremony.
Graduate takes a selfie with his diploma at commencement.
Graduate wearing a flower necklace smiles at commencement.
Graduate raise his diploma and fist above his head in celebration at commencement.

Tickets

Tickets are required for entry.

Tickets are required for guests to attend the Commencement Ceremonies. Graduating students do not require a ticket. Tickets are assigned to specific ceremonies, are general admission and valid for one guest per ticket. Tickets are issued at no charge and sale of tickets is prohibited. Tickets will be distributed to graduates electronically via BearMail accounts. Guests must obtain tickets from their graduates in advance of the ceremony.

Tickets will not be available at the ceremony entrance door.

Graphic illustration of tickets for commencement.

Requesting Tickets 

  • In order to request tickets, a student must first submit their application and be approved for graduation. Students who are eligible to graduate this semester, will receive an email with application instructions from the Registrar (undergraduate students) or the Graduate School (graduate students).
  • Graduating students may submit a request to claim UP TO 6 TICKETS prior to the initial ticket request deadline.
  • We have implemented a new system for commencement ticketing. Instructions for requesting tickets will be emailed to students at 5 p.m. on February 28. After the initial ticket request deadline, availability of additional tickets will be determined based on the total number of tickets requested compared to the seating capacity of the venue.
  • Students who are approved for graduation after the ticket deadline will still need to request tickets through the link they receive in their BearMail. While UNC will make every effort to ensure ticket availability for all graduating students, guest tickets cannot be guaranteed if requested after the initial deadline.
  • If additional tickets are available following the initial ticket request deadline, graduating students will receive an email with instructions for requesting additional tickets and the total tickets remaining for their ceremony. Additional tickets may be requested until all remaining tickets are claimed.
  • For students who are approved for graduation after the initial ticket deadline, they will receive a ticket request email when their application is reported as approved from Registrar/Graduate School to University Events. Once the student information is uploaded, the student will receive a confirmation email from the ticketing system.
  • Graduating students will receive an email when there are no remaining tickets available for their ceremony.

Accessing Tickets

Students who have been approved to graduate will receive ceremony ticket information when their data is uploaded into the ticketing system. This will occur by the end of the following business day after it is received by University Events from Registrar/Graduate School. The email will include instructions to create an account and claim their guest tickets.

Please visit the Commencement FAQ page for more details.

Ticketing Timeline

  • February 28: Ticket request details emailed at 5 p.m. to students who have applied for graduation. 
  • March 31: Deadline at 11:59 p.m. MDT for ticket request with initial allotment of up to 6 tickets/graduating student.
  • April 1: Availability of additional tickets emailed at 5 p.m. MDT to students who have applied for graduation. (Dependent upon number of tickets requested by Monday, March 31 deadline.) 
  • May 1: If a final allotment of tickets remainsavailable, this will be emailed at 5 p.m. MDT to students who have been approved for graduation. (Dependent upon number of tickets requested by April 30.)  This potential final allotment is not guaranteed.
    • Graduate Ceremony
      • Up to 2 additional tickets (10 total), based on availability
    • Undergraduate Ceremonies
      • 9 a.m. HSS/MCB: Up to 1 additional ticket (9 total), based on availability
      • 12:30 p.m. EBS/PVA: Up to 2 additional tickets (11 total), based on availability
      • 3:30 p.m. NHS: Up to 2 additional tickets (11 total), based on availability
  • May 9: Final ticket request deadline at Noon MDT, based on ticket availability.

Additional Questions

Visit the FAQ page for answers to additional information about security, weather, where to stay in Greeley, and other questions.

For Students

For Non-students

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Spring 2026 Commencement

Ceremony Dates and Details

Save the date for Spring 2026 Commencement on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9, 2026! Ceremony times and ticket details will be posted near the beginning of the Spring semester.