Congratulations
to the Class of 2025!
Date and Location
We are delighted to announce that Commencement ("graduation") will take place this year at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in midtown Manhattan. It is a beautiful venue and a perfect setting to celebrate this important milestone in our students’ lives.
Thursday, June 12
Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas)
Between W. 50th and W. 51st Streets
New York, NY 10020
Directions to Radio City Music Hall are available here.
Parking is not available at the venue. There are paid parking garages nearby that you may consider. However, we strongly encourage everyone to use mass transit as midtown Manhattan vehicle traffic can be very intense.
Registering for Graduation
Students are required to complete a registration form if they plan to walk at graduation. That is how we will know to save guest tickets for you.
The link to the form was emailed to all students eligible to walk at Commencement this year. Please check your Monroe email.
Please contact graduation@monroeu.edu if you need assistance.
Who Walks in June?
Students who completed their studies in the Fall 2024 or Winter 2025 semester, as well as those who will do so in the Spring 2025 semester will participate at Commencement on June 12th.
Our "August Grads" -- those completing their degree requirements during the Spring semester -- will walk at Commencement and hear their name called just like the other grads. Understandably, they will not receive their diploma nor have program completion reflected on their transcript until all degree requirements are met. (See below for more information about diplomas.)
Those finishing their studies in the Fall 2025 semester will participate in next year's Commencement (June 2026).
Our St. Lucia campus graduates will be celebrated at a separate Commencement there in October.
Ordering Your Cap and Gown
Graduates participating in Commencement are required to wear a cap and gown (and hood, if appropriate) purchased through our vendor, Oak Hall.
Monday, May 12th, was the last day to purchase your cap and gown.
If you missed the deadline, please contact graduation@monroeu.edu for further assistance.
Guest Tickets
All graduates and guests wishing to attend Commencement are required by Radio City Music Hall to have a ticket. This includes children aged two and above. Unfortunately, we cannot issue any exemptions to that requirement.
Babies and toddlers under two years old do not need a ticket, but they are required to stay on a guest's lap if they don't have one.
Graduates will receive three guest tickets and one ticket for themself to enter the venue, for a total of four tickets. DO NOT GIVE THAT FOURTH TICKET TO A GUEST. The venue will not let you in without a ticket.
The tickets will be electronic ones (not paper) and there is no cost to you for them. We will explain in late May how the ticketing will work.
Two Ceremonies
There will be two separate ceremonies held on June 12th to accommodate our sizable graduating class and graduates’ guests. One will be held at 10:00 am and the other at 3:00 pm.
Graduates are assigned to attend a specific ceremony. The assignments will be announced in May.
Undergraduate students (those earning an Associate or Bachelor's degree) are assigned to a ceremony according to the academic school that coincides with their major. (For example, all undergraduate majors within the School of Criminal and Social Justice will walk together at a specific ceremony).
Graduate students (those affiliated with King Graduate School) will all walk together regardless of their major.
Receiving Your Diploma
We do not distribute diplomas at Commencement. Instead, they you will receive a diploma cover, which looks terrific in the photos taken on stage.
The actual diploma will be mailed out to graduates approximately two months after their final semester. The extra time is needed to confirm the credentials and print those beautiful documents.
Commencement Rehearsal
There will not be a rehearsal prior to Commencement.
Don't worry -- we will let you know where to go and what to do on your big day! You'll be absolutely fine without a practice run.
Family Members Graduating Together
President Jerome will be giving a “shout out” during his Commencement remarks to family members graduating together from Monroe.
If you are graduating with your husband, wife, father, brother, sister, grandmother, uncle, cousin – or anyone in your family – and want to be included, please email graduation@monroeu.edu with the following information:
- Your names
- Your relationship to each other
- Degree types and majors
For example:
- Mary Frank and Rhonda Wright (cousins)
- Mary (Bachelor’s in Human Services)
- Rhonda (Associates in Criminal Justice)
Graduation Pictures
We do not have any plans at this time for formal portrait sittings on campus.
However, there will be an opportunity to pose for a photo at Radio City Music Hall and as part of Student Activities’ graduation-related programming later this spring. Details will be announced later this spring.
Keep watching your University email for updates!
No Classes on June 12
In keeping with our Commencement tradition, classes will not be held on Thursday, June 12th.
University offices remain open.
Order Your Class Ring
A class ring is a wonderful way to remember your time at Monroe.
Balfour is our official class ring jeweler and they have some lovely designs to fit nearly any taste and budget.
Balfour is on campus in the Fall and Winter semesters to speak with students interested in purchasing a class ring. They were just here in early March. We will post new dates here as scheduled.
Class rings are also available for purchase online here. When asked for our college representative's number, please specify 1528.
Please feel free to reach out to Tina Stenman, our Balfour representative, directly at tina.stenman@balfour.com with any questions about the class rings or to order one.