Students will receive instructions from the Office of the Registrar on when and how to apply. A degree audit will be reviewed for applicants during their seventh and eighth terms.

No. Berea College students are not charged a graduation fee.

The diploma name should match the legal first and last name on file with Berea College. You can add, remove, or abbreviate your middle name as necessary.

Berea College currently confers degrees three times per year. The degree conferral date signifies that all degree requirements were met by the conferral date and is listed on the academic transcript and on the diploma. Below are the current conferral dates.

May 15

August 15

December 20

The final graduation confirmation process can take several weeks. Graduates should expect their diplomas to be available for mailing or pick-up 6-8 weeks after degree conferral.

The current size of a diploma is 8.5×11 inches. Students are provided a diploma cover at the Commencement or Mid-Year Recognition Service.

An online order form was sent through email to all eligible candidates from the Signature Events office. You can pick up your cap and gown at Grad Fest, Friday, March 27, 2026 between the hours of 9am-6pm in Baird Lounge.

To be formally recognized as graduating with honors, students must have received the following cumulative GPA as of the end of the graduating term (the cumulative GPA achieved in the previous term will be used in the program since the final term grades have not yet been finalized at that time). The traditional Latin used to designate candidates graduating with honors is interpreted as follows:
Summa cum laude — with highest honors (GPA 3.9 and higher)
Magna cum laude — with high honors (GPA 3.75-3.899)
Cum laude — with honors (GPA 3.6-3.749)

Yes. Children cannot sit with the graduating class, however, so you need to arrange for someone to meet you with your child on the way up to the stage and for someone to take the child back with them as you exit the stage.

Tickets are required for the May Commencement ceremony. Tickets are not currently required for the December Commencement.

The ticketing system was implemented because of growing attendance numbers at our Commencement ceremonies in recent years, which have pushed us beyond the building capacity regulations set by the city’s Fire Marshal (who has the authority to close down an event if those regulations are not followed).

Consequently, there have been guests of graduates who, after traveling to Berea with the expectation of seeing their student graduate, were not able to attend the ceremony. After considering moving to other possible venues, including off-campus and outdoor venues, it was determined that the Seabury Center remains the largest and most appropriate facility in the immediate area to hold the ceremony. Therefore, we have implemented a ticketing system in order to guarantee that all of our graduates have an equal opportunity for guaranteed seats for a set number of guests, while also ensuring we can adhere to the capacity limits of the arena.

Graduating students will be able to claim 7 (seven) main arena tickets and overflow tickets if needed. Only students who have applied for graduation and who have been approved to graduate will be able to claim their tickets when the system opens.

Important Notes:

• Each unique ticket will have a specific section, row, and seat number assigned to it so that your family and guests know exactly where to go (ushers will be available to assist).
• Only one copy of each ticket will work upon arrival to Seabury Arena. The first ticket to be scanned will be granted entry. Any additional duplicate copies will not work.
• Tickets are not for sale. Students found to be selling tickets will be subject to disciplinary action by the College.
• It is important to note that there is no way to make this event perfectly safe for all attendees, especially those who are not vaccinated.

No. Graduates will not need tickets. They will be checked in during the procession line-up.

Yes (tickets also required due to building capacity regulations). Students will also have the chance to claim overflow general seating tickets before the rest of the campus community. Overflow seating for additional guests will be available in the Seabury TR-1 and TR-2 Classrooms that will live stream the ceremony. Any unclaimed overflow tickets (if available) will be available at the campus side overflow entrance for walk-ins.

Students will have additional opportunities to claim extra tickets should they become available. Students who do not need their entire allocation will have the option to donate tickets into a pool for other students to claim, and any unclaimed tickets by the deadline will also be put into that pool to be claimed on a first-come, first-served basis. To be as equitable as possible, there will be a limit on the number of extra tickets graduates can claim based on available extras.

Yes, there is limited accessible seating available as well as seating that is specifically reserved for guests who need to remain confined to a wheelchair or scooter. For May Commencement, you will have the opportunity to claim a limited number of accessible seating tickets as part of your 8-ticket allocation. If you need more accessible tickets than what is displayed when you go in to claim your allocation, you can contact Kristin Dalessio at dalessiok@berea.edu or call 859-985-3189 to see if additional accessible seating is available. Note: Due to limited spacing, we cannot guarantee that guests using accessible seating will be able to be seated near the rest of the guests, however, we allow up to one escort to accompany your guest in the accessible seating (they will need a ticket reserved in that area as well).

The Commencement Coordinator will send out an email to all graduates letting them know when the system is officially open. Don’t worry — you’re guaranteed to have 8 main arena tickets waiting to be claimed only by you, and you’ll have a certain amount of time to claim them. When the ticketing system opens,  you will be able to login to your myBerea and claim tickets from there as long as you’re approved to graduate. The claiming process is very similar to how you would select an online airline, concert or sporting event ticket.

Children under age 3 who will be sitting in a lap during the entire ceremony do not require a ticket. If the child needs a seat of his or her own, they will need a ticket. Please note that due to fire regulations, strollers cannot be in the aisles during the ceremony. Ushers will store them during the ceremony to be picked up afterward.

You will be able to choose your seats to be seated together when you go in to claim your tickets. If you are able to claim extra tickets above your original allocation, it cannot be guaranteed that the extra seats will be seated in the same area as your original group of seats.

Seats are guaranteed, but before claiming your allocation, please confirm that your guests plan to attend. If you find out that a guest or guests can no longer attend, we ask that you donate the ticket or tickets back into the pool for another student to use as soon as possible so that we are able to use every seat available in the arena.

Your ticket allocation is yours to do with as you wish, so anyone you choose can be your guest(s). However, all attendees must have a ticket, so if you wish to use tickets out of your allocation to invite friends, that is permitted. Please note that faculty members and labor supervisors of graduating seniors will already have tickets since they are seated on the floor across from the graduating class.

You will be able to print out your tickets at any time by logging into the ticketing system as long as you are on the eligible graduate list. Tickets can also be e-mailed to family members and it is highly recommended that they print them out and bring them as well. We ask that your guests have their printed tickets in hand when coming into Seabury Arena, because they will have their ticket scanned in order to enter. Staff will be stationed around the arena to assist with any issues.

The “Baccalaureate” service is, basically, a worship service offered by a school for its graduating class and their families and friends.   Because the religious inclinations of the graduates will likely vary, these days the service is very inclusive.  At Berea College, Baccalaureate is lively, musical and, we hope, inspiring.  The service lasts just over an hour.

The baccalaureate comes from the early years of higher education when the bachelor’s degree was called “the baccalaureate.”   It is believed that, during the 15^th century, Oxford University established a tradition of sending their graduates off through a (very) long service that included sermons offered in Latin.  When this tradition was carried to the United States the ceremony was changed, with the distinctly religious aspects of the ceremony encompassed in a service before Commencement.  That service came to be called “Baccalaureate.”   The word began as baccalaureus, (bachelor), and was altered to bacca lauri, (laurel berry) to mirror the bay tree leaves that were woven into crowns to be placed on the heads of scholars.

The purpose of the service is to express gratitude.  By the time students arrive at Baccalaureate they have completed an immense volume of work, and have encountered and triumphed over countless academic, social, financial and other challenges.   They have made friends, may have fallen in love (sometimes more than once!), and have become better acquainted with themselves.  At the same time, their professors have given their very best in helping to guide them in that journey.  Countless members of the staff, including the labor supervisors, have played roles in making the Great Day possible.  And, finally, their families and friends have helped in every way they could, including holding the almost-graduates in prayer.  Let it never happen that Commencement Day arrives at Berea College without us having, first, expressed our gratitude.