May ceremonies
Baccalaureate Service and Rotunda Recessional
Friday, May 16, 2025, at 5 p.m.
McFarlin Auditorium
May Commencement
Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 8:30 a.m.
Moody Coliseum
The Baccalaureate Service is a nondenominational religious ceremony held the Friday evening before May Commencement. This small and intimate service features a special sermon for undergraduate candidates and their guests. The service lasts approximately one hour.
One of the University’s most symbolic traditions is Rotunda Passage, which includes both a processional and a recessional. The processional welcomes new undergraduate students to the University and is held the day before classes start. Students process through the back of Dallas Hall, through the rotunda and onto the Quad as new members of the SMU student body.
This tradition is concluded with the Rotunda Recessional following the Baccalaureate Service during Commencement Weekend. Undergraduate candidates, led by faculty and alumni marshals, march through the front doors of Dallas Hall, through the rotunda and around to the Quad. This is a symbolic departure from campus and serves as a welcome to the newest members of the SMU alumni family.
On Saturday morning, the All-University May Commencement assembles degree candidates from all of SMU’s schools and professional programs. The Commencement speaker will offer their congratulations to our newest class of graduates and the University president will confer degrees. Doctoral students (Ph.D., Ed.D., DE, and DLS) will receive recognition as they cross the stage. All other students receive individual recognition at their school/department ceremonies. At the conclusion of the ceremony, “Varsity” is played and a prayer is said for the new alumni.
Baccalaureate Service
Arrival and regalia: All undergraduate candidates should arrive by 4:30 p.m. in full regalia and take their seats in the auditorium. Learn more about regalia.
Tickets: An entry ticket is required for all candidates and guests in McFarlin. To request tickets, you must declare your intention to participate in the ceremony. If extra guest tickets become available, they will be distributed on the steps of McFarlin beginning at 4 p.m. on the day of the service. Learn more about tickets.
All-University Commencement
Arrival: All candidates should begin arriving to Moody Coliseum at 7:30 a.m. Arrival and procession line-up information will be communicated closer to the ceremony. Late admission will be denied, so arrive early to allow for security check and graduation day traffic.
Regalia: Arrive in full SMU regalia. No other adornments may be worn. Students without regalia or with altered mortarboards will be directed to the SMU bookstore to rent a cap and gown. Learn more about regalia.
Tickets: An entry ticket is required for all candidates and guests in Moody Coliseum. To request tickets, you must declare your intention to participate in the ceremony. Learn more about tickets.
Security: Leave bags, purses, coats and other personal belongings at home or in your car. There is no place to store these items during the ceremony. Please silence cell phones. Learn more about prohibited items.
Baccalaureate Ceremony
The ceremony is simulcast in the Hughes-Trigg Theater and a livestream will be available for those who can’t attend in person.
Alumni who are parents of graduating seniors are welcome to participate as marshals for Baccalaureate. Please contact Amy Thompson amythompson@smu.edu.
All-University Commencement
Arrival: Doors open at 7:30 a.m. All guests should plan to be seated by 8:20 a.m.
Tickets: An entry ticket is required for all guests in Moody Coliseum. Learn more about tickets.
Security: Leave bags, purses, coats and other personal belongings at home or in your car. There will be nowhere to store these items during the ceremony. Please silence cell phones. Learn more about prohibited items.
May breakfast
Prior to the ceremony, there will be a faculty breakfast beginning at 7:15 a.m. in Moody’s Miller Event Center, during which the Thomas W. Tunks Distinguished University Citizen Award will be presented. If you want to attend the breakfast, please RSVP by Friday, May 2. A plated breakfast is served. If a vegetarian option is preferred, please make this request when you email your RSVP.
All-University Commencement
Faculty planning to attend commencement are required to RSVP.
Participating faculty assemble in academic dress no later than 8 a.m. in the Miller Event Center in Moody Coliseum. The faculty entrance is located on the north side of the building on Binkley Avenue. You will pass through security. There will be signs and event staff on hand to direct you. At 8:50 a.m., the faculty marshal will line you up and lead you to the Moody floor for the procession. The procession will begin moving following the chief marshal’s signal to start the faculty march. You will make your way to your seats in the bleachers on the north side of the floor. Faculty remain standing until President Turner is seated. With respect to the removal of mortarboards, follow the lead of President Turner.
At the end of the ceremony, the Platform Party recesses first. Once President Turner has left the stage, the faculty recessional will begin. The faculty marshal will lead the faculty out through the northeast portal of the coliseum.
