Guidelines for Harvard Commencement Day

An update from the Commencement Office

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Morning Exercises

Degree candidates will receive a set number of tickets. Parents and guests must have tickets to enter Tercentenary Theatre. Seating is limited, not guaranteed, and cannot be reserved; there is standing room on the Widener steps and at the rear and sides of the Theatre. The sale of Commencement tickets is prohibited. For details, visit https://commencement.harvard.edu.

  • A limited supply of tickets will be made available to all other alumni/ae on a first-come, first-served basis through the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) at https://alumni.harvard.edu/annualmeeting.
  • Alumni/ae and guests are urged to view the Morning Exercises on large-screen televisions in the Science Center and at most of the undergraduate Houses and professional schools. These locations have ample seating, and tickets are not required.
  • Alumni/ae attending their College reunions (25th, 35th, 50th) will receive tickets at their reunions. Alumni/ae in classes beyond the 50th may obtain tickets from the HAA by calling 617-496-7001, or through the annual Tree Spread mailing sent out in March (RSVP by April 15).

Afternoon Program

The HAA’s Annual Meeting, which includes remarks by the president of the HAA, Overseer and HAA election results, the presentation of the Harvard Medals, and remarks by President Drew Gilpin Faust and the Commencement speaker, convenes in Tercentenary Theatre on Commencement afternoon at 2:30 p.m. For tickets (which are required, but free), visit https://alumni.harvard.edu/annualmeeting, or call 617-496-7001.

~The Commencement Office

You might also like

Harvard Commencement 2025

Harvard passes a test of its values, yet challenges loom.

Alumni Cheer on Harvard

At Alumni Day, ringing endorsements of Harvard’s fight

Paula Johnson at Harvard Medical School Convocation

Amid distrust of science, Paula Johnson tells medical and dental graduates to be “citizen-physicians.”

Most popular

Is the Constitution Broken?

Harvard legal scholars debate the state of our founding national document.

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

Harvard Students, Alumna Named Rhodes and Marshall Scholars

Nine Rhodes and five Marshall scholars will study in the U.K. in 2026.

Explore More From Current Issue

A jubilant graduate shouts into a megaphone, surrounded by a cheering crowd.

For Campus Speech, Civility is a Cultural Practice

A former Harvard College dean reviews Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber’s book Terms of Respect.

A silhouette of a person stands before glowing domes in a red, rocky landscape at sunset.

Getting to Mars (for Real)

Humans have been dreaming of living on the Red Planet for decades. Harvard researchers are on the case.

Four men in a small boat struggle with rough water, one lying down and others watching.

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.