Information for Graduates

Eligibility to Participate

Any student that meets all requirements below is eligible to participate in the Certificate Graduation Ceremony:

1. Completed or will be completing a Certificate program from UCLA Extension. View eligible certificate programs. Specializations and Boot Camps are not eligible for participation.
2. Completed or will be completing a Certificate program from UCLA Extension anytime between Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, or Summer 2025 (completing by September 2025).

A Note on Receiving Your Academic Credentials
Students will not receive their physical Certificates during the ceremony. Once you have completed your certificate requirements, please follow the steps to receive your certificate.

How to Participate: Student Checklist

Before you register for the Certificate Graduation Ceremony, please make sure you complete the following.

Step 1: Confirm Graduation Eligibility

Are you unsure if you are on track to complete your certificate requirements before September 2025?

You may use the My Certificates and Specializations link on your Student Portal to help you monitor your academic progress.

Your Academic Advisor or Program Representative can also help guide you to confirm that you are on track to complete your total certificate requirements. For a list of program representatives, visit the Contact UCLA Extension page and select from the Academic Program Departments drop-down.

If you are an international student, please make an appointment to meet with the International Student Services office for questions about your F-1 visa, CPT, and OPT requirements.

Step 2: Register to Participate

Once you have confirmed that you are eligible to participate, please register to participate in the Certificate Graduation Ceremony.

Please note that you will be requesting tickets for yourself AND your guests. To allow all of our graduates to share this moment with their loved ones, please only request the number of complimentary guest tickets you know you will need. Each graduate can claim up to twelve (12) complimentary guest tickets.

Registration opens on April 1, 2025. Details will be provided as they become available.

Learn More

Step 3: Receive Attendance Confirmation

After providing your information on the registration page, you will receive a confirmation email from UCLA Extension that we have received your registration form. eTickets will not be emailed at this time.

eTickets will be emailed to you directly from the UCLA Central Ticket Office (CTO) in late May.

Step 4: Transfer Guest Tickets

Once the Central Ticket Office (CTO) has emailed you with your requested tickets in late May, you will then be able to transfer your guest tickets to your guests and loved ones. Instructions on how to do so are below:

How to Claim Your Tickets

How to Transfer Tickets

Graduation Day Schedule

12:00-1:00pm - Arrivals

• Graduates check-in at Pauley Pavilion | Tennis Courts
• Guests are seated separately
• Guest seating begins at 1:00pm

1:00pm - Guest Seating in Pauley Pavilion

• Pauley Pavilion doors open - Guests are seated

2:00pm - Ceremony Begins

Graduates, please arrive no later than 1:00pm to line-up for procession. Procession from the line-up area will begin at 1:45pm.
(Failure to arrive on time will result in you being seated at random, not in the same section as your academic program).

• The celebration will feature remarks by Dean Eric A. Bullard, a keynote address, and graduate names are announced as they cross the Pauley Pavilion stage.
• Graduates will be ushered from their seats to the stage, they will hand a card with their name to the announcer and cross the stage.
• Upon exiting the stage, graduates will return to their seats.

Out of courtesy to all attendees, we ask that all students and guests remain in their seats for the entire program.

4:30pm - Ceremony Ends

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Filming notice: This event will be recorded and live-streamed on the UCLA Extension YouTube Channel

Parking for Graduation

Graduates and Guests may park in Parking Structure 7 and Parking Structure 4.

Parking Permits will be made available at the end of May 2025. Please obtain a parking permit in advance via the Bruin ePermit system.

You will find the ePermits listed as “UNEX Graduation Ceremony 2025” under the “UCLA Commencement” category.

Your license plate is your permit and the permit costs $15/vehicle.

More information on Graduation Parking and Lodging

Graduation Day Check-In

Graduate check-in will be located at the Tennis Courts. Please arrive NO LATER than 1:00pm.

All graduates will be entering the venue together in a processional to celebrate you as you find your seats. With the help of our UCLA Extension staff, you will all be grouped in Pauley Pavilion by your Academic Department. Your guests will be checking in and entering at Pauley Pavilion directly. Please see the map attached for directions.

Guests, graduates, faculty, and staff must go through a magnetometer security check upon entering any venue. Everyone must have a ticket, whether you are a Graduate or a Guest.

A clear bag policy will be enforced during Commencement Weekend at Pauley Pavilion. Graduates are not allowed any large bags. Graduates may bring clear bags smaller than 4.5″ x 6.5.” All bags are subject to inspection.

For a list of prohibited and allowable items into the Pauley Pavilion, please click here.

Upon completing security check, you will find our registration table with our UCLA Extension staff. Please check-in by Last Name to receive your Name Reader Card that will be pre-printed with the information your provided on your registration form. You will be handing this card to the Name Reader who will announce your name on stage as you cross.

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Note: You will not be receiving your Certificate on stage on this day. Once you have completed your certificate program requirements, follow these steps to receive your printed certificate. For questions regarding your physical certificate, email studentrecords@uclaextension.edu.

International Student Information

Visitor Visa Information

If your family wishes to seek a U.S. visitor visa (B-2) to join you to celebrate your graduation, they should visit the U.S. State Department Website and follow the instructions on how to apply. 

Please note that International Student Services at UCLA Extension does not provide a support letter for this visa application as it is not taken into consideration as part of the application process by U.S. Consular Officers.

We encourage your family members to apply early as wait-times around the globe for visitor visas can vary greatly.

Program Completion Considerations

As you work towards completing your final coursework for your certificate program, please be sure to contact your academic advisor to ensure that you have met all certificate completion requirements. It is critical that you complete your program to be awarded your certificate. 

Also, please be sure to make an appointment with your International Student Services advisor to indicate that you are planning to complete your program. Your advisor will update your Form I-20 to reflect your actual program end date, which will coincide with the last day of classes for the quarter in which you are completing your program.

If you have applied, or are planning to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), please make sure that you’ve done so before departing the U.S. If you depart the U.S. after your actual program end date without having submitted an OPT application, your F-1 status will end upon departure, and you will forfeit your ability to apply for OPT if you are eligible.

If you are not planning to apply for OPT, you will have a 60-day grace period in which to do the following:

• Apply for a new academic program at another U.S. institution, or UCLA Extension (before the application deadline)
• Apply for a change of status to a different visa category
• Plan for your departure from the U.S.

If you depart the U.S. at any point during your 60-day grace period following your program end date, your F-1 visa status ends. Please take this into consideration if you are planning any holiday travel after the quarter ends, and before the graduation ceremony.

If you do plan to depart the U.S. and return home, there is nothing more you need to do as it relates to your F-1 immigration status. It will complete upon your departure. If you wish to reenter the U.S. in the future, you will need to seek a new visa status.