Convocation

The 538th Convocation will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024. Convocation celebrates the accomplishments of graduates from Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters of the 2023-24 academic year, as well as providing an opportunity for the University community – and that of the Division of the Social Sciences – to come together.

Degree candidates from the various graduate programs in the Division of the Social Sciences may attend any of the day’s events:

9:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. University-wide convocation
Main Quadrangle
Tickets are not required for the University-wide convocation, and seating is on a first-come basis. Seating opens at 7:00 a.m., and guests must enter through the gates at 58th Street and Ellis Avenue. Degree candidates ONLY will begin lining up in Harper Quadrangle at 8:00 a.m., and must be in line no later than 8:45 a.m. to march in the ceremony. Degree candidates should be dressed in academic regalia, but should not wear or bring their hoods. Everything brought with candidates to the line must be carried into the ceremony with them, as there is no place to store items during the ceremony.

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Division of the Social Sciences Luncheon
Ida Noyes Hall, First Floor
Tickets are not required for the luncheon. Candidates and their guests will enjoy bagged lunches in an informal atmosphere. There is no planned program, and academic regalia is not worn. Vegetarian options will be available. Limited dietary restrictions may be accommodated beforehand. Please e-mail ssd-convocation@uchicago.edu with dietary restrictions. Degree candidates may have also indicated dietary restrictions or required disability accommodations on the form they completed to indicate that they plan to attend convocation.

2:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Division of the Social Sciences Diploma and Hooding Ceremony
Rockefeller Chapel
Free guest tickets are required for the Diploma and Hooding ceremony. Each degree candidate will be allocated a certain number of tickets, and then asked to complete a form to be placed on the waitlist for additional tickets. Degree candidates do not need tickets for themselves. Overflow seating will be available inside Max Palevsky Cinema in Ida Noyes Hall for guests who do not have a ticket for the ceremony. The ceremony will also be livestreamed.

The Diploma and Hooding ceremony includes conferral of the Faculty Awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching; remarks by a faculty speaker; reading of graduate names and presentation of diplomas; hooding of doctoral degree candidates; and remarks by the Dean of the Social Sciences. Guests who require accommodations should e-mail ssd-convocation@uchicago.edu. Degree candidates may have indicated required accommodations for guests on the form that they completed to indicate that they plan to attend convocation.

Each guest requires a ticket; babies who will sit on laps do not need a ticket.

Rockefeller Chapel will open for guest seating around 1:30 p.m. The Law School ceremony takes place inside Rockefeller immediately prior to the Social Sciences ceremony. Chapel doors will remain closed after the conclusion of the Law ceremony while staff completes the changeover inside the Chapel for the Social Sciences ceremony.

Degree candidates should line up in the tent on the east lawn of Rockefeller between 1:00 and 1:45 p.m.