The School of MCB May 2025 convocation will be at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 18, 2025 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The ceremony will last about one hour and thirty minutes. An informal reception in the Krannert Center lobby will follow the ceremony. Please note -- participating in convocation does require excessive walking, standing, and stair climbing.

Questions about the School of MCB convocation can be sent to convocation@mcb.illinois.edu or by calling 217-333-6774. Should you need an invitation letter for families traveling internationally, download this Invitation to the May 18, 2025 Convocation letter.

The university-wide Commencement is at 9:30 a.m.  Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Memorial Stadium.

The campus doctoral hooding event is at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 15, 2025, at State Farm Center.

Graduates may participate in as many ceremonies and celebrations as they would like. However, separate registration is required for each ceremony and participants must order a cap and gown to wear for the ceremonies. The same cap and gown can be worn at all ceremonies and celebrations.

Each PhD or MS student participating in the School of MCB Convocation Ceremony is entitled to 7 total tickets. Each BS student participating in the ceremony is entitled to a total of 5 tickets. Graduates will not need a ticket. ALL guests, including infants, must have a ticket to attend the ceremony.

There may be a small number of additional tickets that can be requested via a student lottery (2 maximum per student) in early May. If additional tickets are available, an email notification will be sent to registrants. Note: There is no guarantee that extra tickets will be available.

Tickets will not be distributed until May 2025 in the MCB Center for Advising, 200 Burrill Hall, during business hours. Note: a photo ID is required to pick up tickets. Tickets will only be given to the graduate who registered for the ceremony unless alternate arrangements have been approved by Dara Lawyer (dpl@illinois.edu). Graduates who live off campus and are unable to pick up their tickets can request that tickets be held until Sunday morning. Tickets will be available at check-in tables on level 2 in the Orchestra Rehearsal Room.

For guests who are unable to attend, the ceremony will be livestreamed. The livestream will start approximately at 8:50 a.m. CDT on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Follow this link: School of MCB Convocation, Spring 2025

Information about ordering academic regalia (cap and gown) can be found on the University's commencement academic attire webpage. To receive a discounted rate (a $20 savings on attire and the standard shipping charge of $15.95), regalia must be ordered BEFORE Monday, April 14, 2025 at 10:59 p.m. Regular pricing will be available online Tuesday, April 15, 2025 through Tuesday, April 29, 2025 and will be shipped via 2nd-Day Air to ensure delivery ($24.95) A pre-paid return shipping label is included.

GradImages has been contracted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology to take photos of graduates during the ceremonies. To learn more, follow this link.

Here are some important details for the School of MCB Convocation Ceremony scheduled for Sunday, May 18, 2028, at 9:00 a.m. in the Krannert Center Great Hall, 500 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL.  Please note this is NOT on the Quad and it is not the Art Museum on Peabody!

CAP AND GOWN:  

• Make sure to take your gown out of the bag. Gowns will have lots of creases from being folded during shipment.
• To look nice on stage and during the ceremony, please have the gown either steamed or professionally pressed prior to the ceremony.
• Tassel – white for BS students / black tassel for PhD or MS students should be worn on the right side of the cap. Tassels will be moved to the left, as a group, at the end of the ceremony. The orange and blue tassels are souvenirs, and should not be worn during the ceremony.
• Attention Bronze Tablet Students: Pin the orange and blue cord on the left shoulder.
• Graduates get to keep the cap.
  • It is okay for students to decorate the mortar board (cap). All decorations should be professional (not obscene or offensive).
• Pin the orange stole (BS students only) to the back of the gown. This will prevent it from slipping off during the ceremony. The orange stoles are souvenirs.
• PhD students: it is strongly recommended that you practice “the hooding” with the hooder prior to the ceremony.
• SMCB staff will be available to assist graduates with caps, gowns, and hoods during check-in.

PARKING: 

• Krannert Center parking garages are located underneath the building and are accessible from Oregon Street and Illinois Street.
• In addition, there is a large University parking lot across the street and to the north of Krannert (corner of Illinois & Goodwin Streets).
• Parking in all University lots is free to the public on weekends.
  • Campus Parking will NOT be checking any University meters in these lots during commencement weekend.
  • Street parking on Illinois, Goodwin, Oregon, and S. Gregory streets is free on Sunday.
  • ADA parking is available in the Krannert parking garage.

WHEN TO ARRIVE AT KRANNERT:

• 8:00 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. on Sunday. DO NOT ARRIVE LATE.
  • You will not have the time to line up in the correct place so your name will be read out of order. 

WHERE TO CHECK-IN: 

• Students check-in on level 2 at the orchestra rehearsal room between 8:00 and 8:20 a.m.
• SMCB staff will direct you to the line-up.
• Students should not bring any personal belongings to check-in, lineup, or into the Great Hall if they do not wish to carry those items throughout the ceremony, and onto the stage.
  • There is no secure storage for your belongings during the ceremony.

GUESTS:

• Doors to the Great Hall open at 8:00 a.m. for guest seating on level 5.
  • It is open seating, arriving earlier means that your guests may get better seating.
• Parents and guests should take the elevator to level 5 for entry to the Great Hall.
• Please note - food, drinks, balloons, laser pointers, coolers/containers, posters/signs/banners, noise makers, and weapons are NOT permitted in the Great Hall.
• If guests have requested accessible seating, please follow the instructions from Krannert.
• If guests are in need of a wheelchair, press the patron services call button near the elevator for assistance. 

CEREMONY LENGTH: 

• Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• It can be a long and stressful morning, please encourage your guests to eat and drink before the ceremony.
• The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology will host an optional reception, immediately following the ceremony, in the lobby.
  • Light refreshments (fruit, pastries, tea, punch, and water) will be provided at no charge.

SET A MEETING PLACE: 

• Please discuss where to meet your guests after the ceremony.
• The lobby is very crowded and chaotic after the ceremony and all the graduates look similar in their attire.
• You might suggest meeting by a specific door or elevator, by the ticket office, by the intermezzo, or outside.

ACADEMIC ATTIRE RETURNS:

• Academic attire must be returned to Herff Jones by using the return-shipping label provided.
  • Replacement shipping labels are available through Herff Jones.
  • Regalia may also be returned to the Herff Jones booth located on the East side of Memorial Stadium immediately after the ceremonies. Returns must be dropped off before 9 p.m.
• Bachelor graduates only need to return the rented gown. The cap, tassel, and stole are souvenirs.
• Master and Doctoral graduates must return the rented gown and hood. The cap and tassel are souvenirs.

Students who have completed degree requirements in August 2024 or December 2024, or will complete degree requirements in May 2025 or August 2025 are eligible to participate in the May 18, 2025 ceremony.

Undergraduate Degree:

• Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
• Bachelor of Science in LAS with major in MCB Honors Concentration
• Bachelor of Science in LAS with major in MCB
• Bachelor of Science in LAS with major in Neuroscience

Master's Degree:

• Master of Science from one of the following departments: Biochemistry, Cell & Developmental Biology, Microbiology, Molecular & Integrative Physiology
• Master of Science from one of the following programs: Biophysics & Quantitative Biology or Neuroscience
• Master of Science from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Doctor of Philosophy:

• Doctor of Philosophy from one of the following departments: Biochemistry, Cell & Developmental Biology, Microbiology, Molecular & Integrative Physiology
• Doctor of Philosophy from one of the following programs: Biophysics & Quantitative Biology or Neuroscience

If you have any further questions regarding convocation, including accessibility concerns, please contact SMCB Convocation Coordinator at convocation@mcb.illinois.edu or call (217) 333-6774.