aerial view of Western's campus at night, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

Western Washington University celebrates graduates in six ceremonies Commencement Weekend

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University will host six commencement ceremonies June 13-14 to celebrate graduates and their families. 

About 2,240 students are expected to attend Commencement Weekend ceremonies in Carver Gym, including students who graduated winter quarter or plan to graduate in spring or summer quarters. Tickets are required to attend the ceremonies, and overflow seating will be available nearby. 

Each ceremony is expected to last about an hour. There will be two ceremonies on Friday June 13: 

  • 2 p.m.: Graduates of the College of Business and Economics, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies and University Interdisciplinary Studies.
  • 5 p.m.: Graduates of the College of Science and Engineering. 

There will be four ceremonies on Saturday, June 14: 

  • 9 a.m.: Graduates of the College of the Environment and College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychology).  
  • Noon: Graduates of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Anthropology, Communication Studies, East Asian Studies, English, Ethnic Studies, History, Journalism, and Language, Literatures and Cultures).  
  • 3 p.m.: Graduates of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Audiology, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Global Humanities and Religions, Health and Human Development, Linguistics, Multidisciplinary Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies).  
  • 6 p.m.: Graduates of the College of Fine and Performing Arts and Woodring College of Education. 

Doors open one hour prior to each ceremony, and guests should be seated 10 minutes prior to the ceremony start time. ASL interpretation and live captioning will be available. 

Graduates must make reservations to participate in the ceremonies and receive tickets for guests. All guests, including small children and infants, must have tickets to attend the ceremony in Carver, and tickets are not transferable among ceremonies. Guests without tickets will be directed to nearby classroom lecture halls with comfortable seating, where they’ll be invited to watch a livestream of the ceremony on large, theater-style screens. The ceremony livestream will also be available online for viewing from home. 

No balloons, backpacks, alcohol, noisemakers, air horns, or amplification devices are allowed in Carver. Learn more about safety and security at Commencement.

Following the ceremony, graduates will have the opportunity to follow WWU tradition and place a small item representative of their time at Western in a time capsule that is later cemented into Memory Walk in front of Old Main.

Guest parking is free on commencement days and available in most lots. A downloadable parking map is available here. Visitors must observe regulations for accessible and individually reserved spaces. Accessible parking will be in the 9G parking lot, which is closest to Carver and served by a golf cart shuttle for those who need assistance. Visitors are also advised to arrive early to avoid traffic congestion and to allow for travel time between the parking lots and Carver. 

For those parking in the south campus parking lots, there will be a free shuttle service available from the parking lot off Bill McDonald Parkway, just south of Wade King Student Recreation Center, that will drop off guests near Carver. Three shuttle buses will run in a loop on Friday, June 13 12:15 – 7 p.m. and on Saturday, June 14 7:15 a.m. – 8 p.m. The three-shuttle fleet includes one ADA-equipped shuttle that will accommodate two wheelchairs per route. Guests using wheelchairs may take this shuttle or they may park in the designated lot for accessible parking in the 9G lot. 

For more information about June Commencement, visit registrar.wwu.edu/june-commencement, email Commencement@wwu.edu or call 360-650-3432.