Fwd: Graduating? Don’t Miss the Commencement Deadline (May 19)
Eric Zimmerman
Dear ES and HYDRO students,
If you graduated in Winter 2025 or are declaring candidacy to graduate in Spring, Summer, or Fall 2025, you are eligible to participate in the Spring 2025 Commencement ceremony. Here are a few important reminders to help you prepare:
If you are completing final courses in Summer 2025 or Fall 2025, you must declare candidacy for Summer or Fall graduation, respectively, in GOLD to be eligible for Commencement.
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- Just a reminder: Declaring candidacy to graduate is not the same as participating in Commencement. Declaring candidacy to graduate means you are officially notifying the university that you plan to complete all your degree requirements in a specific quarter—you can declare for any quarter: Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall. Commencement, however, only happens once a year in Spring.
Major changes do NOT affect your ability to participate.
- Even if your major is still showing as “Pre-Biology” or your major change hasn't been updated yet, you should still make your Commencement reservation on Gold by the deadline.
- Majors are not displayed or announced at the ceremony—only your first and last name will be read. Majors appear only on your diploma (which is issued 3–4 months after graduation).
Deadline to reserve your spot in Commencement is Monday, May 19 at 11:59 PM (PST).
- This is a hard deadline—the reservation system will close and names will be pulled the following morning.
- If there’s an issue with your major or ceremony assignment, that can be corrected after your reservation is made. But if you don’t make a reservation by the deadline, the commencement team won’t be able to fix anything later.
You can make or check your Commencement reservation through GOLD (Progress > Graduation & Commencement > Degree Candidacy).
If you have any questions, please reach out to commen...@ia.ucsb.edu.
Congratulations to our graduating students—whether you're branching out, diving into new depths, or splitting off into exciting new directions, we’re incredibly proud of all your hard work. Get ready to cell-ebrate everything you've achieved!
Best,
-- Eric D. Zimmerman (he/him) Student Services Manager, Lecturer Environmental Studies, UC Santa Barbara To schedule a Zoom advising appointment visit: https://tinyurl.com/8nrcckds "Work Hard ~ Play Harder!"