On Monday, Feb. 3 the Piedmont University Registrar sent an email to all students expected to graduate in spring 2025 outlining what to expect on graduation day.  

Spring commencement will be on Friday, May 9, with two separate ceremonies recognizing both undergraduate and graduate students. 

The ceremonies will take place inside Cave Arena at the Johnny Mize Athletic Center. Tickets are not required to attend either ceremony.  

At 9 a.m., the College of Business and the College of Education will walk to receive their degrees. Graduating students are expected to arrive at Cave Arena at 8:15 am.  

The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences graduation will be held at 1 p.m. Graduating students are expected to arrive at 12:15 p.m. 

“Piedmont decided to split graduation by college to enable us to accommodate the expected number of guests for all students without the need for tickets,” said Sheena Patrick, Piedmont University’s associate registrar. “Each college will have the category of degree, and each level will walk together.” 

Students will walk in degree rank order within their college, with undergraduate students walking first and graduate students following. This is similar to summer and fall commencement ceremonies. 

The commencement speaker has yet to be announced. Patrick emphasized that some commencement speakers can speak at both ceremonies, but sometimes there are two different speakers.  

Students curious about what they can wear to graduation along with their cap and gown can find all attire information on Piedmont’s graduate attire page on the website. A list of honor societies and organizations approved for regalia is also on the website.  

With over 300 students graduating last spring, Piedmont only expects the number of graduates to continue to grow, along with the number of guests supporting those students. 

With the high expected number of guests attending both ceremonies, parking is always a concern for students’ families. 

“There are multiple places throughout the Piedmont campus that are available, as well as a shuttle service. The campus police do a great job at filling up each lot as needed,” said Patrick.  

Guests should plan to be seated in Cave Arena no later than 8:45 a.m. for the first ceremony and 12:45 p.m. for the second ceremony. 

Piedmont is well-prepared for spring commencement this year, eliminating students’ frustrations from previous years by splitting the ceremony by college.  

For more information about spring commencement, visit www.piedmontroar.com.