Commencement Ceremony 2023

Attending the Ceremony

This year, AUP will celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating Class of 2023 at the annual Commencement Ceremony in Paris on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. The ceremony will be held at:

Théâtre du Châtelet
Place du Châtelet
75001 Paris
Metro: Châtelet

 

For graduating students

Students who wish to walk in Commencement Ceremony 2023 must fulfill all graduation requirements. Find details about applying to graduate on the Registrar's website. Students who are approved to walk in the ceremony do not require tickets to the ceremony.

For guests

All guests wishing to attend the ceremony must be in possession of tickets to enter the building. For more information about acquiring tickets, please click here

Please be advised that once the reception is underway, the doors to the Théâtre du Châtelet are open and tickets are no longer checked by the theater's ushers. We ask that you are vigilant of your personal belongings to avoid any unpleasantness on this celebratory day. 

Ceremony Schedule

8:30 am: Graduating students must arrive at the theater in order to line up. Late arrivals will not be included in the proceedings.

Instructions: Student Line Up
  1. Check any unnecessary bags or jackets at the coat check on the ground floor. Be sure to put on or hold on to your robes.
  2. Check in with Registrar's Office staff.
  3. Undergraduate check-in takes place on the first floor while graduate check-in takes place on the fifth floor.
  4. You will receive a name card from the Registrar's Office staff. Do not lose your name card. This is how the Registrar's Office will ensure that your name is called during the ceremony and that you receive the correct diploma.
  5. You will then line up in the order of names that will be read. It is very important that you stay in this order.
  6. Finally, when it is time to start, all the graduates will march in order into the theater.

9:30 am: Guests are admitted. Tickets must be in hand as guests will need to be in possession of tickets to be let inside the theater. There is no assigned seating in the theater, with the exception of marked areas reserved for the President's guests.

10 am - 12:30 pm: Commencement Ceremony

Instructions: Student Processional and Receiving Diplomas
  1. The ceremony starts with a processional, when all of the professors and graduates enter the theater. Ushers will direct you where to sit. Go to the first row available and fill in as instructed. Please remain standing until you are invited to sit.
  2. When it comes time to confer degrees, bachelor’s degrees will be conferred first, followed by master’s degrees. One by one, each group (BA, BSc, MA) will be asked to stand. The Dean will present the candidates, and the President will confer the degrees.
  3. You will receive your diploma during recognition, when you get to walk across the stage as your name is called. All students will be called up to the stage row by row. Have your name card ready. When you get to the stage, hand your name card to the member of the Registrar's Office.
  4. The Dean will read your name, major, and Latin or departmental honors, as you receive your diploma cover from the President. The Chair of the Board of Trustees will also congratulate you. Graduate students will also shake hands with their program director.
  5. Once everyone has received their diplomas and if you have completed all of your degree requirements, you will be invited to collectively turn the tassel on your graduation cap. This age-old tradition signifies that you have officially graduated. Undergraduates shift their tassel from the right to the left side of their graduation cap, or mortar board. Graduates shift their tassel from the the left to the right side.
  6. The graduation ceremony ends with a recessional, when you exit the auditorium together with your fellow graduates. The President will invite you to join the reception, the faculty will exit, then the graduates, starting with the first row. Ushers will instruct you on how to exit the theater.
  7. You will now officially be AUP graduates and a part of AUP’s global alumni network. Congratulations!

12:30 pm: Reception with champagne

Live Recording and Photography

Commencement Ceremony 2023 will be a recorded live event. A recording will be shared with the AUP community in the following weeks and will be available to view on AUP's website, YouTube channel, and will be shared via email. Please note that this event will not be live-streamed.

Official AUP photographers will be on site to capture graduation portraits of all graduating students, as well as general coverage of the ceremony. Students will be able to access their individual portraits for free online in the following weeks.