Ph.D. Hooding Ceremony

• Graduates and guests may park in the Bryan Center Garage/PGIV (125 Science Drive) or the Science Drive Garage (3100 Cameron Blvd). The Bryan Center Garage is a four-minute walk from the Chapel, while the Science Drive Garage is a 15-minute walk away.

• Faculty and staff participating in the Ph.D. Hooding Ceremony may park in the Upper or Lower Allen lots, located on West Campus behind the Allen Building.

• Attendees may also park at any other convenient locations on campus. On-campus parking during commencement weekend will be free of charge.

• ADA parking is available in the parking lot immediately in front of the Bryan Center garage. If you have requested specific accommodations, our staff will be in touch with you directly.

• General parking on campus is on a first-come basis, so please allow plenty of time for parking throughout commencement weekend. Carpooling is highly recommended.

• The circle in front of Duke Chapel, on Chapel Drive, will not be accessible on May 7. If you need to drop off guests with mobility impairments, please use the circle off of Science Drive.

• Visit maps.duke.edu for an interactive campus map.

See all event locations on a Google Map

Electronic tickets will be distributed ahead of the Hooding Ceremony.

• No food or drinks are permitted in Duke Chapel.
• The accessible entrance to the Chapel is located on the north side of the Chapel facing the Divinity School (map).
• There are no restrooms in Duke Chapel. The closest (ADA) restrooms are in the Divinity School, which will be clearly marked with directional signs (map).

Ordering

If you are a doctoral degree candidate and you wish to rent apparel, complete this form to register for the university-wide commencement ceremony and order academic regalia. Rented apparel must be requested by March 1, 2024.

If you are interested in purchasing apparel, you may click here. The deadline to purchase doctoral apparel is February 16, 2024 and can be done by contacting Jeffrey Kahlmeyer in Duke Stores at 919-684-0060.

Apparel Pickup

Hooding How-To

See our "Recipe for the Perfect PhD Hooding" video for quick tips and common mishaps to avoid.

Procedure for Hooding

1. Graduates: When the row proctor asks graduates to line up, they should stand and exit their row and head to the right. They will walk all the way around the last row of pews (guest seating) and go to the opposite side of the Chapel. Graduates should line up along the wall there and meet their hooding faculty near the faculty section.

   Faculty: Join the line next to the first graduate your are hooding.

   Graduates should stand on the left and faculty on the right.
    

2. Graduates should clearly pronounce their names to the Graduate School staff member standing by the front steps so that they can be relayed to the senior associate dean announcing the graduates.
    
3. When their name is called, each graduate should go up the steps with their hooding faculty (watch out for the air vent grates on the floor).

   The hooding faculty will stand at the top of the steps and the graduate will stand on the next step. There will be a piece of tape on the steps to mark where they should stand.

   Once a graduate has received their hood, Dean Barbour will greet them with a congratulatory fist bump.
    

4. Graduates should then return to their seats. Faculty who have finished hooding all their graduates should sit in the North Transept pews (on the opposite side of where they sat at the start of the ceremony).

The hooding ceremonies will be livestreamed for family, friends, and faculty who cannot attend in person. The livestream links will be posted closer to the event date. 

10:00 am Ceremony (Humanities and Social Sciences)

1:30 pm Ceremony (Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Engineering)

• ADA parking is available in the parking lot immediately in front of the Bryan Center garage. If you have requested specific accommodations, a member of the planning team in Graduate Student Affairs will be in touch with you directly in early May.

• If you need to drop off guests with mobility impairments, please use the circle off of Science Drive.

• The accessible entrance to the Chapel is located on the north side of the Chapel facing the Divinity School (map).

• The closest restrooms (in the Divinity School) are ADA-compliant.

• There will be assistive listening devices available at the sound board in the back left of the nave in the Chapel.