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Commencement 2025

Dear Graduating Students:

Please carefully read the following information regarding the Global Studies and Political Economy Commencement Ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, May 21st 2025, 9AM at the Zellerbach Hall. It contains important information for you and your guests to know about the ceremony. Share with your guests. The ceremony will last approximately two hours and there will be a reception following the ceremony in the Lower Sproul Plaza.

COMMENCEMENT REGISTRATION

Registration for graduating students is closed. If you missed the registration deadline, we are not able to print your name in the program, but you can still attend the ceremony and walk across the stage while your name is read. Please go to the Commencement Day Instructions for Graduates section below to see what you as a graduating student should do when you arrive at Zellerbach Hall.

COMMENCEMENT TICKETS

Graduating students walking in the Commencement Ceremony do not need a ticket for themselves. Please wear a cap and gown, which will serve as your authorization to enter Zellerbach Auditorium.

Guest tickets can be purchased from the Cal Performances Ticket Office for $10 each (free for children under 2 years) and there will be a limit of ten tickets that may be purchased for family and friends. 

Tickets can be purchased:

  • Online via https://secure-tickets.berkeley.edu/26187 (Note that the ticket sales site is titled “Global Studies and Political Economy Commencement”)

  • Over the phone at 510-642-9988

  • At the Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall until May 14th (Tues-Fri, 12 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Sat-Sun, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Closed on Mondays).

NOTE: Any tickets purchased online, by phone or in person in advance of the ceremony will be delivered by email only. The email should be printed and brought to the ceremony or can be shown on a smartphone.

Tickets are REQUIRED for guests and no guest will be allowed to enter the Zellerbach Hall without a ticket. 

All bags are subject to search. Everyone entering Zellerbach will be wanded for security purposes.

PARKING

We encourage the use of public transportation or carpooling to the ceremony, if possible. Parking on campus will be limited and availability and prices may vary. 

UCB Parking for Zellerbach Hall Ceremony:

Payment for parking ($11 flat rate) is CREDIT or DEBIT CARD ONLY – CASH WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Visa, MC, Discover, and AmEx accepted. For more information about parking, visit  Parking for Department Graduations. Please note that our department does not manage event parking.

Non-UC Lot

ACCESSIBILITY 

See here for information about accessibility from Disability Access and Compliance

Parking

Near each of our venues, there is limited designated accessible parking for vehicles bearing valid Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) disability parking placards or license plates that are available on a first-come, first-served basis. See this campus map for more information about accessible parking locations.

  • All designated Disabled spaces and non-reserved spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to disabled patrons with certified handicapped placards or license plates. 

 SEATING

  • Guests should arrive early to ensure seating in designated accessible areas. A member of the Zellerbach House Staff will seat guests with ADA needs.

  • Guests in wheelchairs will be seated in the wheelchair sections and may have one companion seated next to them.  Other guests in the party will be seated as near as possible.

  • Guests with limited mobility but without wheelchairs will be seated in areas as convenient as possible to avoid stairs, etc.

  • The Zellerbach Hall does not have wheelchairs for guests to use. The university is not able to provide wheelchairs, walkers, or carts. It is strongly recommended that guests with limited mobility bring their own mobility devices such as walkers or wheelchairs, to ease travel from the drop-off area to the seating area.  

PICTURES

A professional photographer from GradImages (link is external) will take pictures of graduates as they receive their scrolls, as well as additional pictures prior to and during the ceremony. There is no obligation to purchase these photos and information will be available if guests wish to purchase them from GradImages.

DIPLOMAS

You will only receive a souvenir scroll at the commencement ceremony. Diplomas are mailed about four months after the end of a student’s graduating term. More information on diplomas, graduation verification, etc. can be found on the Office of the Registrar website here.  

LODGING

Information on lodging near Berkeley’s campus, and other local accommodations, can be found at Visit Berkeley (link is external). For more information on Berkeley campus tours, maps, and directions, please contact UC Berkeley Visitors Services.

COMMENCEMENT DAY INSTRUCTIONS FOR GRADUATES

All graduates must be at the Zellerbach Hall on the north side between Zellerbach and the Cal Alumni House to prepare for the ceremony no later than 8:00 am.  

  • IMMEDIATELY upon your arrival, go to the tables between the north side of Zellerbach Hall and the Cal Alumni House to check in.

  • DO NOT LOSE YOUR NAME CARD. You will hand it to the name reader when you cross the stage.

  • Department staff will direct you where to line up. 

  • The first person in line for each major will carry a sign with that major’s name to announce the major to the audience and faculty. 

  • The Processional will begin at 9:00am. 

    • Staff will direct you. 

    • You will follow the faculty and graduate students through a processional route through the theater.

    • You will be led down an aisle and directed into the seats in front of the stage area. 

    • DO NOT change your seat. 

    • DO NOT lose your name card. 

  • Crossing the stage.

    • After the speeches and awards, you will be directed by the major to ascend to the stage on your left facing the stage. Staff will guide you.

    • You will cross the stage first pausing to hand your card to the name reader.

    • You will then move toward the center of the stage to accept your scroll and be congratulated by faculty with a handshake, fist bump, etc.

    • Then finish crossing the stage. Look for a staff person to direct you back to your seat.

    • There will be a photographer who will take your picture at one or more points as you cross the stage.

    • When all students have crossed the stage there will be a Recessional to leave the Zellerbach Hall. Staff will direct you.

    • There will be a Reception in the Lower Sproul Plaza after the ceremony and light refreshments will be served.

Congratulations and best wishes,

The Global Studies and the Political Economy Staff

Political Economy Major Map

Undergraduate Major Requirements & Policies

The Berkeley Economy & Society Initiative (BESI)

The Political Economy Student Association (PESA)

The Berkeley Political Economy Journal

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