The university has not established a date for a commencement ceremony for spring and summer 2020 graduates. The university continues to work with state and local health departments to determine how to hold such an event in a way that ensures everyone stays safe and healthy. It is our hope to be able to invite you back to campus to formally celebrate your accomplishment. Please continue to monitor this website for updates. 

Yes, you may visit public areas of campus to take photos.

Added 6/2/20

No, the diplomas are shipped directly from the vendor and will arrive separately. The diploma cover, tassel (for students who don’t order regalia) and programs will be sent from the university starting in July.

Added 6/2/20

No. Unless you have a hold on your account, a diploma will be mailed in late June 2020 to all students who graduated at the end of the spring 2020 semester and mailed in early September to all students who graduate at the end of the summer 2020 session. A bursar hold on a student account will prevent a diploma from being sent to that student.

Updated 6/3/20

For graduates who order their academic regalia through Oak Hall, as noted above, the tassel will be included with that shipment. For graduates who choose not to order academic regalia, the tassel will be mailed along with your diploma cover and two commencement programs to your permanent address.

Added 6/2/20

All graduates will receive two mailings. Starting in mid-June, diplomas will be mailed to the Permanent Address listed in your MyNIU account as of June 12. Starting in mid-July, diploma covers, tassels and two copies of the commencement program will be mailed to the permanent address listed in your MyNIU account as of July 6.

Updated 6/16/20

Students will receive two programs. Additional copies will be available as a PDF. Please note that if while you were a student at NIU you requested a FERPA hold that precluded release of your name it will not appear in the commencement program. Information about this topic can be found the Registration and Records website.

Added 6/2/20

No. The graduation fee covers costs associated with producing and mailing the diploma and diploma cover and other related graduation costs, not the commencement ceremony.

Added 6/2/20

The College of Law has postponed its May 23 commencement. A new date has not been scheduled yet.  The college will communicate directly with law students regarding plans for this event.

Added 6/2/20

• Black Graduation Celebration – A virtual ceremony is scheduled to go live on August 2, 2020. Students who graduated in May or are graduating in August and December 2020 are invited to participate. Information was sent to students via email. Please contact Christopher Mitchell at cmitchell11@niu.edu for more information. 
• Latino Resource Center Celebration – A virtual ceremony is being planned. If you have questions, please contact the LRC at lrc@niu.edu.
• Lavender Graduation – Students will be contacted about recognition activities.
• Asian American Resource Center Celebration – A virtual graduation was held in May 2020.

For information on all other events, please contact the sponsoring college, department or organization directly. Additional questions about the College of Law and Cultural Resource Center celebrations should be addressed to those departments directly.

Added 6/2/20

For your name to appear in the commencement ceremony program, you will need to apply to graduate according to the deadline set by Registration and Records.

Please note, your name will not appear at all if you have a FERPA hold set up in your MyNIU privacy settings. 

Read more about the commencement ceremony program.