Commencement

We are celebrating three graduating classes at this year’s ceremony. For this reason, we anticipate a greater than usual number of participants and guests. The number of guests per graduate is limited. Please, check with your graduate to see if they can accommodate you among their guests.

The drop-off location for graduates and other guests is at the corner of College Avenue and 10th Street. Uber and Lyft should be given this location as well. (Handicapped drop-off is at the intersection of Dartmouth Avenue and 10th Street and should be accessed with the permission of a street attendant at the corner of College Avenue and 10th Street.)

Guests may attend at the invitation of the graduates. Graduates will sit in the middle section; guest seating is designated for the east and west sections. Guests are asked to find a seat and keep the aisles clear, enabling the graduates and platform party to proceed to their seats.

Children are to be seated in the audience and not among the candidates. Those guests bringing strollers are asked to park them outside the tent, thus keeping the aisles clear.

We ask that guests refrain from bringing balloons or other items that might obstruct the pathways or other guests’ view of the stage.

For the safety of the graduates and guests, please keep the aisles clear. There will be a designated stroller parking area. GradImages, a professional photography studio, will take photos of all graduates as they ascend the stage and receive their diplomas. The company will make the photographs available to graduates (and their families) in the days following the ceremony. For this reason, and for the safety of the graduates and all attendees, we ask guests to remain in their seats during the ceremony. Please do not approach the stage to take your own photos. Before and after the ceremony, there will be ample opportunity before and after the ceremony to take photos with the graduates on campus.

The ceremony and several of the receptions take place outdoors and on lawn. Please consider your safety when considering footwear appropriate to the occasion.

We ask that guests refrain from bringing balloons or other items that might obstruct the pathways or other guests’ view of the stage.

CGU follows Los Angeles County COVID-19 guidelines. While L.A. County does not currently require masks, we strongly recommend wearing a mask due to the large number of participants and guests at the ceremony.

We encourage guests who require individual accommodations to arrive early. Below are two options.

1. (Least distance) Park in the handicapped parking spaces in the parking lot north of McAlister Center on the southwest corner of 10th Street and Columbia Avenue. Due to numerous street closures, the most convenient way to access this lot is from College Avenue, driving east on 11th Street (aka Drucker Way), turning right on Columbia Avenue, and right into the driveway just south of 10th Street. (You will be on the east side of Mudd Quad.)
2. Before parking, drop off guests requiring individual accommodations at the corner of 10th Street and Dartmouth Avenue. See a street attendant at College Avenue and 10th Street to allow you temporary passage to the dropoff point. (You will be on the west side of Mudd Quad.) Exit north on Dartmouth Street.

If anyone in your party needs individual accommodations, please contact disability.services@cgu.edu.

GradImages, a professional photography studio, will take photos of all graduates as they ascend the stage and receive their diplomas. The company will make the photographs available to graduates (and their families) in the days following the ceremony. For this reason, and for the safety of the graduates and all attendees, we ask that guests remain in their seats during the ceremony. Please do not approach the stage to take your own photos. Before and after the ceremony, there will be ample opportunity before and after the ceremony to take photos with the graduates on campus.

Commencement Flowers will have flowers available for purchase on graduation day. Booths will be conveniently located near the commencement tent.

Would you like to order a beautiful wood frame customized especially for CGU diplomas? Church Hill Classics offers a 10% discount for CGU customers on their elegant frames. Order a custom CGU diploma frame for your graduate today.

From the 10 Freeway East (Los Angeles/LAX)

• Exit Indian Hill Blvd. and head north
• Turn right on W. Arrow Hwy. (0.2 miles)
• Turn left on College Ave. (0.9 miles)
• Turn right on E. 10th St.

From the 10 Freeway West (Palm Springs/Ontario Airport)

• Exit Indian Hill Blvd. and head north
• Turn right on W. Arrow Hwy. (0.2 miles)
• Turn left on College Ave. (0.9 miles)
• Turn right on E. 10th St.

From the 210 Freeway East

• Exit Towne Ave.
• Turn right on Towne Ave. (0.9 miles)
• Turn left on Foothill Blvd. (1.4 miles)
• Turn right on Dartmouth Ave.
• Turn right on E. 10th St.

From the 210 Freeway West

• Exit Baseline Rd.
• Turn right on Baseline Rd. (0.7 miles)
• Turn left on N. Mills Ave (1.0 miles)
• Turn right on Foothill Blvd (0.3 miles)
• Turn left on Dartmouth Ave.
• Turn right on E. 10th St.

Claremont Graduate University is approximately 10 miles from Ontario International Airport and 60 miles from Los Angeles International Airport.

Guests of degree candidates are strongly advised to make their hotel reservations as early as possible. Claremont Graduate University neither recommends nor endorses any facilities.

• Low-mobility drop-offs are allowed at the corner of 10th Street and Dartmouth Avenue until 8:45 am.
• Graduate or general drop-off is available at the corner of 10th Street and College Avenue.
• Convenient Uber and Lyft drop-off and pickup location is at the corner of 10th Street and College Avenue.

Parking is available on public streets and in the following campus parking lots:

• Between College and Dartmouth/11th and 12th streets
• West of the Burkle Family Building on 11th Street
• SE corner of Dartmouth and 11th Street
• SW corner of Columbia and 10th Street (access from 11th Street and Columbia)
• Eighth Street between College and Dartmouth

View the CGU parking map

• Dartmouth Avenue between 8th Street and 11th Streets.
• 10th Street between College and Columbia Avenues.

There is no dress code, but it is a special day for so many people. We suggest business casual attire.

We are celebrating three graduating classes at this year’s ceremony. In addition to honoring graduates from our current class, we are inviting graduates from the past two academic years to join in donning their regalia and walking across the commencement stage.

CGU follows Los Angeles County COVID-19 guidelines. While L.A. County does not currently require masks, we strongly recommend wearing a mask due to the large number of participants and guests at the ceremony.

Some, but not all, receptions will be held indoors.

No proof of vaccination will be required at the ceremonies. We ask that you observe safe health practices and respect the safety of your fellow guests.

Yes, each graduate will receive a limited number of tickets to distribute to their designated family and/or friends. Guests will be required to show their tickets in order to enter the ceremony venue.