
2025 Commencement Ceremony: Friday, May 16
- Ceremony time: 2:00 p.m.
- Location: Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
- Graduate arrival time: 12:30 p.m.
- Doors open to ticketed guests: 1:00 p.m.
uf college of dentistry
2024 Commencement Video
The college’s 2024 commencement ceremony was live streamed for family, friends, loved ones and supporters unable to attend in person. You can watch an archive of this livestream here.
UF College of Dentistry
Commencement Programs
Commencement programs are distributed to guests and graduates at the ceremony. A digital copy is available below.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Ceremony Rehearsal
- Tickets
- Guest Information & Parking
- Regalia
- ADA Accommodations
- Safety & Security
- Photography at the Ceremony

UFCD Commencement Ceremony
Still Have Questions?
Contact UF College of Dentistry commencement ceremony coordinator Kimberly Heal.
Ceremony Rehearsal
When is Commencement Rehearsal?
- Commencement rehearsal for the Class of 2025 is Thursday, May 15 at 2:30pm in the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Is rehearsal required?
- If you are a DMD graduate, yes. All DMD graduates are required to attend and will receive their tickets and name cards at this event. If you are graduating from a residency program, you are encouraged but not required to attend.
Do I need to wear my regalia to rehearsal?
- No, wearing your regalia is not required. However, bringing your regalia is required as there will be a DMD class photo taken after the rehearsal. Please dress appropriately for this casual professional event.
Tickets
How many tickets is each graduate issued?
- This is determined by the total number of graduates, which fluctuates each year. For the Class of 2025, graduates will be issued 9 guest tickets.
I have more guests than tickets! Help!
- Every year, tickets are distributed evenly to graduates. Inevitably, many graduates have more or less than the allotted number, so we use a waitlist system to re-distribute unused tickets in the weeks before the ceremony.
My excess guests need months to plan their travel. How do I tell them whether or not to come when I don’t know if I’ll have a ticket for them until a couple weeks prior to the ceremony?
- We understand the need for some out-of-town guests to plan their travel significantly in advance of the waitlist ticket distribution. In 2023, we were ultimately able to fulfill everyone’s waitlist ticket requests, but we were unable to do so in 2024. For guest who are not able to attend, the ceremony is livestreamed for all to view.
When will graduates receive their tickets?
- DMD graduates will receive their physical tickets at the Commencement Rehearsal on Thursday, May 15 at the Phillips Center. Resident graduates in Gainesville programs can pick up their tickets the week before commencement from the ceremony coordinator’s office, D3-30H. Resident graduates who are in non-Gainesville based programs will have their tickets mailed to their office in the week prior to the ceremony.
Do infants require tickets?
- Infants under two years of age do not require tickets. Children two years of age and older require tickets to enter.
Guest Information & Parking
Where can I park?
- There is ample parking for guests and graduates in the lot adjacent to the Phillips Center. Parking decal restrictions are lifted for our ceremony. Limited handicapped parking is available.
When can I enter the Phillips Center?
- The front doors to the Phillips Center will open at 1:00 p.m. Guests are not permitted inside prior to this time. Florida in May can get quite hot and sometimes rainy, so if you plan to arrive prior to 1:00 p.m., be prepared to wait outside no matter the weather. Shade in front of the Phillips Center is sparse, so please consider carefully whether to bring young children or elderly guests to wait outside in the heat or rain.
Do guests need tickets?
- Guests must have a ticket to enter the Phillips Center, and guest seating is first-come, first-serve. Tickets are issued directly to the graduates who are responsible for distributing them to their guests.
What if I’m running late?
- Guests must be seated before the procession begins promptly at 2:00 p.m. Late guests will not be seated until after the processional, so plan to arrive at the Phillips Center no later than 1:45 p.m. to ensure you see the whole ceremony.
Regalia
Do graduates need to wear regalia (cap, gown, tam, hood) to participate in the UFCD Commencement Ceremony?
- Yes. Regalia is required for participation in the ceremony. Graduates without proper attire will not be permitted to participate in the ceremony.
Where do graduates order their regalia?
- Regalia is ordered through Herff Jones and the UF Bookstore. Directions for regalia ordering is sent to graduates via email from the ceremony coordinator.
Where do graduates pick up their regalia?
- Regalia will be mailed directly to graduates.
Where do graduates return their regalia?
- Graduates will return their regalia via mail directly to Herff Jones. Graduates can also return their regalia directly to the UF Bookstore in the Reitz Union if they have lost their mailing return slip.
Help! I missed the deadline to order my regalia, but I still want to participate in the ceremony. What are my options?
- The UF Bookstore in the Reitz Union may have some first-come, first-serve regalia available in the bookstore in the weeks before the ceremony. However, if they have any regalia, the options will be extremely limited and not all sizes will be offered. Your best chance at having the appropriately sized regalia for the ceremony is to order it by the posted deadline.
Who do I ask if I have questions about regalia?
- UFCD does not manage regalia orders or issues. If you are having trouble with regalia you have ordered or the ordering process, contact the UF Bookstore at cap-gown@ufl.edu or 352-392-0194.
ADA Accommodations
I am a graduate and I have an ADA Accommodation need (sign language interpreter, wheelchair accessibility, visual consideration, etc.) How do I request accommodations?
- Complete this form at least two months before to the ceremony and the ceremony coordinator will contact you.
I am a guest of a graduate and I need accessibility accommodations.
- First review the existing accommodations at the Phillips Center. Please note: while the venue is accessible, there are not rentable wheelchairs or scooters available on site. If your need is not met by above requirements, the graduate should reach out to the ceremony coordinator to discuss options.
Safety & Security
What items are prohibited at the ceremony?
- The Phillips Center prohibits weaponry, backpacks and oversized bags, and all outside food and beverage. Some exceptions are made for breastmilk or snacks for very young children. Please note everything brought into the venue is subject to inspection, and guests and graduates can be denied entry for prohibited items.
Can I bring my service animal to the ceremony?
- As with all buildings on UF campus, the only animals permitted are official service animals on a harness. The detailed service animal policy can be found here. Please note that emotional support animals are not permitted on UF’s campus.
What behavior is expected of guests at the ceremony?
- We are hosting a professional ceremony and expect professional decorum from our graduates and their guests. Air horns and noisemakers are prohibited. This is to ensure all graduates receive the respect of hearing their names called. In addition, guests are not permitted to leave or stand up in their seats during the ceremony to take photos of graduates. Please read more about photography in the ceremony in the section below.
Photography at the Ceremony
Are there official photographers at the ceremony?
- The company that does the photography at the ceremonies is University Photography. They have been UF’s ceremony photographers for more than 25 years. Proofs of photos are sent within 10 days of graduation weekend to students’ UF email address, and the contact info they provide on their name card, which you will receive at rehearsal on May 15 (DMDs) or when you pick up your tickets (residents). The photographers take graduates’ pictures several times throughout the ceremonies.
Are privately hired photographers allowed?
- Some candidates or their families hire private professional photographers to take pictures before, during and/or after the ceremony to commemorate this occasion. Please know that these photographers will not be permitted to be on the stage, as they could obstruct the view of our video crews, contracted photographers, streaming equipment, other grads and/or ceremony guests. They, like all guests, are also not permitted in the aisles or to stand up in their seats during the ceremony. All privately hired photographers will require a ticket for entry.
What restrictions should guests be aware of when taking personal photos?
- Guests are not permitted on the stage to take photos before or during the ceremony; they must remain in their seats during the ceremony, including while taking photos.
- Video, film, and digital cameras are permitted, including those with interchangeable lenses.
- Tripods, monopods, selfie sticks or similar apparatuses that can obstruct aisles or others’ view are not permitted in any of our venues.
- Camera bags are permitted in the Phillips Center but are subject to inspection.
UF College of Dentistry
Congratulations, Gator Dentists!
Congratulations to the DMD Class of 2024. Re-live the day and special moments through our commencement photo gallery on Facebook.
