skip to main content
Office of General Studies
The University of Mississippi

Instructions for 2017 Bachelor of General Studies Commencement

May 13th commencement will soon be here! By now, you should have received an invitation from the Office of the Registrar along with an informative brochure to share with your guests concerning designated parking areas, food options, and other frequently asked questions that should be very helpful to you as you prepare for commencement. Please note the closest parking areas for you and your guests:

  • Hill Drive parking lots (To get to Hill Drive, we recommend you enter campus from Highway 6 and take Chucky Mullins Drive to Hill Drive)
  • Jeanette Phillips Drive parking lot
  • Coliseum parking lots

There are two ceremonies in which graduates are invited to participate:

  1. For the morning convocation, which is the campus-wide ceremony in The Grove, graduates will have a general designated seating area and should plan to arrive in The Grove by 8:30 a.m. and be seated by the time the ceremony begins at 9:00 a.m.  In case of rain, the morning convocation will be moved to the Pavilion and will begin at 9:30. You will just sit with your families.
  2. The Bachelor of General Studies’ individual commencement ceremony, which is the one where students’ individual names will be called, will be in The Manning Center (indoor football practice facility) at 3:00 p.m. There is no limit on the number of guests you can invite. Entry to that facility will be through the rollup doors on the south side of the building. Upon entry, graduates will be directed to the left, where you will line up on the track in single file. You do not need to line up in any particular order. Our procession will start promptly at 3:00 p.m., so please be in line and ready to process no later than 2:30 p.m.
  3. Additional instructions you will need for commencement day are as follows:

Name Cards – May and August graduation applicants (December 2016 grads have been mailed their cards) must pick up the reader card with their name and honors (if applicable) and bring it to the BGS commencement ceremony to hand to the reader when you cross the stage. The cards will be available the week of May 8th -12th at the following locations:

Oxford students: See either Christie Rogers, Terry Blackmarr, or Audra Trnovec in Yerby DeSoto campus students: See your advisor, Valerie Haynes Tupelo campus students: See your advisor, Melanie Clement Grenada campus students: Go to the main office on your campus Booneville campus students: See your advisor, Tam Salters

If your name is frequently mispronounced, you may want to write your name phonetically on the front of your card, or you may also wish to quietly tell me how to pronounce your name when you hand me your card at the podium. YOU MUST BRING THIS CARD WITH YOU TO GRADUATION. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR NAME CARD IN YOUR SEAT. Please write your permanent E-mail address, cell phone number, and mailing address on the back of your card as the cards will be given to the photographers, who will then send you proofs of your photos within 3 days.

Your turn on stage! – UM staff will guide your line to your designated area in the seating arrangement. You will be ushered to the stage by staff one row at a time. When you reach the stage, you will hand your card to me at the podium, (again, don’t leave your card in your seat!) and I will announce your name as you receive your diploma cover from Dean Ammeter. A photographer will be present to capture the moment. Out of respect for any graduates who have not received their diplomas, you are asked to return to your seat until the end of the program, which should not last longer than an hour.

Graduation Attire –When you pick up your cap and gown, be sure to check the tassel. It should be black for General Studies students. If yours is the wrong color, contact the UM Bookstore, and they can swap it out for a black tassel. Please be careful to wear shoes that are comfortable for walking up and down steps. After the BGS ceremony, you will need to exit the building via the rollup door through which you entered, where you will deposit your cap and gown in the truck outside the door.

Honor Cords – Students who have met the university requirements for Latin Honors (the overall and resident GPA as of the end of the Fall 2016 semester are used for this purpose) will find the honors listed beneath your name on the reader card. If you are receiving Latin Honors (Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Summa Cum Laude), you can sign out your gold honor cord when you pick up your reader card. The honor cord does not need to be returned. The UM requirements for honors are as follows:

  • At least 60 hours completed from the University of Mississippi
  • A minimum UM and overall (we have to go with the lower of the two) GPA of:
  • 5 for Cum Laude
  • 75 for Magna Cum Laude
  • 90 for Summa Cum Laude

If you have met the above requirements but do not have honors listed on your enclosed name card, please call our office immediately so that we can print you a new card. Please do NOT call us, however, unless you meet all of the minimum requirements.

Other Honors Announced –Phi Kappa Phi, Who’s Who, and Taylor Medal—If any of these pertain to you and are not on your enclosed card, please contact our office immediately so that we can print you a new card. We do not announce any other honor societies at graduation.

Web Info –Please check the UM commencement website (https://commencement.olemiss.edu/) for frequently for updated info such as maps of designated parking areas, special needs accommodations, changes due to weather, etc.

ATTENTION! Graduates needing special accommodations for seating and/or getting on and off stage, please contact our office the week prior to the commencement ceremony.