Commencement

CGU will not require tickets for this year’s ceremony. Graduates will be asked to indicate how many guests they anticipate in attendance. 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 main campus turnaround off College Ave. Uber and Lyft should be given this location as well.

Handicapped drop-off is available at the McAllister Parking Lot from Columbia Ave and 10th Street and should be accessed with the permission of a street attendant.

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 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. There will be ample opportunity before and after the ceremony to take photos with the graduates on campus.

The ceremony and several of the celebrations 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.

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.

Flowers, orchid leis, and other gift items will be available for purchase on-site or you can pre-order your gifts in advance here. On the day of Commencement, you may pick up your flowers and other gifts at the welcome area on the corner of North Dartmouth Avenue and East 10th Street.

You may order your diploma frames and other graduation accessories from Jostens to showcase your CGU pride.

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 CGU Turnaround at College Ave. and 9th Street or in the McAllister Parking Lot at Columbia Ave. and 10th Street until 8:45 am.
• Graduate or general drop-off is available at the CGU Turnaround at College Ave. and 9th Street.
• Convenient Uber and Lyft drop-off and pickup location is available at the CGU Turnaround at College Ave. and 9th Street or along College Ave. between 8th and 10th street.

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 the Summer/Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 graduates. Summer 2025 degree candidates who have been approved to participate in the Commencement Ceremony will also be celebrated.

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, celebrations will be held indoors.

CGU will not require tickets for this year’s ceremony. Graduates will be asked to indicate how many guests they anticipate in attendance.