Congratulations CAS Class of 2023!
Watch the Livestream again!
Watch the Livestream again!
CAS Baccalaureate
Radio City Music Hall
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Students arrive at 8AM sharp; doors open at 9AM; ceremony begins at 10AM and lasts approximately 2 hours
Graduates are required to stay until the end (and special surprises will make it worth your while!)
How do I receive my tickets?
Tickets requested by the published deadline (April 14th, 11:59 PM EDT) are being sent digitally to the Ticketmaster account associated with your NYU NetID. All tickets – for graduates and their guests – will only be distributed to the graduates' Ticketmaster accounts, and graduates are responsible for subsequently transferring their guest tickets to their guests’ Ticketmaster accounts. Tickets must be transferred; screenshots will not allow entry. Any student or guest who shows up to Radio City Music Hall without a ticket will be turned away. As of May 10th, there are no extra tickets. Distributed tickets can be accessed via the Madison Square Garden app.
Grads are also encouraged to invite as many guests as they would like to participate in the CAS festivities interactively from anywhere in the world! The livestream will be available on the morning of Tuesday, May 16th, on the CAS homepage (cas.nyu.edu).
But sometimes there is a ticket lottery for extra seats. Will there be one and how will that work?
As noted above, at this moment we are at full capacity for Radio City Music Hall tickets. There are no tickets available for a lottery.
What about students who are trying to sell the tickets they ordered? Is that even allowed?
PLEASE NOTE: We have already cancelled both the student and guest tickets for any students who persisted in this unethical behavior. As a reminder: students who break University rules and attempt to take advantage of their fellow graduates by registering to receive and then attempting to sell free Baccalaureate tickets will have their ticket reservations CANCELED (both for themselves and their in person guests); they will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony, and they will be subject to further University disciplinary actions.
CAS has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy on this unscrupulous behavior. It’s just not fair. Also, rather than supporting this bad behavior by purchasing these tickets, graduates who become aware of any attempt to profit by selling tickets to fellow students should notify us right away. Then, the tickets previously requested by the perpetrator will be immediately put into the pool of free tickets made available through our free and fair lottery system.
Will it help to have my parent or loved one email you, the Dean, the President, or any other University official?
No, and here’s why: FERPA does not allow communication between the University and parents or friends about any student’s degree progress or graduation status, and we are not making the decision about who each graduate desires to have at Radio City. The College invited eligible graduates to participate in their ceremony, and those who completed their registration will choose to invite the guests that they wish to have join them both in-person and virtually.
What if I invited Baccalaureate guests who require a visa to enter the country?
Please refer to the NYU Commencement Families and Guests page about guests requiring visas.
What if one of my guests has ambulatory concerns or requires an ADA-compatible seat?
Once your guests who require a little extra assistance arrive to the queue at Radio City Music Hall, they should look for a uniformed Radio City guest services staff member. Here is the link to the completed information provided by the venue.
Why do I have to be at Radio City Music Hall at 8am?
8 am – All Students Arrive (Professional grad portraits available, first come first serve, until 9am)
9 am – Doors Open for Guests
10 am – Ceremony Begins
All participating graduates must arrive at Radio City Music Hall by 8am in order to get checked in and seated, with appropriate regalia on, before we open the doors to guests. Additionally, there will be photographers present to take professional graduation portraits for our graduates, but only from 8am until 9am sharp. These portraits will be available on a first come first serve basis, and will stop when the doors open to guests. Proofs will be sent to the address provided to the photographer at Radio City in the days immediately following Baccalaureate.
Do I have to wear academic attire?
Yes. All participating graduates must be attired in the traditional time-honored regalia celebrating NYU College of Arts & Science graduates since 1832: a cap, gown, and tassel. Students are also invited and encouraged to personalize their mortarboards (hats) and gowns with decorations and adornments to make them uniquely their own. Graduates who show up to Radio City without their attire know that they have chosen not to participate, and will be turned away. Advance ordering for attire has now closed; attire orders can no longer be placed online. Anyone who has not yet ordered academic attire must wait until May 11-15 to make a purchase in person during on-campus distribution at the Kimmel Center. Make sure you allow extra time for last minute lines, as many students will be picking up their attire during the distribution window.
I just want to make sure: we're not walking, correct?
Over the last few years, CAS has taken the best elements from previous Baccalaureate ceremonies and added new ones to create an enjoyable, meaningful experience for students and families. This includes a new tradition for recognizing graduates. As each student’s name is called, a photo that they have created appears on Radio City’s mammoth video wall—and friends and family from all over the world celebrate them. This innovation allows for a ceremony that ends in just about two hours, with many traditional touches, that lets each of CAS’s more than 2,400 graduates participate and be individually recognized.
To facilitate the photos, CAS arranged for graduation attire to be available for order by every graduate in early February and has given students broad latitude to express themselves. Students have submitted a wonderfully creative array of photos and even original sketches, many featuring friends, family, romantic partners and pets, from locations including study away and spring break sites. Additionally, prior to the deadline, well-publicized photo opportunities have been hosted on campus as well and extended to accommodate walk-ins.
If graduates have any questions, they should write to us at nyucas.bacc@ewgrp.net with their full name, N-Number, and net ID included in the message!
Click here to view the Baccalaureate ceremonies for the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022!