Congratulations on celebrating with your graduate!
Commencement is a memorable event in the lives of graduates, their families, and friends. Your support and guidance helped your student reach this point in his/her academic life. This page will help you prepare for this important day. Please note all commencement ceremonies will last approximately one hour.
On the day of Commencement, the parking lots will fill up quickly. We strongly recommend that you and your guests carpool if possible.
Disability Parking: A portion of the Estes Stadium parking lot (Parking Lot 302) will be designated for disabled parking. The disabled parking entrance will be at the intersection of Bruce/Augusta and require disability parking credentials to access this parking lot.
Below is a link to the university map indicating parking lots.
The University of Central Arkansas requires tickets to attend any commencement ceremony. Please verify with your student which ceremony they will be participating in and make sure you are given the correct tickets.
The Farris Center will open for guests 45 minutes before the ceremony. Due to high volume, arriving at this time is recommended for guests. We request that guests stay for the entire ceremony. Leaving before the end of the ceremony disturbs the families whose students have not yet been recognized.
An American Sign Language interpreter will be present on the left side of the stage at each ceremony.
There is a seating area for guests requiring physical accommodations on the Farris Center gym floor. In order to maximize our ability to accommodate as many individuals as possible, we ask that only one attendant remains with the guest needing assistance. Graduates will be responsible for requesting accessible seating for their guests at the time of ticket disbursement. Other members of the party are asked to be seated in the nearby general seating. Volunteers will be on hand to help guests find seating that best fits their needs.
In order to commemorate this milestone, professional photography services are provided during the commencement ceremony through GradImages. While guests are welcome to take pictures from their seats, personal photography will not be permitted on the graduation ceremony floor. The week following the ceremony, students will be sent information regarding their photos. For any questions regarding photos, please contact GradImages at https://www.gradimages.com.
Mark the milestone and leave a lasting impression in your graduate’s heart with a personalized graduation gift from their Alma Mater. The UCA Bookstore has a wide variety of commemorative gifts.
The University of Central Arkansas makes security a foremost priority at all of its events.
No firearms or weapons of any kind are permitted on the UCA campus. UCA does not allow the usage of air horns at any commencement ceremony. Please comply with the directions given at all times by the UCA Police Officers and Commencement ushers.
Please note that UCA is a smoke-free campus.