SEAS Graduation Information

Congratulations to all 2008 soon-to-be graduates! The faculty and staff of the School of Engineering and Applied Science are proud of your hard work and accomplishments! To make your graduation day go smoothly, here is some information about SEAS and GW events.

GW graduation packets will be distributed by the GW Registrar's office. If you finished your degree in Summer 07 or Fall 07, packets will automatically be mailed to your permanent address the first week of April 08.

If you will finish in Spring 08, your packet can be claimed at the Commencement Fair at Colonial Central and the GW Bookstore in the Marvin Center Ground Floor, located at 800 21st St. NW, on the following dates and times:

Sunday, March 9, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Graduation Packets ONLY)
Monday, March 10 - Thursday, March 13, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.*
Friday, March 14, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Here is a list of services that will be available at the Commencement Fair:
Pick up your Graduation Packet
Buy Your Cap & Gown
Buy Monumental Celebration Tickets
Get Your Cherry Tree Yearbook Senior Portrait Taken (Undergraduates Only)
Donate to Your Senior Class Gift
Learn More About the Young Alumni Network
Information About Your Alumni GWorld Card
Residence Hall and Green Move Out
Find Out About GradWeek Events
Learn about GradLife
Reminder to fill out the Graduation Survey in late March
Buy a Class Ring and Order Personalized Announcements
Pay Your Application Fee
Work Commencement

*Dates and times for some services may vary.

You will need to show your GWorld card to pick up your packet. (If you cannot attend Commencement Fair 2008, you may pick up your graduation packet at Colonial Central - 800 21st Street, Marvin Center Ground Floor - through May 1, 2008.) If you absolutely cannot make it to campus for pickup, please contact one of the people listed at the bottom of this page to make alternate arrangements. Packets will include six guest tickets for the Sunday GW graduation on the National Mall and information about parking, shuttles, and other events. Graduates do not need a seating ticket.

For more information, please see the GW 08 graduation web page at http://commencement.gwu.edu/.

SEAS Celebration will take place at the Smith Center on Saturday, May 17, starting at 7:30pm.

We ask that all undergraduate participants (only) go to Funger Hall (corner of 22nd St. and G St.) at 5:30 for check-in. All undergraduates (only) will be escorted to Tompkins Hall front steps at 6:00 pm for a group class photo in cap and gown.

All graduates (all degrees) should report in cap and gown to Funger Hall (corner of 22nd St. and G St.) starting at 6:00 pm for check-in and line-up. Your guests should go directly to the Smith Center. Students receiving awards during the Celebration (you will be contacted if you are) should go directly to the Smith Center side entrance to the platform party's ready room.

Be aware that another school will be holding its Celebration in the Smith Center immediately before ours, so the Smith Center staff may not be ready to seat our guests right away. Guests are encouraged to wait outside the Smith Center until they open the doors rather than go with you to Funger Hall.

Seating in the Smith Center is first-come, first-served with the exception of a small section reserved for designated VIPs, which will be marked. So encourage your guests to arrive early for optimal seating. There will be plenty of seating for everyone.

The SEAS Celebration is a formal cap & gown event. Please be sure to wear your cap & gown regalia to the Celebration. Caps & gowns may be ordered at the Commencement fair or online through 11:59 p.m. April 1, 2008 at www.herffjones.com/college/graduation. (Please note when ordering online, you will be charged a $20 shipping fee). After that date, online ordering closes and graduates may purchase regalia from May 15 - 18 in the GW Bookstore., May 17 – 18. Just tell them what degree you are getting and they will give you the correct regalia. All regalia pre-ordered at Commencement Fair must be picked up from the GW Bookstore May 14 - May 18. Online orders are shipped to address provided at time of purchase.

At the SEAS Celebration your name will be called and you will walk across the stage and receive the dean's personal congratulations, as well as the personal congratulations of faculty from your department. A professional photographer will be taking a photo of each graduate as you shake the dean's hand. They will contact you about buying the photo. Their web site is at www.photograds.com.

Tickets for the SEAS Celebration will be distributed from the Dean's Office, 106 Tompkins Hall, starting Monday, March 24. You should hand in a paper copy of the completed student graduation survey or a copy of your email confirming completion of the survey in exchange for your SEAS tickets. The survey can be found at www.gwu.edu/oapa/graduation. There will be no shortage of tickets for the SEAS Celebration. At distribution you may ask for as many tickets as you need, but please be considerate and do not ask for more than you will actually use. You will also be issued one (and only one) parking pass for the evening of the Celebration. Please encourage your guests to use Metro if at all possible.

After the Celebration there will be a reception for graduates, their guests, and SEAS faculty and staff in the Marvin Center. This is a great opportunity for your family and friends to meet the professors who have made such a big difference in your lives.

The keynote speaker for the SEAS Celebration will be Mr. Mark V. Hughes, who retired as president, System and Network Solutions Group, of Science Applications International Corporation in February 2006. Please click here for more information about Mr. Hughes.

Hooding ceremony for doctoral students will be at Lisner Auditorium on Friday, May 16. The hooding ceremony will start at 1:30pm, but graduates and their guests should arrive at Lisner by 12:30pm. Seating for guests is first-come, first -served, so guests should get seats early. Graduates should go downstairs from the lobby to check in, receive their hoods, and line up. The University will have a reception after the hooding ceremony.

Hooding Tickets will be distributed at the SEAS Dean's Office starting March 24, in exchange for a paper copy of the completed student graduation survey, or a copy of the email confirming completion. The survey can be found at www.gwu.edu/oapa/graduation. You may receive a maximum of four (4) tickets. If you do not need that many, please be considerate and take only as many as you need. If you need more than four, you may put your name on a waiting list. If there are any tickets left over, they will be distributed to SEAS doctoral graduates who request more; however, we cannot guarantee that there will be any more to distribute. Seating in Lisner Auditorium is very limited. You will also be issued one parking pass.

Questions about any of the events in connection with the SEAS Celebration, Hooding, or any of the graduation weekend events should be directed to:
• Dan Campbell at 202-994-1858
• Sandra Little at 202-994-5411,
• or your department administrator.