The 131^st Annual Eastern Connecticut State University Commencement Exercises will take place in person on Saturday, May 15, adjacent to the Eastern campus. 

To ensure the safety of graduates, their guests and other attendees, the University will be following strict social distancing protocols and other current guidelines of the CDC and Connecticut State Department of Public Health.  Accordingly, graduates will be limited to two (2) guests each, and tickets will be required. 

In addition, to manage audience density, two separate events are planned — one in the morning starting at 9 a.m. and one in the afternoon starting at 4 p.m. — with graduates split into two groups of equal size and in accordance with social distancing requirements. A ceremony for graduate students will take place midday.  All three ceremonies will take place rain or shine.

Both undergraduate commencement sessions will be shown live on YouTube so that family members and friends unable to come to campus on May 15 can view the festivities; the video will also be recorded and available on Eastern’s YouTube channel for viewing following the live event.

More details on student and guest tickets; parking; safety precautions; and other logistics will be shared with graduates and their families as soon as they are available. 

Eastern’s in-person Commencement plan is based on current public health trends related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  While virus positivity rates on Eastern’s campus are very low and the State of Connecticut is a national leader in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine, the past year has demonstrated how quickly health conditions can change. 

Accordingly, if the University is forced to rethink its decision to host an in-person graduation event, graduates and their families will be notified.