Everything You Need to Know for Commencement
We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
- Wake Forest Main Campus, Winston-Salem, NC
- May 16, 2026
What is a Hooding Ceremony?
The academic hood embodies the knowledge and wisdom acquired throughout the academic journey of a graduate student.
By being hooded, graduates are officially recognized and welcomed into the esteemed community of scholars and experts within their chosen field.
Beyond this symbolic significance, the hooding ceremony is an opportunity for celebration and for family, friends, faculty, and peers to honor the achievements of the graduates. For our graduates, it is also an opportunity for reflection on challenges overcome, relationships built, countless hours of hard work, and intellectual growth.
Wake Forest SPS celebrates degree graduates annually at a Hooding Ceremony and Reception each May at the main campus in Winston-Salem.
Degree and Certificate Conferral
Conferral is not the same as commencement and must be completed prior to participating in the hooding ceremony. Instead, conferral is the official act a university must complete to award a degree to a student who has successfully completed all the academic requirements.
At Wake Forest SPS, once you’ve completed all your courses, earned the required credits, and kept your GPA at or above the minimum, your record goes to the Academic Progress Committee for review. After they confirm everything meets criteria, the University’s Board of Trustees officially awards (or “confers”) your degree or certificate.
While commencement takes place once a year, you have three opportunities a year to confer your degree: the second Friday in January, the third Monday in May, and the second Friday in September. If you wrap up your program in between those dates, your degree will be conferred at the next scheduled time.
For Graduates
Information for students about the graduation application and participating in the SPS Hooding Ceremony in the Graduation Course within Canvas. (Students are added to the course the semester in which they will confer their degree or certificate.)
Event Details
Saturday, May 16, 2026 – 1:00pm. Reception to follow.
Wait Chapel: 1834 Wake Forest Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27109
Guests may enter Wait Chapel approximately 30 minutes prior to the ceremony start time. Please build in time to park, pass through a security/bag check, and be seated.
Please note: Wait Chapel has a clear bag policy!
NOTE: The University encourages guests to consider not bringing bags, as there will be a bag check requirement when entering the building. The following items are prohibited in Wait Chapel: mace, pepper spray, aerosols, pocket knives, firearms, weapons of any kind, coolers, alcohol, signs on sticks/poles, suitcases, tripods, animals (excluding service animals; emotional support animals are not permitted), and strollers (collapsible allowed).
Academic regalia must be worn to the hooding ceremony. Order your academic regalia using this website by March 2, 2026 (orders placed after this date may incur additional fees). When you visit the site, please enter “Wake Forest University – Professional Studies” into the “Find your School” box. You need only order your cap/gown (comes with a tassel). For those who attend the hooding ceremony, your academic hood is provided to you free of charge.*
*Academic hoods are only provided to those who attend the ceremony in person. We do not mail academic hoods to those unable to attend.
There are many hotels in Winston-Salem to suit everyone’s needs and budget. Wake Forest has information about visiting Winston-Salem here.
The 2026 Speaker will be announced in February 2026.
On campus parking will be available for those attending the hooding ceremony and reception. Guests with special needs may be dropped off behind Wait Chapel on Wake Forest Road. Cars transporting special needs guests may park in Parking Lot Q or other nearby spaces. A ramp is available both at the side entrance (nearest Parking Lot P) and at the right-front entrance. The Chapel has designated rows for wheelchairs.
Students earning their degrees may indicate their attendance at the ceremony via the Hooding Ceremony and Conferral Registration form. This will be published in early Spring 2026.
Students can indicate the number of guests attending the Hooding Ceremony and Reception via the registration form. Please note that there is no limit to the number of guests a student may bring, but that an actual count is required for the ceremony and the reception that follows the ceremony.
Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and seats may not be held for late arrivals. Late arrivals will be directed to balcony seating to avoid disruption of the ceremony.
A professional photographer will take two photographs while the graduate is on stage – one as the graduate is hooded and the other with the Dean of the School of Professional Studies. Both photographs will be sent electronically to each graduate’s Wake Forest email address. We ask that all guests remain in their seats to take photographs or videos. Please note that a photo station will be available at the reception following the ceremony for additional photographs.
A dessert reception will follow the hooding ceremony; details about the reception will be shared with graduates closer to the date of the event.
A livestream of the hooding ceremony will be available and shared with graduates closer to the date of the event.
The University Commencement Ceremony on the third Monday of each May serves as the graduation celebration for Wake Forest’s undergraduate students. While graduate students are welcome to attend and listen to the commencement speaker, they will not be formally recognized at this event. Graduate students who plan to attend Monday’s ceremony will be required to show their Deacon OneCard for entry. The SPS Hooding Ceremony serves as the commencement event for SPS graduate students.
