About Commencement
The 2025 Rausser College of Natural Resources Commencement will take place on Sunday, May 18th, at 7pm.
All Rausser College students who graduated or will graduate in the following semesters are invited to participate:
- Summer 2024
- Fall 2024
- Spring 2025
- Summer 2025
- Fall 2025
Students who participated in the Spring 2024 ceremony are not eligible to participate in the Spring 2025 ceremony.
Registration
All student participants must register to participate in the ceremony. Student participants must register by no later than Thursday, April 17th. Due to CalPerformances production timelines, not additional registrations can be accepted after April 17th.
Undergraduate Student Registration form
Graduate Student Registration form
Accommodations
If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL, interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media, etc.) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please fill out the following Accommodation Request form by May 2, 2025.
Ticket Information
A: Students who are unable to come in-person to pick-up their tickets may identify a person to pick up the tickets for them. This process will be outlined to registrants in an email in April.
Q: Will the Office of Instruction & Students Affairs mail tickets if I cannot pick them up?
A: No, the Office of Instruction & Student Affairs will not mail tickets. You will need to identify someone who can pick up the ticket on your behalf.
A: The offer of complimentary tickets ends at 4:30pm on Thursday, May 15th. Any tickets that remain after 4:30pm on Thursday, May 15th, will be returned to CalPerformances to be sold. If you do not pick up the tickets by 4:30pm on Thursday, May 15th, you will not receive complimentary tickets.
Regalia
Student participants are expected to attend the commencement ceremony in UC Berkeley regalia. The Cal Student Store will be your one-stop-shop for:
- Regalia (Caps, Gowns, Tassels, Hoods)
- Bachelors students should obtain a Bachelor's cap, gown, and tassel combo.
- Masters students should obtain a master gown, camp, and tassel combo. They should obtain a masters hood.
- Hood color for Masters of Forestry is Russet.
- Hood color for all other Masters of Science is Gold.
- PhD students should obtain the doctor gown, tam, and hood combo. PhD hood color should be PhD Blue.
- Stoles
- Cords for Academic Distinction (referred to by the Cal Student Store as "Honors Cords".) These cords are for undergraduate students who have a Cumulative GPA of 3.846 or higher.
- Diploma Frames/Covers
Starting in mid-February, the Cal Student Store will off all of the above-metioned regalia both in their store and on their website. To find student regalia online, you can visit their website.
Commencement and Degree Conferral
Commencement and degree conferral are two separate entities.
- Commencement is a ceremony, a celabration for you and your family of the completion (or near completion) of your college years. Participating in Commencement does not mean that you have graduated.
- Degree Conferral is the process by which you hreceive a degree from Berkeley. Transcripts and diplomas are managed by the UC Berkeley Office of the Registrar. For more information, please see the Registrar's website: Transcripts and Diplomas.
"Day-Of" Instructions
"Day-Of" instructions will be emailed to all registered participants on Tuesday, May 13th. These instructions will include information about:
- Parking
- Arrival Time, Location, and Instructions
- Things Your Should Bring
- List of Prohibited Items
- Instructions for Crossing the Stage to Receive your Commencement Certificate
Prohibited Items
- Large bags or packpacks
- Glass bottles/aluminum cans
- Alcoholic beverages
- Coolers/Ice Chests
- Baby strollers (designated parking available inside)
- Skateboards/bicycles/scooters
- Musical instruments
- Fireworks
- Noise-makers/Airhorns
- Rolls of toilet paper
- Confetti cannons and/or poppers
- Color bomb cannons and/or poppers
- Balloons (may be tied-off at the entrance gates at own discretion)
- Umbrellas
- Signs/Banners/Flags
- Tripods for cameras
- Animals (with the exception of documented service animals)
- Lawn furniture or chairs (small blankets, cushions, and low-back stadium seats are OK)
- Any items that can be perceived as weapons
**There are no bag or coat check available***All bags are subject to search***
How Can I Keep My Berkeley Email?
To keep your Berkeley email active, you will need to complete the Alumni Opt-in Process after you graduate and before the end of your grace period, which is 274 days from graduation. You will need to do these three things:
- Review the updated Berkeley Alumni Email Service Level Agreement
- Complete the alumni email acount opt-in process form
- Reduce the overall storage of your Google account below 5 GB
Note: After opting-in, alumni must keep their Google Storage udner 5 GB and log in to their account in a web browser at least once in a 6-month period to retain uninterrupted access to their account.
Questions regarding alumni email should be directed to bConnected@berkeley.edu (not commencement.rcnr@berkeley.edu).
Stay Connected
Stay connected to campus by joining My Berkeley, our alumni portal for mentorship, networking, and connection. With over 10,500 active users from all UC Berkeley schools, the portal offers access to the alumni directory, community mentorship, and formal mentorship programs — with 811 students and alumni already participating — branded spaces for school-specific connections, and more. Join today at my.berkeley.edu to remain connected with Berkeley wherever you are!
To keep your Berkeley email active, you will
Questions
Please direct any questions to commencement.rcnr@berkeley.edu. This website was last update on 5/8/25.