Congratulations! Over the past few years you have accomplished a great deal. It is time to honor your achievement and celebrate your approaching graduation from Menlo College with fellow classmates, family, and friends.
This page contains information to help make this celebration meaningful and enjoyable. If you have any questions, please read through all the materials and if your question is not answered, please reach out to our commencement team any time at commencement@menlo.edu. We are happy to help. It is your responsibility to share this information with your family and friends and whomever you would like to support you during this time.
Monday, October 28 Last day to submit the Commencement Information Form
Tuesday, October 29 MANDATORY Senior Grad Fair – Student Union 5:30pm (choose one)
Wednesday, October 30 MANDATORY Senior Grad Fair – Student Union 12:30pm (choose one)
Friday, November 15 Last day to order regalia from Herff Jones
Friday, April 25 Honors Convocation
Tuesday, April 29 MANDATORY Senior Grad Fair – Student Union 5:30pm – Regalia and Tickets Pick-Up and more (choose one)
Wednesday, April 30 MANDATORY Senior Grad Fair – Student Union 12:30pm – Regalia and Tickets Pick-Up and more (choose one)
Friday, May 2 Last day to submit guest accommodations
Wednesday, May 14 MANDATORY Commencement Rehearsal, Quad 6:00pm (choose one)
Thursday, May 15 MANDATORY Commencement Rehearsal, Quad 2:00pm (choose one)
Friday, May 16 Reception for 2025 Graduates, President’s House 4:00pm
Saturday, May 17 Commencement Ceremony
8:30am Check-in begins, Wunderlich Field
9:00am Ticketed seating opens for guests
9:00am Group Cap and Gown Photographs begin
11:00am Ceremony begins
*Return gowns immediately following ceremony*
Friday, May 23 Deadline to return gown without a $150 fee
Log onto MyMenlo and click Graduation Petitions under Quick Links. Contact the Office of the Registrar with any questions at registrar@menlo.edu. YOU MUST PETITION IN ORDER TO GRADUATE, RECEIVE YOUR DIPLOMA, and PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY!
Complete and submit your Commencement Information Form no later than Monday, October 28. This information is critical for Menlo College to have on record to reach you for important updates after you graduate.
Stop by the Senior Grad Fair and order your cap, gown, and hood on time, learn about diploma frames and class rings, order senior portraits, and learn more about the big day! You only need to attend ONE of each set of fairs.
Your regalia is your cap, tassel, gown, and stole for undergrads and cap, tassel, gown, hood, and stole for master’s students. The deadline for ordering regalia is Friday, November 15. If you order your regalia past the deadline, there will be a $50 late fee added to your Menlo Student Account. AVOID THE FEES!
You may also order a Class Ring, Graduation Announcements, Diploma Frames and more from Herff Jones.
You may choose any photographer to take graduation portraits in your regalia, but Menlo has several options to offer from our partner photographers.
Kayla Stuart (Menlo College) Miranda Canniff (Menlo College) Douglas Peck (long-time Menlo Commencement photographer)
You may take those photographs anytime you like, feel free to check out regalia from the Commencement Office throughout the school year.
Group photographs (teams, clubs, leadership groups, etc.) will be taken on Wunderlich Field after you check-in the morning of Commencement. In addition, a photo will be taken when you receive your diploma from President Weiner and will be available for purchase. You are under no obligation to purchase photographs.
Two final information meetings will be held in the Student Union for you to complete tasks for your graduation. Regalia will be available for pickup, plus make sure everything is ready to go for your commencement ceremony!
You may invite as many guests as you like to your ceremony. However, you will only receive 5 tickets at the Spring Grad Fairs for the preferred seating area directly behind the graduate seating area (5 tickets, no exceptions). Additional seating for non-ticketed guests is available on either side and behind the ticketed seating area.
Click here for approximate seating arrangements. Seats are first-come, first-served and a member of your party must stay with the seats you have chosen. Please note: Menlo College does not issue invitations. It is up to you to notify friends and family of this special occasion and you may order invitations/announcements from Herff Jones.
We strive to accommodate participants or guests with special needs (such as hearing impairment or physical disability). Complete the link to communicate the needs of your guests no later than May 2, 2025 to allow ample notice to make arrangements, as seating is limited.
You are going to need to know where to go and what to do on Commencement Day! Plan to attend one rehearsal so your final day on campus is smooth and stress free.
Invite your family and close friends and attend a reception in your honor at President Steven Weiner’s house. Please be sure to RSVP once the invitation arrives in your inbox!
Honors listed in the Commencement Program and announced on Commencement Day are considered Expected Honors as they are based on your cumulative GPA as of the end of the Fall Semester. If you are graduating with expected honors, honor cords will be distributed at check-in on Commencement Day. Your diploma will reflect official Academic Honors earned based on your final cumulative GPA, and may be different from expected honors referred to during Commencement exercises. Honors are determined as follows:
• Summa Cum Laude 3.90 – 4.00 • Magna Cum Laude 3.70 – 3.89 • Cum Laude 3.50 – 3.69
The names of all graduation candidates are published in the Commencement Ceremony Program. The Commencement Program will list your degree, major, concentration (if any), hometown, expected honors (if any), and honors society membership (if any). This information will be taken from the Commencement Information Form and will be verified at the Grad Fairs.
Caps, tassels, and stoles are yours to keep, but the gown is a rental and must be returned immediately following the ceremony in bins provided around campus. If you are unable to return the gown immediately after the ceremony you must return it to the Commencement Office no later than Friday, May 23, 2025. Graduates who do not return their gown by this date will be charged the full purchase price of the regalia to their student account.
All residents with a campus mailbox should notify important mail sources (family and friends, DMV, banks and insurance companies, etc.) of their new address. Our campus post office can’t forward mail or packages. Please go to a US Post Office to complete a Form 3575; check the box #1 to forward individual mail. Although the form is online, some report that it is not possible to check box #1 to forward individual mail from our “business address”. At the end of each semester, Menlo updates our mailing list, then Return To Sender mail and packages for those who are no longer students. Because Amazon will not take back packages; we will donate them to Student Affairs. To close your mailbox earlier or tell us that you are staying after graduation, visit or call the campus post office (650) 543-3881.
Menlo College diplomas will list your name, degree, major, month and year of graduation, and any official graduation honors. The diploma will not list your concentration or minor. The name that will be printed on your diploma will be taken from your graduation petition.
You willl receive an eDiploma once the vendor creates your diploma. Your physical diploma will then be sent to the address provided on your graduation petition. Please note that the process to verify graduation requirements, confer degrees, and order diplomas will take approximately three months, so choose your mailing address accordingly. If you specify that you will pick up your diploma, you will receive a notice at the e-mail address provided on your graduation petition or a phone call when your diploma is available for pick-up. Your diploma will not be released if you have any outstanding financial holds with Menlo College. If you have any questions regarding your diploma, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@menlo.edu or by calling (650) 543-3737.
Degrees will have a conferral date of December 31st and May 31st. Please allow at least two months for processing degrees. Diplomas will be available in approximately three months.
Degrees will have a conferral date of August 31st. Please allow at least two months for processing degrees. Diplomas will be available in approximately three months.
