Commencement

If you have any questions, please contact commencement@etown.edu.

These items can all be purchased through Balfour. A selection of Elizabethtown College class rings is now on display in the College Store and can also be purchased online through Balfour.

All regalia items including caps, gowns, hoods, tassels, and additional accessories can be purchased online. Orders are due by April 11, 2024.

Diploma Frames can be purchased through the College Store in-person or online. More options and personalization can be purchased at the Church Hill Classics site.

Yard signs can be ordered online through the  Etown College Store .

Personalized Commencement Gifts can be ordered through Print Services and should be ordered by April 11, 2024 to be sure they are received by Commencement.

Elizabethtown College Print Services is offering personalized Commencement Announcements and Graduation Party Invitations. These must be ordered by April 1 to ensure they are ready in time.  

All graduates are required to have full regalia including a cap, gown, and tassel to participate in Commencement, which can be purchased online. The deadline to purchase regalia is April 11, 2024. Garments under regalia should be business casual or business. Shoes should be comfortable and shoes with a spiked heel are not recommended.

Families are encouraged to arrive in time to attend Baccalaureate on Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m.

You can arrive for Baccalaureate as early as 6:30 p.m.

Vehicles carrying our guests with a need for special accommodations may enter Alpha Drive and drop off passengers at the top of The Dell. Please be aware that the drive will be barricaded, and all vehicles carrying passengers with the need for special accommodations must stop and request access from the Campus Security personnel stationed at that location. On the morning of Commencement, access to Alpha Drive for this purpose only will be available before 9:45 a.m.

After dropping off passengers, the vehicle should follow Alpha Drive to the stop sign at Mount Joy Street. At the stop sign, please make a left and then proceed along Mount Joy Street to Cedar Street. At Cedar Street, please make a left and park in the lot behind Myer Hall. In addition to this lot, vehicles with the appropriate tags may use any spaces on campus that are designated as accessible parking spots.

In the event that the ceremony is relocated to the Bowers Center, passengers needing special accommodations may be dropped off near the Bowers Center, and the vehicle may be parked in any available spots in the nearby lots. Our campus map denotes the locations of these lots. If additional is required, Campus Safety can be reached at 717-361-1263.

Graduates are asked to notify the College ahead of time should any guests require mobility accommodations by emailing commencement@etown.edu  .

Tickets are not needed if the ceremony is held in The Dell. Family and friends may sit in the designated seating area (first come, first served) or bring their own lawn chairs or blankets to sit in the shaded areas of The Dell. The only reserved seating in The Dell is for attendees needing special accommodations and our graduates. Please note that seating provided by the College is not in a shaded area.

In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held inside The Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-Being with overflow in Leffler Chapel & Gibble Theater. Each graduate is eligible to claim three guest tickets. Tickets become available for pickup in the Office of Registration and Records, Zug Memorial Hall 210, on Monday, April 29, 2024. Weekday hours of operation: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Extended evening hours are available on Wednesday May 1 , from 4:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are only necessary if the ceremony is moved indoors because of severe inclement weather. Unfortunately, the Bowers Center has limited seating. In the unlikely event that we would need to move the ceremony inside, we would have overflow seating in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center and Gibble Auditorium located in the Masters Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering, for anyone without a ticket.

Indoor viewing locations for the Commencement livestream will be available in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. If the ceremony is moved indoors to The Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness, and Well-Being due to inclement weather, then Gibble Auditorium located in the Masters Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering will also be available as a viewing location.

Restrooms are available in Schlosser Residence Hall, Myer Residence Hall and Royer Residence Hall*. Locations are at the bottom and top of the Dell respectively.

*Royer Residence hall is ADA Accessible

The Commencement Ceremony normally lasts about two hours.

The list of candidates for graduation in the commencement program are compiled before final grades and graduation clearances are financialized; inclusion does not constitute evidence of graduation. Therefore, Latin Honors and Honors in the Discipline are officially annotated on the graduates transcript and diplomas.

The Commencement Ceremony will be livestreamed for those not able to attend the in-person event.

• The Marketplace will be open for a complimentary full breakfast from 6:30 to 10 a.m. View the Complimentary Breakfast Menu.
  • To-go containers will not be offered at the Commencement Breakfast, but additional seating locations will be made available outside of the Marketplace as necessary.
• The Jay's Nest will operate from 7 to 10 a.m. Please note that Made-To-Order options will be unavailable; however, convenience items will still be available for purchase.
• The Blue Bean Cafe will operate from 7 to 10 a.m.
• There will be a light reception on the BSC patio following the ceremony.

Diplomas will be mailed out within one week after grades have been finalized.

• Graduates participating in Commencement will need to depart their college housing by 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 11.
• Non-graduating students will depart 24 hours after their last in-person final or by 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 09.
• RA's will depart by 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 12.