Commencement road closures, security, and more

If you are participating in or attending one of the public ceremonies during Commencement, or if you are commuting to campus, here is some helpful information.

Yale College Class Day – Sunday, May 22

Class Day will take place Sunday, May 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. on Old Campus. The event is open to the public and takes place outdoors rain or shine. No tickets are required.

This year’s Class Day speaker is Ambassador Samantha Power ’92, permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet.

On Class Day, Old Campus will be accessible through Phelps, High Street, Dwight Hall, Lanman (handicapped accessible), and Cheney Ives Gates. Daniels and Miller Gates will be open for processing Yale College students only. A map of Old Campus with these marked gates will be posted to the Commencement website. 

University Commencement Exercises – Monday, May 23

Commencement will take place on Monday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Students from Yale College and the graduate and professional schools will gather with their families, friends, faculty, and university leadership for the conferral of degrees. This event is also open to the public and takes place on Old Campus, rain or shine.

For Commencement, access to Old Campus will be through Phelps, High Street, Dwight Hall, Lanman (handicapped accessible), and Cheney Ives Gates. Miller Gate will be open to processing graduate and professional students only. A map of Old Campus with these marked gates will be posted to the Commencement website.

Road closures

Road closures will be in effect on Monday, May 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to accommodate the Commencement procession. The portions of College, Elm, High, and Chapel streets surrounding Old Campus will be closed to traffic at this time.

There will be no road closures on Class Day.

Safety and security

Guests are strongly encouraged to avoid bringing bags to all major ceremonies. Please note that bags or luggage 12” x 12” or larger in size will not be permitted at Baccalaureate, Class Day, Commencement, the School of Public Health diploma ceremony, and the Yale Air Force and Naval ROTC Joint Commissioning Ceremony. All bags are subject to search at all events.

A luggage check will be set up in Phelps Gate for guests entering Old Campus who are traveling and must have their luggage with them at Class Day or Commencement due to swift arrivals or departures directly prior to or following the ceremonies. Unfortunately, large bags cannot be stored for the Baccalaureate ceremonies.

For information about these and other Commencement weekend events, visit the Commencement website at commencement.yale.edu. Important updates will be posted to this site and pushed through the Yale Events App for Commencement 2016.