Graduation 2023 FAQ

Pima’s 2023 Graduation Ceremony will begin promptly at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at the Tucson Convention Center Arena, 260 S. Church Ave., and is expected to last approximately 90 minutes.

Pima does not charge you to participate in or attend graduation. No RSVP needed.

Pending public health and safety guidelines in May, you may bring as many guests as you wish to the event. Please, check pima.edu/graduationceremony for updates.

NOTE: Guests are not allowed on the Arena floor during the ceremony.

Yes. The 2023 Graduation Ceremony is open to all students who have graduated in summer or winter 2022 and Spring 2023.

Before May 1, students with disabilities who need accommodations to participate in the ceremony should contact the Access and Disability Resources office, 520-206-6688 or ADRhelp@pima.edu.

When you check in, we will give you a card with your name and academic information, which you can correct during this time. This card will be used to announce your name and degree/certificate as you walk across the stage.

As you wait in line for the ceremony to start with the graduates’ procession into the Arena, you are encouraged to capture the moment with friends and colleagues and post on social media using #pimagrad23.

Please, be aware of the details of Tucson Convention Center’s Clear Bag Policy. For more information, visit TCC’s Attending and Event webpage.

For liability reasons, Silly String is NOT allowed in TCC facilities. Also, vuvuzelas, air horns and other noisemakers are prohibited.

From doing social media posts, to participating in Photo Week and/or Share Your Smiles, you have a variety of ways to celebrate your graduation with the College and your classmates.

Include the hashtag #pimagrad23 on any posts you make about your graduation.

Photo Week is optional for you to attend. It is April 27-28, 2023, daily from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.No appointment is necessary.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the location for Photo Week has been moved to First Floor, Advanced Manufacturing Building, Downtown Campus, 1255 N. Stone Ave.

Pima does not charge you to participate in Photo Week and will provide you with information on how to access your photos online for FREE before Graduation.

Graduation is a culmination of your academic achievements and memories you’ve created during your time at Pima Community College and we want to highlight YOU during the show. If you want to share your photos or videos – of you in nature, studying in class, with family/friends or at a favorite spot and/or wearing your regalia or favorite outfit – you have until May 8 to submit them through a Google Form.

The College will share the link in an upcoming email. You will be entered to win a $50 gift card (20 winners). If you have questions, email pcc-tvstream@pima.edu.

Pima generally requires that graduates wear traditional “cap and gown” academic regalia during the commencement ceremony. At the same time, Pima also embraces graduates’ self-expression, both reverent and light-hearted, as part of the ceremony. Graduates may and often do personalize or supplement their traditional graduation attire to reflect their own traditions, achievements and personalities. There also may be times when wearing alternate ceremonial attire, other than a traditional cap and gown, enhances the commencement ceremony for the graduate while still honoring the importance of the occasion.

Regardless of what they wear, graduates should be mindful that the commencement ceremony is a proud and often profoundly important moment for those who are graduating, as well as for their loved ones and others in attendance. Accordingly, all graduation attire, in any form, should be respectful and not disrupt the ceremony or interfere with others’ enjoyment of the special occasion.

With those considerations in mind, please take note of the following:

• The College generally requires that graduates wear traditional academic caps and gowns during the commencement ceremony, subject to the exceptions noted below.
• Graduates may personalize and supplement their caps and gowns without prior approval. Such personal adornments should be respectful to other graduates and attendees and not unduly distracting.
• In lieu of or in combination with traditional caps and gowns, graduates also may wear the following (no prior approval required):
  • Native American ceremonial attire or regalia
  • Military dress uniforms
  • Academic regalia from any cultural or national academic tradition that was previously conferred upon the graduate by a college, university or other institution of higher education.
• With prior approval from the Provost’s Office, graduates may wear other cultural, religious or ceremonial attire appropriate to the significance of the occasion in lieu of or in addition to traditional caps and gowns. Requests for approval must be submitted to the Provost’s Office in writing not less than ten (10) business days prior to the date of graduation and should include:
  • a description of the attire the graduate desires to wear and;
  • an explanation of its cultural, religious or ceremonial significance to the graduate.
• Although it is not the College’s practice to question whether graduates are permitted, by cultural tradition or organizational regulation, to wear particular apparel or personal adornments, or if they are otherwise wearing them properly, graduates should wear ceremonial attire, uniforms and honorific symbols only if they are genuinely entitled to wear them and do so appropriately and respectfully.
• The College reserves the right to decline to permit graduates to wear or to require graduates to remove or alter, any attire or personal adornments it deems to be unduly distracting or objectively offensive.
• Student caps and gowns will be available for purchase at all campus bookstores until May 24, 2023, for approximately $48.50, plus tax. A limited selection also will be available for purchase in the check-in area on the evening of commencement. Students graduating with honors also may purchase a special stole for approximately $22, plus tax (actual prices will be announced prior to the date of graduation).

The deadline to order graduation regalia and keepsake items is April 23, 2023. Place your order at Pima bookstore's dedicated webpage: herff.ly/pimacc. The web page has details on availability and prices.

You can order special stoles and commemorative items from Pima's bookstore at the web page: herff.ly/pimacc.

If you have questions, email or call sm8471@bncollege.com or 520-206-3222.

Please email collegeevents@pima.edu or visit pima.edu/graduation.