Guest tickets for the 2026 ceremony will available for purchase online, by phone, or in-person at the Zellerbach Hall Box Office. The link to purchase tickets online will be made available mid-late Spring semester. Students will be notified when ticket sales begin for the 2026 UGIS Commencement Ceremony.
This event is expected to sell out. Tickets will be limited and availability of tickets for purchase is not guaranteed. Students will be able to purchase no more than 4 guest tickets until tickets are sold out. Students will be required to authenticate via CalNet when purchasing tickets.
All guests must have a ticket to enter the ceremony. All tickets are general admission and seats are claimed first-come, first-serve. Tickets for guests two years of age and under are free, but are still required and are included in the 4 ticket maximum. Guests with children under two years of age can pick up this free but required ticket at the Box Office on the right side of the venue on the day of the ceremony. Graduating seniors do not need tickets.
More information about registration, tickets, etc. will be sent in early February. Please keep in mind the ceremony will be livestreamed and recorded with captioning for those who cannot attend the ceremony. The recorded video will be posted to the UGIS Commencement website within 72 hours after the event. Please note that a reception will not be held after the ceremony.
Doors to Zellerbach Hall will open at 1:00 PM. Guests are encouraged to arrive at 1:00 PM and to be seated by 1:30 PM. While graduates are processing into Zellerbach, guests will not be allowed to enter. We ask that guests wait away from the graduates and doors they are entering to help them enter as quickly as possible. After all grads have entered, guests can go in. As guests enter, they may be scanned with hand-held security scanners. If they bring bags, those may be scanned as well. Please check back periodically for security updates.
Don’t forget your guest tickets for all attendees over the age of 2. Children two years of age and under are free, but require a ticket to enter the venue. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The following items are not allowed in the venue: Strollers, large backpacks, large blankets, structured stadium chairs, alcohol, cans, bottles, large ice chests, picnic baskets, lawn furniture, weapons of any kind, umbrellas, and pets.
Guests can pre-order flowers and pick up the order when they arrive at Zellerbach Auditorium the day of the ceremony: https://www.thecommencementgroup.com/uc-berkeley/.
Please note that a reception will not be held after the ceremony.
Parking can be difficult so we recommend arriving early. Nearby parking lots may fill up so we recommend arriving early. We encourage you to allot extra time to travel around campus. The City of Berkeley has a number of construction projects on the southside of the campus that will impact traffic during the week of graduations. See more details on the project page under “Construction Schedule."
Visit the Berkeley Parking and Transportation’s Public Parking for Department Graduations page for information about campus parking and free Bear Transit campus shuttles that will be available during the UGIS commencement ceremony. For up-to-date special commencement parking information, visit the Special Events section of the UC Berkeley Parking and Transportation website.
Zellerbach Hall's main accessible entrance is located on the east face of the building. To reach the entrance an individual must travel to the southeast portion of the building to take the ramp and reach the door. Once inside the venue, there is wheelchair accessible seating on the ground floor and on the balcony level. Guests who need accessible seating may be allowed into the venue early, before other guests can enter. They should arrive at the east entrance by the Box Office by 12:50 PM and Cal Performances event staff will be available to help guide them to available seats. Guests who need accessible seating can bring up to one other guest to sit with them in the accessible seating area. This seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis after the doors open at 1:00 PM.
Further information from Cal Performances regarding accessibility: https://calperformances.org/visit/accessibility/.