Graduation

December 2025 Commencement Announcement

The East Carolina University Fall 2025 Commencement Ceremony will be held December 19, 2025, at 10 a.m. inside Minges Coliseum.

All ECU fall 2025 graduates, including those earning undergraduate, masters, doctoral, and professional degrees, needed to complete an RSVP form to participate in the university commencement ceremony.

In addition, ECU will host college recognition ceremonies in the afternoon and evening of December 19 in various locations. Guest tickets are required and are limited per graduate based on venue size and graduate numbers. 

For questions, email commencement@ecu.edu.

More information about ECU’s commencement ceremonies can be found on the Commencement website.

College of Education Graduate Recognition Ceremony

The College of Education’s ceremony will be Friday, December 19th at 1 p.m. in the Main Campus Student Center ballrooms. Guest tickets will be required and are limited. Emails about tickets will go out later in the fall. If you did not receive an email from the College of Education about tickets, please contact Dr. Dionna Manning at manningd@ecu.edu.

Tickets are Required for Guest Entry and all guests 3 and older will need a ticket! 

Parking and Accommodations for the COE Graduate Recognition Ceremony:

Graduates and families may park in the parking garage attached to the Main Campus Student Center. Plan accordingly and allow extra time since multiple ceremonies are being hosted on campus this weekend.  

Graduates who are planning to walk and be recognized on stage are asked to arrive to line up no later than 12:30pm Friday, December 19th with an ECU cap and gown.

Graduation caps may be decorated for the ceremony, but all graduates will be required to be in full graduation attire, including the graduation robe zipped up to enter the ballrooms. Balloons, confetti, and large signs are NOT allowed in the ballrooms.

Please direct all questions regarding graduation regalia to the ECU Dowdy Student Store, the College of Education does not handle regalia.

The student center is handicap accessible for guests and there are elevators in the garage and in the building for families and guests. All accessible spaces are available on a first come, first serve basis.

All students must first apply for graduation through PiratePort at least one semester prior to completing the requirements of the degree as stated by the Academic Catalog. Please visit the Office of the Registrar’s graduation web page for deadlines and instructions on applying to graduate.

Remember, there are two different ceremonies, University Commencement and the College of Education Graduate Recognition Ceremony.