Commencement Ceremony Info

Oak Hall Cap and Gown, Inc. is John Jay College's exclusive regalia vendor. Cap and gown orders deadline is April 23, 2025. Caps and gowns will NOT be available for borrowing, renting or purchasing at the venue on the day of the commencement ceremony. You MUST have your regalia to cross the stage. 

For undergraduate students, regalia will include cap, gown and tassel.
For graduate students, regalia will include cap, gown, hood and tassel.

For those interested, there is a new design being launched this year for the John Jay stole. It will be available for purchase starting in March 2025 at the upcoming Spring Grad Bash event and at the Bloodhound Depot located on L2 of the New Building.

Graduating students who require accessibility accommodations for the day of the commencement ceremony, contact accessibilityservices@jjay.cuny.edu by Monday, May 5, 2025. 
 

Guests who require accessibility accommodations will be able to ask Guest Services upon entry at the venue day of the ceremony.

For graduating students who need religious accommodations, contact the Dean of Students at deanofstudents@jjay.cuny.edu by Monday, May 5, 2025.

The commencement ceremony is for Summer 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025 and eligible Summer 2025 graduates. There are over 3,600 eligible graduates in the class of 2025. Each graduating student who has registered to participate in the ceremony before the deadline will receive guest tickets. Historically, each graduate received up to three guest tickets. The ticket distribution process will be sent out electronically via Ticketmaster to their John Jay student email the week before the ceremony. 
 

All guests (adults and children) must have a ticket. Please note an important Barclays Center’s policy regarding children: “Children under 2 years old will not require a ticket but they must sit on the lap of an accompanying ticketed adult. Any child that has reached their 2nd birthday will require a ticket to enter the arena and must occupy their ticketed seat only.”
 

After the initial guest ticket distribution, if there are additional guest tickets, the College will notify eligible graduates who have registered to participate in the ceremony of an additional guest ticket distribution process. Guest tickets are subject to availability due to the total number of graduates and venue capacity.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice does not issue invitation letters for students' family members and/or friends. According to guidance from the U.S. Department of State, such a letter is neither necessary nor useful for the application for a B-1/B-2 Visitor's visa. B-1 is the classification for a Visitor for business, and B-2 for a Visitor for pleasure.

For general information on qualifying and applying for a visitor visa, go to the Department of State's information website at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english.html. Specific instructions on documentation requirements for the B-1/B-2 visa application at the embassy or consulate where your relatives will apply can be found at http://www.usembassy.gov/.

Writing an Invitation Letter: You may write a letter for your relatives inviting them to visit you. Include your family member’s name, birth date, relationship to you, passport number, the purpose and length of time of the visit, and whether you will provide for their room and board during their visit. If the invitation is to the commencement ceremony, you should also include the date and place of the graduation ceremony and our official commencement website link.

Enrollment Verification: Official documentation to confirm your enrollment can be obtained at Jay Express. You may request an Enrollment Verification letter and an unofficial transcript.

Additional Documentation: If you are providing your visitor(s) a place to stay and meals, it is best if you can document this with a lease or room contract and your bank statements from the last 2-3 months. If you are not providing this support, your visitor(s) will need to provide evidence of their own financial resources for the visit. F-1 students can contact Ms. Inga Mezale at imezale@jjay.cuny.edu for verification of their immigration status and J-1 exchange visitors can contact the International Studies & Programs Office by emailing Mr. Kenneth Yanes at kyanes@jjay.cuny.edu for a letter verifying their immigration status while at John Jay.

International Students on an F-1 or J-1 visa should also include a copy of an I-20 or DS-2019 and I-94 card as evidence of your immigration status in the U.S. Permanent residents and citizens can simply mention their immigration status in the above mentioned letter.

U.S. immigration law requires an applicant for a visa to overcome "the presumption of immigrant intent". This means that the individual should demonstrate that they have strong ties to their home country such as employment, property, and family and have no intention of staying permanently in the United States. John Jay cannot assist students in certifying that their family and friends intend to return to their home country so this burden of proof is on the visa applicants.