Thousands of graduating Roadrunners will celebrate earning their degrees this month with special traditions tied to the momentous occasion.
UT San Antonio’s Commencement ceremonies return to the Alamodome on Monday, Dec. 15.
During the 10 a.m. ceremony, graduates of the College of Sciences, the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, the College of Education and Human Development and the Carlos Alvarez College of Business will cross the stage.
At the 4:30 p.m. ceremony, graduates of University College, the College of AI, Cyber and Computing, the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design, and the College for Health, Community and Policy will receive their diplomas.
Stoles and cords
At UT San Antonio, there are many traditions involving accessories that students wear at Commencement, including the stoles and cords that signify special meanings.
Stoles, the colored sashes that students wear draped around their necks, represent participation in various activities at the university. For example, student-athletes and Honors College students are given special stoles to wear with their caps and gowns.
Many first-generation graduates will wear “first-gen” stoles they have purchased or made. Students also can purchase a “stole of gratitude,” which they can present to someone after the ceremony as a show of gratitude for the support the student received in reaching the milestone.
Commencement cords are ropes draped over the gowns, often with tassels on each end. Cords also have special meanings, with gold honors cords given to cum laude (3.50 to 3.74 grade point average), magna cum laude (3.75 to 3.89 GPA) and summa cum laude (3.90 to 4.00 GPA) graduates.
Students who are service members are eligible to wear red, white and blue veterans honors cords.
Mortarboards and Rowdy feet
Graduation caps also show up in UT San Antonio commencement traditions.
Undergraduates wear the tassel on the right side of the mortarboard until they’re instructed during the ceremony to move their tassel to the left side. Master’s and doctoral students always keep tassels on the left.
UT San Antonio students also have embraced the tradition of sprucing up their mortarboards with custom art and special messages to help them stand out in the crowd on Commencement Day.
Another group of students with attention-grabbing headwear are those getting degrees in construction science and management; they wear orange hard hats to denote their participation in the program.
Less conspicuous are the graduates wearing the Rowdy mascot’s orange feet. Students who served as mascots during their time at UT San Antonio get to wear the feet during graduation celebrations, when the individuals’ identity is revealed for the first time.
After commencement, mariachis perform outside the Alamodome to help give a celebratory feel.
The university has celebrated in this way since its first commencement in May 1976. Since 2013, pyrotechnics and streamers have also added to the showstopping Commencement coda.
Rings and hoods
Another unique tradition involves the UT San Antonio class rings that graduates wear. The rings spend a night at the Alamo to connect them to the history of San Antonio before they are presented to graduates at the semi-annual ring ceremonies.
This year, a doctoral conferral ceremony will be celebrated on Wednesday, Dec. 11, on the Main Campus.
About 65 doctoral students are graduating this fall. They include students from the College of Business, the College of AI, Cyber and Computing, the College of Education and Human Development, the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design, the College of Health Community and Policy, the College of Liberal and Fine Arts and the College of Sciences.
At this memorable celebration, graduates are introduced individually and cross the stage to accept their PhD.
During this traditional ceremony, with family members and friends attending, a faculty member or advisor drapes the doctoral hood over the graduate’s head and rests it on his or her shoulders.
Watch and hear what one doctoral student had to say about earning her PhD and what it meant to have the support of her family and professors.
