After two years of restricted commencement ceremonies, most individual schools will not require tickets for their May graduations.
The university published new details on its 2026 commencement website. Ceremonies held in both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Shrine Auditorium will require tickets for attendees. The Iovine and Young Academy commencement, held on-campus at Founders Park, will also require tickets, a school representative confirmed. All other on-campus events will have an open attendance policy.
Ten guest tickets will appear in each graduate’s USC Ticket Office mobile account on Wednesday, April 22. Additional tickets may be requested starting the following Monday, April 27.
The main commencement ceremony will be on Thursday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum and will require tickets.
The Marshall School of Business undergraduate and master’s commencement ceremonies, hosted in the Coliseum at 10 a.m. on May 15, will also require tickets for attendees.
The three ceremonies held in Shrine Auditorium — for the School of Cinematic Arts, the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and the Price School of Public Policy — will also require tickets.
Tickets will also be required for the Iovine and Young Academy graduation ceremony, held at Founders Park, a school representative confirmed to Annenberg Media. All other graduation ceremonies on campus will be open to the public.
Ticketing was introduced in 2024, after pro-Palestinian encampments took place on campus, when the university cited “safety measures” as the driving cause behind the change. Students were allotted eight guest tickets each for their individual school ceremonies; however, the main stage commencement ceremony was cancelled.
In 2025, the University resumed hosting the main commencement ceremony in the Coliseum. Tickets were still required for entry into both the main ceremony and the individual school ceremonies, though each student was allowed 10 guest tickets.
This year, most schools’ individual ceremonies will take place on Friday, May 15. Other degree commencement ceremonies will take place on Wednesday, May 13, and Saturday, May 16.
A full list of ticketing requirements and reception details for each school is available below and on the USC Commencement site, current as of March 31.
Requires tickets:
Main stage commencement ceremony
10 guest tickets available per graduate
May 14, at 6:30 p.m.
Ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Marshall School of Business
10 guest tickets available per graduate
May 15, at 10 a.m.
Ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
No reception
PhD Ceremony: May 13, at 9 a.m. at Davidson Conference Center, Vineyard Room
Price School of Public Policy
May 15, at 4:30 p.m.
Ceremony at Shrine Auditorium
Reception details will be available in the spring semester
School of Cinematic Arts
May 15, at 1 p.m.
Ceremony at Shrine Auditorium
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony on the School of Cinematic Arts Lawn
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
May 15, at 9 a.m.
Ceremony at Shrine Auditorium
Reception details will be available in the spring semester
Iovine and Young Academy
Graduating students may request tickets in late January
May 15, at 1 p.m.
Ceremony at Founders Park
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony on lawn behind Iovine and Young Hall
Will not require tickets:
Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
May 15 at 1 p.m.
Ceremony at McCarthy Quad
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony on Pardee Lawn/Argue Plaza
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
May 15, 9 a.m.
Ceremony at Alumni Memorial Park
Reception details will be available in the spring semester
PhD Ceremony: May 13, at 3:30 p.m. at Annenberg Hall
Bovard College
May 15, at 9 a.m.
Ceremony at McCarthy Quad
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony on Pardee Lawn/Argue Plaza
Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
May 15, at 4:30 p.m.
Ceremony at Epstein Plaza (E-Quad)
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony on Hancock Lawn
Davis School of Gerontology
May 15, at 4:30 p.m.
Ceremony at Founder’s Park
No reception
Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
May 15, at 4:30 p.m.
Ceremony at Bovard Auditorium
No reception
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
May 15, at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Ceremony at Alumni Memorial Park
PhD Ceremony: May 13, at 8:30 a.m. at McCarthy Quad
PhD reception will be immediately after the ceremony on Pardee Lawn/Argue Plaza
Gould School of Law
May 15, at 9 a.m. (undergraduate and JD programs) and 1 p.m. (graduate and international programs)
Ceremony on the USC Village Great Lawn
No reception
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
May 15, at 4:30 p.m.
Ceremony at the USC Village Great Lawn
No reception
Kaufman School of Dance
May 15, at 9 a.m.
Ceremony at Bovard Auditorium
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony in Kaufman Courtyard
Keck School of Medicine
May 16, at 9 a.m. (undergraduate, master’s and PhD programs) and 1 p.m. (MD, PA, SLP and DNAP programs)
Ceremony at the Galen Center
Receptions will be immediately after each ceremony on Pardee Lawn/Argue Plaza
Leventhal School of Accounting
May 15, at 4:30 p.m.
Ceremony at McCarthy Quad
Reception details will be available in the spring semester
Rossier School of Education
Master’s Ceremony: May 16, at 4:30 p.m. at the Galen Center
No reception for the master’s ceremony
PhD/EdD Hooding Ceremony: May 13, at 1 p.m. at McCarthy Quad
PhD/EdD reception will be immediately after the ceremony on Pardee Lawn/Argue Plaza
Roski School of Art and Design
May 15, at 1 p.m.
Ceremony at Bovard Auditorium
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony on Hancock Lawn
School of Architecture
May 15, at 9 a.m.
Ceremony at Founders Park
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony at Watt and Harris Courtyards
School of Dramatic Arts
May 15, at 1 p.m.
Ceremony at Epstein Plaza (E-Quad)
Reception details will be available in the spring semester
Thornton School of Music
May 15, at 9 a.m.
Ceremony at Epstein Plaza (E-Quad)
Reception will be immediately after the ceremony on Ramo Lawn
Viterbi School of Engineering
May 15, at 9 a.m. (undergraduate), 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (master’s)
Ceremonies at the Galen Center
No reception for undergraduate and master’s ceremonies
PhD Ceremony: May 13, 8:30 a.m. at Bovard Auditorium
PhD reception will be on May 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Associates Park