Graduation Ceremony
At Columbia International University, graduation is a time to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and achievements of our graduates. We invite you to join us as we honor the students who are stepping into their future, prepared to lead and serve the world.
Whether you are a graduate, a family member, or a friend, graduation is a special occasion to celebrate academic excellence, faith, and the transformative power of education.
Saturday, December 13th
10:00 am Commencement Ceremony
Livestream will be available here week of Ceremony.
11:00am – 12:30pm Undergraduate
Graduate Info
Next Steps After Applying to Graduate
After you apply for graduation, you’ll be added to the graduation mailing list. This ensures you receive important updates and action items related to the ceremony and degree completion.
Check Your CIU Email Regularly
All official announcements—including details about graduation and your graduation audit—will be sent directly to your CIU student email. Make sure you monitor your inbox so you don’t miss any important information.
Graduation Regalia Information
Order Your Regalia
Graduation regalia can be ordered through Jostens beginning September 15 through October 17. Pre-ordering is strongly encouraged, as no orders will be accepted after October 17. A limited number of bulk regalia items will be available for purchase in the Campus Store for those who miss the deadline. For questions, please contact the Campus Store: (803) 807-5263 | ciu@slingshotedu.com
Regalia Packages
Bachelor’s Package – $59.99
Includes gown, CIU zipper pull, cap, and tasselMaster’s Package – $119.99
Includes gown, CIU zipper pull, cap, tassel, and hoodDoctoral Rental – $146.99
Includes gown, tam, tassel, hood, and CIU zipper pull. Doctoral rentals must be returned by 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 13.Doctoral Purchase – $799.00
Includes gown, tam, tassel, hood, and CIU zipper pull. Ships to student’s home.
Payment: All regalia payments are due at the time of pick-up.
Pick-Up Details
Dates: December 8 – December 12
Times: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location: CIU Campus Store
Students who pre-ordered will receive an email once regalia is available for pick-up.
Wearing Your Regalia
To help you prepare for the ceremony, we’ve included a visual guide for assembling your regalia.
Graduate Students (Master’s & Doctoral): Your regalia includes a hood. Please review the graphic for proper hood placement (examples shown are seminary graduate hoods).
Bachelor’s Students: Your regalia does not include a hood.
Associate’s Students: You will wear the bachelor’s robe.
Submit Your Graduation RSVP Form once you receive an email request from the Registrar’s Office later in the Spring semester.
This helps us to plan the ceremony accordingly (printed name in program), acts as your RSVP, and holds your tickets for your guests.
Conferring Degrees Takes Some Time
Diplomas for students graduating will be mailed out 6–8 weeks after the graduation ceremony or conferral date. If your diploma receipt preferences have changed since you applied (i.e., want to pick up instead of having diploma mailed, or if you will be unable to access mail at the given address), please email us at registrar@ciu.edu.
Read CIU’s Graduation Policy.
Graduation Day Specifics
Graduates are asked to check-in 1 hour prior to their ceremony time in front of the Fisher Education Building. Graduates should arrive in their regalia. Students are not allowed to decorate their caps or regalia. However, traditional stoles are allowed. Fisher will not be locked during the ceremony so please limit bringing purses and other items to the ceremony.
Rehearsal
There will not be a rehearsal for the graduation ceremony. The Registrar’s office will be sending communication throughout the semester as to process and protocol regarding the ceremony.
Diploma Processing Time
CIU has three conferral dates per year — Fall (December), Spring (April/May), and Summer (August).
Your conferral date is based on the term you selected when you applied for Graduation and when all degree requirements are completed.
Please note that it does take up to 4-6 weeks for conferrals to be processed and applied to your academic record. You can verify your conferral date’s status anytime by viewing your unofficial transcript on myCIU.
Diplomas for all conferral graduates should be available 6 – 8 weeks after term end, roughly by late October for Summer conferrals, Mid-February for Fall conferral and early July for Spring conferral. Students with accounting balances will need to be settled in order for their diploma to be released.
Every graduate will be picking up an empty diploma cover to keep as they walk across the stage.
Graduation Activities Beyond the Ceremony
The Registrar’s Office coordinates the Graduation Ceremony itself.
Other services or events (ex. commissioning services, hooding ceremonies, dinners) are typically coordinated through the various colleges. Please reach out to your faculty advisor for information regarding these separate events.
Honor Cords & Stoles
Students who qualify for Honor cords and honor stoles will receive an email from our office and will be distributed from our office. Students unable to pick up cords and/or stoles will receive them during check-in on the day of the ceremony.
Scholastic honors are based on the student’s cumulative GPA as of the previous semester’s GPA and a completed 48 hours at CIU. Students will be notified via email if they earned scholastic honors. Only four-year undergraduate students are considered for scholastic honors.
I can no longer attend the Graduation Ceremony.
Let us know immediately if you are not able to attend the graduation ceremony by emailing registrar@ciu.edu or calling (803) 807-5040.
Guest Info
Tickets
Seating is limited and each guest will need a ticket for the ceremony. Each graduate will receive a specified amount of tickets to reserve for the ceremony. Graduates do not need a ticket for themselves, but do need to reserve their tickets once tickets are released. Tickets are for guests only. Children 3 and over who require their own seat, will need a ticket.
Tickets are allotted based on the number of students who are participating in the ceremony. We give the maximum amount of tickets that we can based on the available seating in Shortess Chapel, and this is determined once all RSVPs are received by our office.
The Registrar’s office will keep a waiting list for extra tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis. To add your name to the waiting list please email, registrar@ciu.edu. We cannot guarantee that any extra tickets will be available. However, Hoke Auditorium will be available for any non-ticketed guest(s) that would like to view the service via livestream.
Accommodations for Out of Town Students and Guests
Columbia, SC offers a wide range of off-campus accommodations, many of which are located within a short driving distance of CIU. CIU also maintains guestrooms at the Alumni Center, which are available to alumni, as well as current students and their families. Please contact the Alumni department if you have questions regarding their guestrooms.
Accessibility Accommodations
We would love to accommodate anyone that has accessibility needs. If you or your guests use a walker and/or wheelchair we are able to plan seating arrangements to make you comfortable. Please email registrar@ciu.edu or call (803) 807-5040 to request this.
Ceremony Photos
CIU’s University Communications department takes photos of this event, including stage photos of our graduates as they receive their diploma covers. The photos are made available to the students who participated through drop box in the weeks afterward. There is no charge to download from this repository. For any questions concerning photos of this event, please reach out to alumnicenter@ciu.edu or (803) 807-5500.
Questions?
Contact University Registrar at (803) 807-5040 or registrar@ciu.edu.
