Hooding a Doctoral Student?

The ceremony is designed to give individual recognition to the doctoral candidate and his/her faculty advisor.

Please familiarize yourself with the procedure and share it with your doctoral student to assure the ceremony moves along seamlessly.

Important Reminders:

The faculty advisor escorts the student to the stage and they ascend together
The audience wants to see faces! Please make sure you and the candidate face the audience during the hooding
Do not stand in front of the candidate during hooding because the photographer only has a few seconds to get a good shot

Step-by-step instructions:

While waiting to ascend to the platform, stand in front of the candidate so that you (the faculty person) go up the stairs first.
As soon as the person in front of you in the line is hooded, walk across the platform, stop just past the Graduate School Dean, and face the audience.
While that is happening, the candidate hands his/her name card to the reader (Vice Provost McGoff), and then walks over to you, stopping in front of the Graduate School Dean. Face the audience!
The Graduate School Dean places the hood over the candidate’s head from behind, and straightens the tail of the hood.
The faculty person may choose to assist with placing the hood over the candidate's head. If so, make sure not to stand in front of the candidate. This blocks the view of the photographer and the audience.
Immediately after the hooding, it is appropriate for the faculty person to shake the candidate's hand (or hug, if you are so inclined).
Faculty member walks immediately past the president, down the steps and heads back into the line to be seated.
The candidate immediately walks to the president, shakes hands, receives a diploma cover, continues across the platform, down the steps and heads back into the line to be seated.