CEREMONIES

Guest Tickets

Each graduate will be allotted eight tickets for family and friends. The ticket distribution system will open at a later date, so please check back on this website for updates.

Graduates are asked to carefully read the ceremony logistics below to best prepare for participation in commencement.

• Graduates should wear academic regalia. Cadets should wear the assigned uniform. Cadets receiving a master's degree should be sure to purchase a hood for the commencement ceremony, but a cap and gown is not necessary.
• The Texas A&M University at Galveston Bookstore has academic regalia available for the ceremony. Students should be sure to get the regalia appropriate to their degree. Students receiving their bachelor’s degree should have a cap and gown. Students receiving a master’s degree should make sure to purchase a hood as well as their cap and gown. Doctoral degree candidates should be in doctoral robes.
• Parking fees will be waived for commencement:

• Graduates should arrive to the Aggie Special Events Center no later than 45 minutes prior to the ceremony start time with their regalia. Check-in generally begins no earlier than one hour prior to the start of the ceremony.
• Upon arrival, graduates will check-in and be provided honor stoles and cords if applicable
• After check-in, graduates will remain in the robing area to be lined up for the processional.
• During the ceremony, graduates will be called to the stage by major.
• Before the graduate’s name is called, the diploma tube will be provided just before walking on stage.
• As your name is called, you will cross the stage, stopping for a photo on stage. Immediately offstage, another area will be set up for a second photo. A link to purchasing photos will be added to this website after graduation.

Academic Regalia

Throughout the world, academic institutions have created a wide variety of customs as they have attempted to indicate the accomplishments of scholars, through distinctive dress, color and ceremony. American academic regalia have developed from English traditions, which originated at Oxford and Cambridge, and have been in continual use in this country since colonial times. By the twentieth century, institutions of higher learning in the United States had adopted a well-defined system of academic costume which now includes the identification of the different academic degrees by distinctive gowns, hoods and colors.

Gonfalons

The gonfalon, a flag that hangs from a crosspiece or frame, originated in the medieval republics of Italy as an ensign of state or office. Gonfalons have been adopted by many universities around the world as college or institutional insignias.

The gonfalon of Texas A&M University Galveston Campus and the eleven colleges of Texas A&M University all have similar maroon and white patterns. The white field common to all gonfalons serves as a background for the symbol of each college. The symbol of Texas A&M University Galveston Campus is the spiral pattern of the chambered nautilus shell which conforms to the mathematical formula derived from the Fibonacci series of numbers. The blue vertical bands behind it give stability to the vast open waters of the sea.

The Mace

The University mace, carried in ceremonial procession, symbolizes the rich history or Texas A&M University Galveston Campus. The head or the mace is made of Texas mesquite: inlaid on its front is a bronze University seal. A piece of teak from the original Texas Clipper (symbolizing maritime activities) and a piece of whale tooth ivory (symbolizing scientific research and teaching activities) are inlaid on the back of the mace. The foot and coupling between the staff and head are fashioned out of brass taken from the Texas Clipper II. As a coin is traditionally put under the step (bottom) of a mast, a 1962 penny is stepped in the brass foot to commemorate the year of the school's birth as the Texas A&M Maritime Academy. In the hollow center of the brass coupling between the staff and head is a small cavity, containing historical artifacts: a 1971 penny, symbolizing the year the school expanded beyond maritime subjects; a piece of Fort Crockett, the first Galveston building used by the school; and a piece of Kirkham Hall, the first building on the Mitchell Campus.

It was presented to the University in 2006 by Steven Conway, then Director of Information Services, who turned and finished the mesquite and assembled the mace. Trenton Thornton '86 milled the brass for the foot and coupling. Dr. Stephen Curley, Regents Professor, Department of Liberal Studies, suggested historical items to include in the construction.

Striking of the Ship's Bell

In the time-honored tradition of the sea, the ship’s bell is struck eight times to indicate the changing of the watch. In the Texas A&M University at Galveston tradition, the graduate with the highest overall grade point ratio strikes eight bells to indicate that members of the current graduating class achieved their goals and are now ready to embark on the next voyage of their lives.