Commencement Ceremonies
Live Stream Video Files
- May 14, 2022
- May 13, 2022
- December 18, 2021
- December 17, 2021
- August 2021
- May 2021
- Graduate & 3+2
- Undergraduate (Part 1) (Part 2)
- December 2020
- August 2020
- May 2020
Texas A&M University at Galveston will host one in-person ceremony for August 2022 graduates.
We are excited to welcome your friends and family for commencement ceremonies here on the Galveston Campus! Each graduate will initially have the option to receive 6 guest tickets to be distributed online through a ticketing website.
After the graduation application deadline, and if additional space is available, an email will be sent announcing students' ability to claim a set number of additional tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Graduates are asked to carefully read the ceremony logistics below to best prepare for participation in commencement.
All veterans of U.S. military services attending commencement in regalia will be wearing red, white and blue cords symbolizing their service to the United States.
Texas A&M University graduates who meet requirements for graduating with University Honors will be wearing a gold satin stole to at commencement. The University presents the stoles to Latin Honor graduates in recognition of their accomplishments. The stoles for honor graduates will be distributed during line-up before the commencement ceremony.
Students graduating with Galveston Honors must complete 18 hours of Honors coursework. Students must maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point ratio with at least a 3.25 grade point ratio in Honors coursework. Galveston Honors graduates will be wearing a maroon and white patch on their Latin Honors Stole.
Unless otherwise specified below, designation as an honors graduate requires that the degree candidate have completed at least 60 credit hours at Texas A&M University, and that they have at least a 3.50 GPA. The specific honors levels are as follows:
3.50 - 3.69 GPA = Cum Laude
3.70 - 3.89 GPA = Magna Cum Laude
3.90 - 4.00 GPA = Summa Cum Laude
TAMU Student Rules specify certain credits that are excluded from the calculation.
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.