Class of 2020

Class of 2020

a graduation cap that reads "I finally did it! Yay!"

If you completed your degree in December 2019, May 2020, or August 2020, you are invited to participate in the May 12, 2021 Commencement ceremony to be held outdoors. Details, including information about times, locations, and rented caps and gowns, will be provided to you as soon as they are available.

IU South Bend will celebrate Commencement outdoors on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. While in-person Commencement is limited to graduates only, friends and family are invited to attend virtually.

Students must reserve a spot ahead of time to attend. Please indicate your interest in attending.

Yes, we want you there and encourage you to attend.

Students must reserve a spot ahead of time to attend. Please indicate your interest in attending.

Graduates are invited to attend Commencement virtually.

CDC guidelines recommend people avoid travel because of extremely high cases of COVID-19 across the U.S. Each IU campus is making its Commencement plans in coordination with county health departments, and restrictions on events and gatherings vary based on community. IU has been able to successfully manage COVID-19 cases and avoid large outbreaks through routine testing on all of its campuses; limiting in-person ceremonies to graduates only allows the university to use the same strategy to ensure a safe commencement celebration.

Graduates will be asked to indicate their interest in participating, which IU will use to determine the time and place of each ceremony. Once students have responded to the request, campus organizers will finalize plans for the best campus location that allows for social distancing.

IU makes all decisions in consultation with its Medical Response Team. In addition to limiting in-person ceremonies to only graduates, those who participate will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing. All IU public safety protocols, including wearing a mask and physically distancing, must be followed during commencement.

IU is continually monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic, and all plans are subject to change based on the public health outlook in each community. The university is committed to keeping its campuses safe, and will communicate directly with graduates if plans change.

Please check your IU email address for messages from the Alumni Relations office leading up to the event.

Access to your email account was extended for this purpose, so check your university email account often.

You may also email our office, iusbalum@iusb.edu, with any questions.

If you are a 2019/2020 graduate and ordered regalia, you should have returned the gown (and hood, if you rented one) in the postage-paid packaging that Herff Jones provided. Please contact Herff Jones if you have questions about the return of your regalia.

If you plan to participate in the Commencement ceremony in May, rent-free gowns (and rent-free hoods for graduate students) will be available to 2019/2020 graduates who placed a rental order in 2020. Be sure to bring your cap with tassel (and stole if you earned a bachelor’s degree) to the in-person Commencement.

Families and friends of graduates

Sign up for Commencement notifications

Indiana University South Bend

1700 Mishawaka Ave
South Bend, IN 46615
Phone: 574-520-4872