Class of 2024 Hooding Ceremony Information and FAQs

Your graduation regalia should include a robe, a tam (hat), and a hood. See regalia below.

Wear your robe and tam to the Dedman Center. You will carry your hood into the ceremony. See the video which shows how to wear the regalia.

Permitted approved adornments are limited to gold honors cords; silver public service honor cords; white coif for Order of the Coif; Order of the Barristers medals; Barristers pin; and red, white, and blue veterans’ cords. Law school organization and academic center adornments may be worn if pre-approved by the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. No other adornments are permitted.

Permitted approved adornments are limited to gold honors cords; silver public service honor cords; white coif for Order of the Coif; Order of the Barristers medals; Barristers pin; and red, white, and blue veterans’ cords. Law school organization and academic center adornments may be worn if pre-approved by the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. No other adornments are permitted.

Read full Graduation Adornments Policy for SMU Dedman School of Law.

Graduates should report to Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports (6000 Bush Ave., Dallas, TX 75205) at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 10. You will check in at the tables at the door, and if you are graduating with honors, you will receive your honor cords there.

What parking is available? All attendees may park in any SMU parking garage or surface lot during graduation. An SMU permit is not required. They will all be open and free of charge. The Binkley and Moody garages are closest to Moody Coliseum. Map here.

Please remember that Moody has a strict bag policy. Do not bring anything with you that you do not want to carry with you during the entire ceremony. You will not be able to leave items behind and pick them up after the ceremony. 

Staff will give you a card with your name and degree printed on it and direct you to your line. While you are waiting, you should fill out the Flash Photo information on the back of the card. This is how Flash will contact you with the photos they take during the ceremony. You can also add a phonetic pronunciation of your name to the front side of the card.

You will hand this card to Dean Camp (LLMs/SJDs) or Karen Nobrega (JDs), and they will read your name directly from the card. Do not lose your card.

When it is time to process in, staff will lead you to the floor of Moody Coliseum. If you cannot navigate down one flight of stairs, please let us know as soon as possible. When it is time to be hooded, staff will direct you to the stage. Bring your hood and your card to the stage. While being hooded, there will be a picture taken; Dean Nance will hand you an empty diploma cover and a photo will be taken; and a posed photo will be taken at the bottom of the stairs. Your diploma will be mailed directly from the vendor to your address listed in my.smu. After you are hooded, you will return to your seat. Please remain seated until the end of the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, you will be dismissed row by row and will meet your family and friends outside in the plaza near the SMU Mustangs statue. The ceremony is expected to end around 2:00 p.m. give or take a few minutes.

Latin Honors: Dean Yeager will be sending an email to JD students who earned Latin honors late Wednesday, so you’ll know if you’ll need to pick up honors cords on Friday at 10:30 a.m. when you check in.

Order of the Coif:  If you are selected for Order of the Coif (top 10% in rank), you will receive an email on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in the afternoon with detailed information. You will pick up your certificate and coif at a reception on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Karcher Auditorium-Storey Hall.

We are honored you will be participating in SMU Dedman School of Law’s Hooding Ceremony on Friday, May 10, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. at Moody Coliseum. Below please find important information:

Schedule of Events
Please arrive at 10:30 a.m.—Students are instructed to arrive at 10:30 a.m. as well. However, they will enter Moody Coliseum through a different door than Family Hooders. You will enter through the Miller Event Center (3009 Binkley Avenue), Building 98 is shown on the SMU Campus map. Once all Family Hooders have arrived, we will demonstrate how to hood your student. Once all faculty and staff have arrived, you will be led into the Concourse and directed where to go. When the graduate proceeds to the stairs of the stage, the family hooder will join the graduate to go up to the stage to hood the graduate.

12:00 p.m. Hooding Ceremony—You will process onto the floor of Moody Coliseum and be seated in the Family Hooders’ reserved seating area.
2:00 p.m. Hooding Ceremony Ends—After processing out after the ceremony, you will be free to meet your new graduate.

Regalia
Bring the following regalia with you: (1) red tam (cap); (2) hood; and (3) gown. If regalia was not ordered by or for you prior to the deadline, you will need to pick up regalia beginning Monday, May 6th from the Barnes & Noble SMU Bookstore located at 3060 Mockingbird Lane in the Park Cities Plaza just west of US-75 (Central Expressway). The Bookstore’s phone number is 214-768-2435. Be sure to go as early in the week as possible to ensure a large selection of available sizes.

Parking
Parking will be available in the Moody Parking Center (Building #96), Binkley Parking Center (Building #62), or Mustang Parking Center (Building #102), all of which are very close to Moody Coliseum. See SMU Campus Map.

Prohibited Items
Moody Coliseum has strict rules about what items may be brought into the venue, and standard-sized purses, backpacks, and camera bags are prohibited. Only small clutches (no larger than 8.5 by 5.5 inches) and clear bags (no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches) are permitted. Please read here for more information about permitted and prohibited items.

Thank you for being a special part of this memorable occasion. We look forward to seeing you on May 10th. Please contact Rebekah Bell (214-768-4177 or rbell@smu.edu) with any questions.

What time may guests enter Moody Coliseum? The doors open one hour before the ceremony or 11:00 a.m. Please allow time to go through security screening.

Where do guests enter Moody Coliseum? Guests must enter Moody through the main doors.

What should guests bring/not bring? Security screenings will be conducted, and the SMU and Moody Coliseum Bag Policy must be observed.  Balloons, compressed air, and air horns are not permitted. No strollers. Service animals must have both their vest and their ID card.

Is there ADA guest seating? There is limited ADA seating in Moody on the Loge Level (table seating just above the 100 Level Sections). Seating in this location is limited to ADA guests and one attendant only. The entire party may not sit in the ADA seating.

Law Quad photos
When will the quad will be decorated? The law quad will be decorated with flowers and greenery from 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 9th through Saturday, May 11th at 2:00 p.m. for photos with graduates, family, and friends.

The Ceremony
Will there be a procession? Yes, graduates, faculty, staff, and family hooders will process to their seats.

What are the seating arrangements? Graduates’ seats will be seated on the floor of Moody. Law school staff members will be on the floor of Moody before the ceremony to help graduates find their seats.

What will happen on stage? Graduates’ names will be called, and they will cross the stage to be hooded and receive their diploma covers from Dean Nance. For graduates who have a “diploma address” listed in my.SMU, the official diploma will be sent to that address. For graduates who do not have a “diploma address” listed, the official diploma will be sent to the “home address” listed in my.SMU. Flash Photography will take individual pictures of each graduate as they are hooded and a posed photograph after crossing the stage. At the end of the ceremony, there will be a recessional. All graduates and the stage party will walk out of the venue to music. Please plan to meet your party outside the coliseum at the SMU Mustangs statue.

Will there be speeches and special moments? There will be plenty of inspirational words, photos and videos on the jumbotron, cherished time with your classmates to celebrate your accomplishments, and more.

Will there be concessions? Moody vendors will be selling bottled water.

What time does the ceremony end? The ceremony is expected to end around 2:00 p.m. give or take a few minutes.