Dear Doctoral Students, family and friends,

We are delighted to announce the 2008 Rice Doctoral Hooding Ceremony. We want to make this is a special ceremony for you to share with your family and friends. During the ceremony, your thesis director will be announced, and the faculty member of your choice will put your hood in place.

The ceremony will take place on Friday May 9^th from 2:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M. in the Stude Concert Hall at the Shepherd School of Music (Alice Pratt Brown Hall -- see campus map). Doors will open @ 1:15 P.M. and everyone must be seated no later than 1:50 P.M. Immediately following the ceremony there will be a reception for students, friends and families. There will be a live webcast of the doctoral hooding ceremony. For more information on the webcast, please visit: http://webcast.rice.edu/webcast.php?action=details&event=1440

President David Leebron will be the speaker at the hooding ceremony. A still photograph of each doctoral graduate will be made by a professional photographer working on the platform. Parking will be available in the parking lot adjacent to Alice Pratt Brown Hall (see campus map).

Due to limited seating, each student may reserve up to four tickets; this includes children and those with special needs. A waiting list will be available for students to request additional tickets. Graduate students will be contacted regarding the wait list process. Guests with special seating needs will be accommodated. Due to limited space in these sections, only one family member or guest will be allowed to join the guest requiring the special seating.

When you pick up your regalia at the bookstore, your hood should be included in the package. Full regalia is required for the Hooding Ceremony. For general information regarding commencement activities see the University website regarding Commencement 2008. To view and/or print the Doctoral Graduation Checklist, click here.

Attention Doctoral Students: On March 24th, you should have received an email with instructions on how to register for this special ceremony, provide thesis information for the program, provide the name of your thesis director, select your hooding faculty member, request special accommodations, reserve up to 4 tickets to the ceremony, request your name be placed on a wait list for tickets that may become available prior to the ceremony. Please keep in mind you are only guaranteed four tickets.

If you have not received your registration email by Friday, March 28, please contact the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at hooding@rice.edu or 713-348-4002.

Registration deadline is Friday, Apr 25, 2008.

We are very excited about the 2008 Rice Doctoral Hooding Ceremony and look forward to celebrating this honored event with you.

Dr. Paula Sanders
Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies