Texas Woman’s University will host commencement ceremonies this weekend in Denton and Houston to celebrate our spring 2023 graduates.

Graduates from Denton and Dallas will participate in Denton ceremonies, scheduled Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13, in the Kitty Magee Arena in Pioneer Hall. Three ceremonies will take place each of those days.

The Houston ceremony will take place Sunday, May 14, in the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel. The third Blessing of the Hands Ceremony for graduating Nursing, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy students was held on the Houston campus May 9. The ceremony, which is completely voluntary, was revived this semester after being paused during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Women's Health Nurse Practitioner graduates in Dallas will have their own hooding ceremony Friday, becoming the first in the MSN program to do so. The ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. in the first-floor lecture hall, room 1010. Participants will leave for Denton following the ceremony.

Commencement rehearsal

The Denton commencement rehearsal is scheduled for 2 p.m., Thursday, May 11 in the Kitty Magee Arena. Anyone with a commencement role – staff volunteers, stage party, banner bearers, stage marshals, and faculty and student marshals – is invited to attend. Hooding faculty members who need to familiarize themselves with hooding or needing a hooding refresher are invited as well.

Parking

The ceremonies also will affect parking on the Denton campus. Faculty and staff are encouraged to park on the south side of campus, including in the parking garage, Friday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 11, to allow visitors to park closer to Pioneer Hall. Temporary garage permits will not be required, and decal parking will not be enforced on those two days. Reserved parking spots also will be open for visitor parking.

The spring 2023 commencement parking map shows the university’s plan for parking during commencement. Lots designated for commencement are shown in gold, with faculty/staff parking in purple. Note that Bell Avenue in front of Pioneer Hall will be closed to vehicular traffic those two days.

More commencement information

Visit the Commencement 2023 website to see the full commencement schedule, watch the ceremony livestreams, and see photos following the ceremonies. You can even download a PDF of the commencement program.

The site also includes stories on featured graduates. Read their stories of overcoming obstacles, following their passions, and the support they received along the way, including:

• A nurse practitioner and PhD candidate whose own experience with breast cancer determined her research path
• A father, mother, and daughter graduating together
• A Texas Woman’s colleague who is leading by example