Graduation weekends: 48 hours in a college town

Commencement weekends bring parents, grandparents and siblings to towns they have never seen. Hotels sell out a year ahead, restaurants fill up and the ceremony takes one morning. These guides cover the rest: where to stay, where to book the celebration dinner and what to do with the free day.

30 Apr 2027*Penn State Commencement
State College, United StatesGraduation1 May 2027*University of Michigan Commencement
Ann Arbor, United StatesGraduation2 May 2027*Ohio State Commencement
Columbus, Ohio, United StatesGraduation7 May 2027*University of Georgia Commencement
Athens, Georgia, United StatesGraduation7 May 2027*University of Florida Commencement
Gainesville, United StatesGraduation7 May 2027*University of Alabama Commencement
Tuscaloosa, United StatesGraduation7 May 2027*UCF Commencement
Orlando, United StatesGraduation8 May 2027*UC Berkeley Commencement
San Francisco, United StatesGraduation8 May 2027*UNC Chapel Hill Commencement
Durham and Chapel Hill, United StatesGraduation8 May 2027*UW-Madison Commencement
Madison, United StatesGraduation8 May 2027*Rice University Commencement
Houston, United StatesGraduation8 May 2027*UT Austin Commencement
Austin, United StatesGraduation8 May 2027*SMU Commencement
Dallas, United StatesGraduation8 May 2027*UNLV Commencement
Las Vegas, United StatesGraduation9 May 2027*Duke Commencement
Durham and Chapel Hill, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*USC Commencement
Los Angeles, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*University of Virginia Final Exercises
Charlottesville, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*Vanderbilt Commencement
Nashville, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*Texas A&M Commencement
College Station, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*Northeastern University Commencement
Boston, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*University of Miami Commencement
Miami, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*University of Houston Commencement
Houston, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*University of Minnesota Commencement
Minneapolis, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*CU Boulder Commencement
Boulder, United StatesGraduation14 May 2027*University of South Carolina Commencement
Columbia, South Carolina, United StatesGraduation15 May 2027*Georgetown Commencement
Washington, D.C., United StatesGraduation15 May 2027*Fordham University Commencement
New York City, United StatesGraduation15 May 2027*Tulane University Commencement
New Orleans, United StatesGraduation16 May 2027*Boston University Commencement
Boston, United StatesGraduation16 May 2027*Yale Commencement
New Haven, United StatesGraduation16 May 2027*Notre Dame Commencement
South Bend, United StatesGraduation16 May 2027*Tufts University Commencement
Boston, United StatesGraduation16 May 2027*George Washington University Commencement
Washington, D.C., United StatesGraduation17 May 2027*University of Pennsylvania Commencement
Philadelphia, United StatesGraduation19 May 2027*Columbia University Commencement
New York City, United StatesGraduation19 May 2027*NYU Commencement
New York City, United StatesGraduation20 May 2027*LSU Commencement
Baton Rouge, United StatesGraduation22 May 2027*Naval Academy Commissioning Week
Annapolis, United StatesGraduation22 May 2027*Air Force Academy Graduation
Colorado Springs, United StatesGraduation23 May 2027*West Point Graduation Week
West Point and the Hudson Valley, United StatesGraduation25 May 2027*Princeton Commencement
Princeton, United StatesGraduation27 May 2027*Harvard Commencement
Boston, United StatesGraduation27 May 2027*Johns Hopkins Commencement
Baltimore, United StatesGraduation28 May 2027*MIT Commencement
Boston, United StatesGraduation29 May 2027*Cornell Commencement
Ithaca, United StatesGraduation30 May 2027*Brown University Commencement
Providence, United StatesGraduation31 May 2027*Boston College Commencement
Boston, United StatesGraduation31 May 2027*McGill University Convocation
Montreal, CanadaGraduation5 Jun 2027*University of Chicago Convocation
Chicago, United StatesGraduation7 Jun 2027*University of Toronto Convocation
Toronto, CanadaGraduation11 Jun 2027*UCLA Commencement
Los Angeles, United StatesGraduation11 Jun 2027*Caltech Commencement
Pasadena, United StatesGraduation12 Jun 2027*University of Washington Commencement
Seattle, United StatesGraduation12 Jun 2027*UC San Diego Commencement
San Diego, United StatesGraduation13 Jun 2027*Dartmouth Commencement
Hanover, New Hampshire, United StatesGraduation13 Jun 2027*Stanford Commencement
Palo Alto and Stanford, United StatesGraduation13 Jun 2027*Northwestern Commencement
Chicago, United StatesGraduation21 Jun 2027*University of Glasgow Summer Graduations
Glasgow, United KingdomGraduation28 Jun 2027*University of St Andrews Graduation Week
St Andrews, United KingdomGraduation28 Jun 2027*University of Edinburgh Summer Graduations
Edinburgh, United KingdomGraduation28 Jun 2027*Durham University Summer Congregation
Durham (UK), United KingdomGraduation30 Jun 2027*University of Cambridge General Admission
Cambridge (UK), United KingdomGraduation5 Jul 2027*UCL, King's and Imperial summer graduations
London, United KingdomGraduation12 Jul 2027*LSE Summer Graduation
London, United KingdomGraduation12 Jul 2027*University of Manchester Summer Graduations
Manchester, United KingdomGraduation

* Expected date, following the usual pattern. Not yet confirmed by the organiser.