Search
Search

Ceremony details

  • Date and Time: Monday, May 16, 2022 at 7:00pm
  • Location: The Greek Theater
  • Commencement Speaker: Perry Bacon Jr. (details below in Commencement Program)

All graduating students are required to sign-up to participate in our commencement ceremony. An email will be sent out by our Undergraduate Advisors to students in early Spring 2022 to sign-up.

Commencement Program

The Political Science Department is proud of all of our graduates who have worked diligently to complete their studies and graduate during an exceptional time. To commemorate their accomplishments please join us for the department commencement!

Our commencement will take place on Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 7:00pm and will be held at the Greek Theater.

Commencement Speaker: Perry Bacon Jr. Perry Bacon Jr.

  • Perry Bacon is a columnist at the Washington Post, where he focuses on local, state and national government and elections. He has served in that role since May 2021. He was previously a national elections and government writer at Time Magazine, theGrio, and FiveThirtyEight, as well as a prior stint at the Washington Post. He has also served as a political analyst at MSNBC and a fellow at New America. He is a graduate of Yale with a degree in political science. A Louisville native, he returned to his hometown in 2018 and lives there with his wife Ann and daughter Charlotte. 

More details about the the Political Science Commencement to come!

Departmental Citation   

Each year, the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science awards a graduating senior the Departmental Citation in recognition of his/her outstanding accomplishments in Political Science.  The recipient of the Departmental Citation delivers the student address at Commencement. 

We are pleased to announce Dominic Moscatello as the 2022 recipient of the Departmental Citation. 

We also wish to congratulate Katrina Takami Goto, Vi Doan Le, and Elliott Masouredis as finalists for the Citation.   

Dominic Moscatello

Arriving to Berkeley from San Diego after twenty-six years as a professional musician,
Dominic Moscatello returned to school to pursue an environmental law degree focused on water policy. As a non-traditional student, Dominic started his journey toward academia after selecting political science as a major when he enrolled in San Diego Mesa College. His curiosity in political science quickly grew after taking lower coursework involving the American and comparative subfields. Eventually, with help from his professors, Dominic was able to tie his interests in water and the environment to research focused on global conflict and public policies involving common pool resource management.

Moreover, Dominic emphasized that one of the most exciting parts of his college
experience was signing on to the Cal website to find that he had been accepted to Berkeley as a transfer student. According to Dominic: “It was a difficult time because it was during the first
months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, I remember opening the letter on my screen to find that I had been accepted to Berkeley. I couldn’t help jumping up and down in my living room with my girlfriend.”

As a 45-year-old college graduate, Dominic hopes to inspire other non-traditional
students interested in changing their lives by returning to school. Or, as he suggests, “It is never too late to take a chance on education. Make a decision, welcome the challenge, and experience the delights of knowledge. I know it is a tough choice to make. But in my situation, I am truly grateful for the opportunities that became available after I made a commitment to my education.”

Information for Graduating Students

IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Gates will open at 6:00PM. All undergrads must check in outside of the South Gate of the Greek Theatre no later than 6:30PM.  

Be sure to bring your photo ID and your name card which will be distributed when you pick your free tickets.  You will need to fill out your name card preferably before arriving and hold on to the name card, as you will need to give it to the faculty presenter when you cross the stage.

The pavement at the Greek Theatre is uneven and sloped.  We have seen our share of students stumble. Wear sensible shoes (i.e., no 3-inch heels, flip flops).  Bring as few belongings with you as you need, as there's no place to safely store items backstage.  Also, keep an eye on the weather.  The Greek Theatre is an outdoor venue.  It could be chilly or exceedingly warm.  If it's an especially warm day, please bring water (stay hydrated) and wear sunscreen/ sunglasses.  Lastly, only graduating students and faculty are allowed backstage at any time.  Your family and friends will have a near-impossible time connecting with you once inside (receiving tickets, giving flowers).  Please decide on a rendezvous point with friends and family outside the Greek Theatre for before/after the ceremony. 

  • Lining up: At 6:30PM all participating students must be backstage and ready to start the procession.
    • Look for a table in the backstage area with index cards and pencils, if you forgot or lost your name card, legibly write your name on a card, and hold onto it. The announcer will read your name from this card as you cross the stage to receive your scroll. If you have any concerns about the pronunciation of your name, write your name the way it sounds (i.e. writing oski as os-kee). Consider including a rhyming word (i.e. rhymes with goatee). You can also say your name to the announcer. The cards are provided by GradImages, so you can order photographs by either filling out the back (or going on-line in advance to gradimages.com (external link) - click "Pre-Event Registration", type in "Berkeley", and click "University of CA Berkeley Political Science").
    • Line up single-file behind the barricade at the north end of the backstage area (look for signs posted on the wall). The faculty and Ph.Ds will proceed onto the north end of the stage first, so please allow plenty of space for them to gather.
       
  • Procession: At 7:00PM SHARP, "Pomp and Circumstance" will start and you will begin your procession from behind the stage to your seat - faculty first, followed by Ph.D.s, then Honors, and finally B.A.s. Faculty and Ph.D. candidates will be seated on the stage. All B.A.s will go down a ramp to the main seating area, where Suzanne will direct you to your seat. If you are late and miss the procession you can either join the graduates in the last seats or wait in the wings until the awarding of the degrees at the end of the ceremony. The walk from the stage to the seats and back involves a steep ramp with uneven pavement and a step off a ledge and over a grate, so please wear sensible shoes if you can and step carefully.
     
  • The Ceremony: There will be a series of speeches and award announcements, and then the conferral of degrees starting with Ph.D.s and then the B.A.s.
  • Ph.D.s: Arrive in your cap and gown but hold onto your hood. Stay in your seat until your name is called, then move to the center of the stage, meet your thesis advisor and give him or her your hood. Turn to face the audience while your advisor places your hood over your head from behind. Walk over to Professor  Hyde to receive your ceremonial scroll — your photo will be taken at this point — and then follow the photographer's instructions about how to proceed back to your chair. Once you return to your seat onstage, attach your hood to the button at the neck of your gown.
     
  • B.A.s: After the Ph.D.s are awarded, students in the front row should watch for the signal from Suzanne to rise and approach the stage. Efrat will separate and guide you into two lines on stage, and direct you to one of two announcers. Walk up to your "designated" announcer, hand him the card with your name on it, and cross the stage to meet Professor Hyde. The photographer will take your picture as you accept your scroll from Professor Hyde and later as you leave the stage. Pace yourself and stay at least 15 feet behind the previous student, so the photographer has a clear shot of you. Proceed in the same direction to leave the stage and return to your seat. Finally, Professor Hyde will grant the degrees and invite the graduates to participate in the traditional "moving of the tassle" on their mortar boards from right to left.

 

Information for Guests

Enter through the NORTH Gate (external link) of the Greek Theatre. NOTE: All graduating students must enter the Greek Theatre through the (alternate) South Gate.

Signs and balloons are NOT allowed inside the Greek Theatre for Commencement.

Gates will open at 6:00PM. The ceremony generally lasts about 2 hours, and the reception 1 hour. There is no comfortable place to sit out of the sun (or rain) so guests are discouraged from arriving too early. The Greek is a large ampitheater with plenty of seating, so getting a seat won't be a problem.

Tickets will be available for purchase starting in April.  Tickets will also be available for purchase on Commencement Day (cash only) at the North Gate of the Greek Theatre only (the entrance closest to Hearst Avenue).

UCPD has mandated that there will be bag searches at all Greek Theatre commencements.  Please travel lightly, leaving unnecessary backpacks, etcs at home or in car trunks.  In addition, Cal Performances has issued a list of prohibited items. 

In addition, these items are also NOT allowed at the Greek:  umbrellas, large bags or backpacks, alcohol, glass bottles/ aluminum cans, coolers/ ice chests, skateboards/ scooters/ bicycles,  noise-makers/ airhorns, musical instruments, toilet paper, fireworks, any items that can be remotely perceived as weapons, banners/ flags, lawn furniture/ chairs, tripods for cameras, strollers and balloons (must park/ tie off at entrance guests), and animals unless for documented service. 

Restrooms are located at both ends of the ampitheater. A wheelchair-accessible restroom is located inside the north entrance. A registered nurse is on duty backstage near the north entrance. Food and bottled water will be sold by Cal Performances inside the north entrance. Commencement Flowers will be stationed outside the north entrance.

Reminder: Only graduating students and faculty are allowed backstage or onstage at any time!