Commencement — Chico State Skip to Main Content
California State University, Chico
A proud graduate stands at commencement holding a diploma case high.

Commencement

Commencement is a time of remembrance, pride and reflection for students, families, friends, faculty and staff. Congratulations to the Class of 2025! Class of 2026, please bookmark this page for reference.

Students are at commencement and hold their diplomas in the air.

Apply to Graduate

The first step to commencement is to complete the graduation application.

2026 Commencement Schedule

We encourage all graduating students and families to check back regularly for more information about the commencement schedules, registering for ceremonies and more.

  • Office of Graduate Studies/Master's Ceremony - Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at 7 p.m.
  • College of Communication and Education - Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 7 p.m.
  • College of Agriculture and College of Engineering, Computer Science and Construction Management - Friday, May 15, 2026, at 7 p.m.
  • College of Business and College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Ceremony 1)* - Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 9 a.m.
    • Criminal Justice
    • Economics
    • Geography
    • International Relations
    • Political Science
    • Public Administration
    • Social Science
  • College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Ceremony 2) - Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 7 p.m.
    • Anthropology
    • Child Development
    • Health Services Administration
    • Health Science
    • Intersectional Chicano-Latinx Studies
    • Multicultural and Gender Studies
    • Public Health
    • Psychology
    • Social Work
    • Sociology
  • College of Humanities and Fine Arts and College of Natural Sciences - Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 9 a.m.

Local Resources

If you will be traveling to Chico, we recommend reserving hotel accommodations in advance as thousands of families will be coming to town that weekend. Explore Butte County offers a simple tool to find hotels and motels in the area on their website.

Find Hotels

Looking for things to do while you're in town or want to learn more about the area? These local resources are a great place to start:

Graduating students of the College of Communication and Education

Personal Ceremony Photographs

For questions about your commencement ceremony photographs, please visit GradImages or call toll-free at 1-800-261-2576.

A student participates in commencement and decorated their cap to read "Today Decides Tomorrow".

Looking for photos and videos of past ceremonies?

Browse Chico State's Flickr account to view albums of past commencement ceremonies. To view a video of your ceremony, please visit the @ChicoStateChannel on YouTube.