Three sittings, eight hours apart, and the split is published

App State graduates everyone on one day and divides them by college. Friday 11 December 2026, at Holmes Convocation Center, 111 Rivers Street.

Time	Colleges
9 a.m.	College of Arts and Sciences
1 p.m.	Beaver College of Health Sciences · College of Fine and Applied Arts · Hayes School of Music
5 p.m.	Reich College of Education · University College · Walker College of Business

App State’s rule is that graduates attend the ceremony “of the college/program that administers/houses their academic program”, so this is assigned rather than chosen.

That table is the useful part of the page, because the first and last sittings are eight hours apart. A 9 a.m. ceremony means arriving in Boone the night before, since App State asks guests to be parked by 8. A 5 p.m. ceremony can be reached on the day from a good distance, but leaves you driving a mountain road in December darkness afterwards, which is its own argument for a room.

No tickets, no limit, and open seating

Three sentences that change how a family plans, all from App State’s own guest information.

“Tickets are not needed for the commencement ceremonies, and there is no limit to the number of guests per graduate.” Bring everyone. Most universities covered on this site do not allow that.

Seating is open, on the upper concourse level, with volunteers at the entrance to help. With no tickets and no cap, the thing that secures a good seat is arriving early rather than holding a piece of paper.

Doors open one hour before each ceremony, and App State asks guests to be parked at least an hour before it begins, which for the 9 a.m. sitting means being in a lot by eight. Parking is free across several lots and decks, first come first served. Plan for approximately two hours inside, with length depending on the number of graduates.

The clear-bag rule nobody expects at a graduation

Holmes Convocation Center applies its arena bag policy to commencement, and it is stricter than most families assume.

Bags must be clear plastic and no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches. A clutch is allowed up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches, with or without a strap. One-gallon clear freezer bags are fine. A diaper bag is fine if it is clear. Individual seat cushions are allowed only if they have no arms and no pockets.

Refused: backpacks, camera cases, binocular cases, briefcases, fanny packs, tinted or printed pattern plastic bags, and oversized totes, duffels and mesh bags. Also refused at entry: outside food and drink, alcohol, noisemakers, laser pointers, sticks and poles, coolers and weapons.

All persons and containers are subject to search as a condition of entry. Sort this at the hotel. A handbag that is the wrong size is a walk back to the car, in December, having been asked to be parked an hour early.

Spring 2027 is dated and nothing more

App State publishes the spring round as three dates: “Spring 2027 Commencement ceremonies will be held Thursday, May 6, Friday, May 7, and Saturday, May 8.”

No times. No college assignment. That is the whole of it, and it matters because the December split above is exactly what spring is missing.

One warning against filling the gap yourself, and it is the reason this page will not do it either. It would be natural to assume spring repeats the 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. pattern on all three days. Last spring it did not. That Thursday carried a single 6 p.m. ceremony, with the three-sitting pattern running on the Friday and Saturday only. A family that booked a Thursday morning flight on the assumption of a 9 a.m. start would have had most of a day to spare, and one that booked a Thursday evening departure would have missed the ceremony.

So for spring: hold the dates, wait for the times, and check which day your graduate’s college is on before committing to travel.

Unpublished and absent here rather than estimated: Spring 2027 times and college assignments, ceremony length beyond App State’s own “approximately two hours”, and any accessibility or overflow-viewing arrangement.