Friday, December 11, 2026, 6:00 p.m. — doctoral, education specialist and master's candidates. Saturday, December 12, 2026 — undergraduate, start time listed by NMSU as to be announced. Both ceremonies are at the Pan American Center on East University Avenue.
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Two ceremonies, two days, one arena
NMSU’s December commencement runs across a Friday and a Saturday, both at the Pan American Center:
Friday, December 11, 2026, 6:00 p.m. — doctoral, education specialist and master’s candidates.
Saturday, December 12, 2026 — undergraduate.
One small mercy: both are in the same building. Several universities on this site move between venues across a commencement weekend, and families who assume continuity end up in the wrong hall. Here the Pan American Center is the answer for both days.
Which ceremony applies to your graduate is worth confirming early, because it determines whether this is a full weekend or a single evening.
The Saturday time is not set
NMSU lists the undergraduate ceremony’s start time as to be announced.
We are leaving it that way. The temptation with a gap like this is to reach for last year’s programme and present a likely time with a small hedge attached — and that is precisely the move this project does not make. A 9 a.m. ceremony and a 2 p.m. ceremony are different days for a family flying into El Paso, and being confidently wrong about it is worse than being visibly incomplete.
The practical consequence: the Friday 6:00 p.m. ceremony is your fixed point. Build the trip around that, and keep the Saturday flexible — a refundable second night is worth more than a cheaper locked-in one until NMSU publishes the time.
Only half the year is published
NMSU’s site carries the Fall 2026 ceremonies and references a Spring 2026 programme. There is nothing for spring 2027.
That is an ordinary state of affairs in late July, and it will change. What we have not done is fill the gap with the 2026 spring date dressed up as guidance, because the December ceremonies here are confirmed, specific and imminent — the useful thing this page can do is be precise about them rather than speculative about something else.
If you are planning for a spring graduate rather than a December one, commencement.nmsu.edu is the place to watch, and this cluster is scheduled for recheck.
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Frequently asked questions
Which ceremony is which?
The Friday evening ceremony, at 6:00 p.m. on December 11, is for doctoral, education specialist and master's candidates. The Saturday ceremony on December 12 is the undergraduate one. Both are at the Pan American Center.
Why is the Saturday time missing?
Because NMSU has not published it — its commencement site lists the undergraduate start time as to be announced. We are not going to infer it from a previous year, because a morning ceremony and an afternoon one produce entirely different travel days and a wrong guess here is expensive for a family.
Where is the Pan American Center?
On East University Avenue on the NMSU campus in Las Cruces. Both December ceremonies are held there, which at least removes the venue-changes-between-ceremonies problem that catches families out at some universities.
What if my graduate is in only one ceremony?
Then your weekend is materially simpler and shorter, and the two-night assumption on our [hotel page](/nmsu/where-to-stay/) probably does not apply to you. It is worth confirming which of the two your graduate is in before booking anything.
Is there a spring 2027 ceremony date?
Not published as of this check. NMSU's commencement site carries the Fall 2026 ceremonies and references a Spring 2026 programme, with nothing for spring 2027.
How we verified this
Last verified: