South Carolina's next commencement is Monday 14 December 2026, and two things about it catch families out. It is on a MONDAY, so the night to book is the Sunday, which nobody holds by default. And it runs in TWO DIFFERENT BUILDINGS on the same day: Doctoral Hooding at 9:00 a.m. in the Koger Center for the Arts, then the main commencement at 2:00 p.m. in the Colonial Life Arena, about ten minutes apart on foot. Doors open 90 minutes before each ceremony and a clear bag policy applies. Spring 2027 follows across Friday 7 and Saturday 8 May, four ceremonies at the Colonial Life Arena with the college split published for each.
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The next ceremony is in December, and it is on a Monday
South Carolina’s next commencement is four months before the spring round, and it is the one to plan for first.
Monday 14 December 2026, and it runs as two ceremonies in two buildings:
| When | Ceremony | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. | Doctoral Hooding | Koger Center for the Arts, 1051 Greene St |
| 2:00 p.m. | Winter Commencement | Colonial Life Arena, 801 Lincoln St |
Two things about that table cost money if you skim it.
It is a Monday. Almost every cluster on this site runs a Friday-to-Sunday round, and families book accordingly out of habit. A Monday ceremony means the night you need is the Sunday. A family that books a graduation weekend the usual way checks out on the morning of the ceremony.
The two ceremonies are in different buildings. They are close, about ten minutes apart on foot in downtown Columbia, so this is not a driving problem. It is an address problem: a family with a doctoral candidate goes to the Koger Center in the morning, and anyone attending both moves between two venues on the same day.
Getting in
USC publishes this as standing policy for its ceremonies rather than per round:
- Doors open 90 minutes before each ceremony. That is 7:30 a.m. for the hooding and 12:30 p.m. for the afternoon commencement.
- A clear bag policy applies. USC uses the policy its athletics department applies to events at the Colonial Life Arena, which limits both the size and the type of bag. Check the current dimensions before you travel rather than assuming a handbag will pass.
- Ceremonies are live streamed, on USC’s Facebook account for the main commencement and on the Graduate School’s YouTube channel for the hooding. No Facebook account is needed to watch.
Every candidate is recognised by name and personally congratulated by the dean of their college, which is worth knowing because it sets the length: a ceremony that reads every name does not finish quickly.
Spring 2027 is five ceremonies, and the split is published
Friday 7 and Saturday 8 May 2027. The School of Law opens the weekend with its own ceremony outdoors on the Horseshoe; the other four are at the Colonial Life Arena, and USC names which colleges walk in each.
| When | Colleges |
|---|---|
| Fri 7 May, 8:30 a.m. | Joseph F. Rice School of Law, on the Horseshoe (rain location: Koger Center for the Arts) |
| Fri 7 May, 11:00 a.m. | School of Music; Darla Moore School of Business |
| Fri 7 May, 4:00 p.m. | Nursing; Arnold School of Public Health; Social Work; Information and Communications; Pharmacy |
| Sat 8 May, 10:00 a.m. | SC Honors College (BARSC students only); McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Sat 8 May, 3:00 p.m. | Palmetto College; Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing; Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management; Education; Joseph F. Rice School of Law (graduate programmes) |
Unlike December, spring sits on a Friday and Saturday, so the usual weekend booking works. What decides your nights is which ceremony is yours: an 11:00 a.m. Friday ceremony and a 3:00 p.m. Saturday one are two different trips, and a family with graduates in two colleges can easily be committed to both days. The Law ceremony is the earliest of the weekend and outdoors, so a Law family is best in Columbia from the Thursday night.
What we checked
The December ceremonies, their times, both venues and the livestream arrangements were read from USC’s own commencement page on 18 August 2026, and the door-opening time and clear bag policy from the registrar’s ceremony details page. The weekday was checked independently: 14 December 2026 is a Monday.
Worth being explicit about the college split, because it decides which day you travel for. South Carolina spreads its spring ceremonies across Friday and Saturday by college rather than running one event, and the December round is a separate, nearer occasion again. Neither is a single ceremony you can assume a time for.
Not published, and each a real absence: any guest or ticket limit for either round, a door-opening time specific to the December hooding, and the exact bag dimensions, which USC delegates to its athletics policy.
Where to stay, and why Columbia’s market behaves the way it does, is on the graduation hotels page.
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Frequently asked questions
When is USC's next commencement?
Monday 14 December 2026. Doctoral Hooding is at 9:00 a.m. in the Koger Center for the Arts and the main commencement is at 2:00 p.m. in the Colonial Life Arena. Both are on the same day, in different buildings.
Is it really on a Monday?
Yes, and it is the most common planning mistake on this cluster. A Monday ceremony means the night you need is the Sunday. Families booking a "graduation weekend" out of habit book Friday and Saturday and then find themselves checking out the morning before the ceremony.
Are the two December ceremonies in the same place?
No. Doctoral Hooding is in the Koger Center for the Arts, 1051 Greene Street. The main commencement is in the Colonial Life Arena, 801 Lincoln Street. They are close, about ten minutes apart on foot, but they are separate addresses and a family attending both moves between them.
When do doors open?
Ninety minutes before each ceremony. For the 9:00 a.m. hooding that means 7:30 a.m., and for the 2:00 p.m. commencement it means 12:30 p.m.
What can we bring in?
A clear bag policy applies. USC uses the same policy its athletics department applies to events at the Colonial Life Arena, which limits the size and type of bag that may be brought in. Check the current dimensions before you travel rather than assuming a normal handbag is acceptable.
When is spring 2027?
Friday 7 and Saturday 8 May 2027. The School of Law has its own ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on the Friday, outdoors on the Horseshoe, with the Koger Center for the Arts as the rain location. The other four are at the Colonial Life Arena, and USC publishes which colleges walk in each: Music and Darla Moore Business at 11:00 a.m. Friday; Nursing, Public Health, Social Work, Information and Communications and Pharmacy at 4:00 p.m. Friday; Honors and Arts and Sciences at 10:00 a.m. Saturday; Palmetto, Engineering and Computing, Hospitality, Education and Law graduate programmes at 3:00 p.m. Saturday.
Are the ceremonies streamed?
Yes. USC streams ceremonies on its Facebook account, and the Doctoral Hooding on the Graduate School's YouTube channel. No account is needed to watch the Facebook stream.
How we verified this
Last verified:
- University of South Carolina, Commencement (the 14 December 2026 ceremonies, their times and both venues, and the livestream arrangements)
- University of South Carolina Registrar, bachelor's and master's ceremony details (doors open 90 minutes before each ceremony, the clear bag policy, parking and accessibility)
This page is verified in two stages. Every fact is checked against the primary sources listed above, then the page is reviewed and signed off by our editor, A. Hassan. Corrections and enquiries: hello@graduationstay.com