UNLV holds commencement in the Thomas & Mack Center on campus, twice a year. The fall ceremonies are Tuesday, December 15 and Wednesday, December 16, 2026: graduate degree candidates on the first day at 4 p.m., then two undergraduate ceremonies, at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., divided by college. Spring commencement is Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15, 2027, graduate degrees first and undergraduates the next day. Guests need no tickets; seating is first come, first served, so arrive an hour early. Each ceremony lasts about two hours.
UNLV commencement dates
| Ceremony | Date | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate degree candidates (doctoral, master's, specialist and certificates) | 4 p.m. | Thomas & Mack Center | |
| Undergraduates: Fine Arts; Integrated Health Sciences; Liberal Arts; Nursing; Public Health; Urban Affairs | 9 a.m. | Thomas & Mack Center | |
| Undergraduates: Business; Education; Engineering; Hospitality; Sciences | 3 p.m. | Thomas & Mack Center | |
| Spring Commencement, graduate degree candidatesUNLV posts the spring times on its commencement site once they are final. | Not yet published | Thomas & Mack Center (the usual venue) | |
| Spring Commencement, undergraduate degree candidates (morning and afternoon ceremonies by college) | Not yet published | Thomas & Mack Center (the usual venue) |
Source: UNLV Commencement, Upcoming Commencement Ceremonies (Fall 2026: graduate Tue, Dec 15 2026, 4 - 7pm; undergraduate Wed, Dec 16 2026; Thomas and Mack Center), read on September 25, 2026. Times and venues are the university's own words; where a cell says not yet published, it has not been.
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Two days, three ceremonies, one arena
UNLV runs every commencement in the Thomas & Mack Center, the arena on its own campus, in the same shape each time: one ceremony for graduate degree candidates, and two for undergraduates, split between a morning and an afternoon ceremony by college. Doctoral, master’s and specialist graduates and certificate holders all walk together. The dental, law and medical schools hold separate ceremonies of their own.
For the fall round the graduate ceremony is a weekday afternoon at 4, and the undergraduate ceremonies follow the next day at 9 and 3; the table above lists which colleges are in the morning and which in the afternoon. In spring the graduate ceremony is on the Friday and the undergraduates walk on the Saturday. UNLV posts the spring start times once they are final.
No tickets, so arrive early
Guests need no tickets, and seats are first come, first served. UNLV asks everyone, guests included, to arrive an hour before the start, and a ceremony runs about two hours. A family that wants to sit together should arrive together.
Parking is simple: UNLV says there is ample space outside the Thomas & Mack Center and in the Tropicana Parking Garage, with accessible spaces in both. Anyone who cannot travel can watch the livestream on UNLV’s commencement site.
Where to sleep
The Thomas & Mack sits on the south-west corner of campus, about a mile and a half east of the Strip. The quickest hotels to reach are on Paradise Road, between campus and the Strip: the Hyatt Place, with 202 rooms, the Virgin Hotels and the Best Western McCarran Inn are each about three minutes away by road, and the DoubleTree on East Flamingo about five. The Strip’s resorts are about eight minutes’ drive, the convention center district ten, and downtown’s Fremont Street about thirteen.
Harry Reid International Airport is under two miles south of the arena as the crow flies, so a family flying in can be at its hotel quickly.
We grade the pressure as low. Each family attends one ceremony and Las Vegas has a very large number of rooms. Spring commencement falls on a Friday and Saturday, so booking early on a cancellable rate is still sensible. That grade is our judgement from the supply, not a measured count of free rooms, which we have not taken for Las Vegas.
Paradise Road, between campus and the Strip
| Hotel | Min. stay | Prepayment | Cancellation / forfeit | Typical rate | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyatt Place Las Vegassource | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
| Virgin Hotels Las Vegassourcecheck rates | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
| Best Western McCarran Innsource | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Las Vegas East Flamingosource | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
- Hyatt Place Las Vegas: 4520 Paradise Rd, about 3 minutes by road from the Thomas & Mack Center. 6 floors, 202 rooms (HotelGuides). No graduation rule published. No map pin (404 twice).
- Virgin Hotels Las Vegas: 4455 Paradise Rd, about 3 minutes by road. We could not establish a room count from a source we would cite. No graduation rule published.
- Best Western McCarran Inn: 4970 Paradise Rd, about 3 minutes by road. 3 floors, 99 rooms and suites (HotelGuides). No graduation rule published. No map pin (404 twice).
- DoubleTree by Hilton Las Vegas East Flamingo: 4055 Palos Verdes St, about 5 minutes by road. 5 floors, 129 rooms and suites (HotelGuides). No graduation rule published. No map pin (404 twice).
Opens live availability around campus via our partner Stay22. Several of the properties above take graduation bookings only by phone, mail-in form, or lottery, so treat this as a price check against the rules in the table, not a replacement for them. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The Strip, downtown and the valley, by drive time from the Thomas & Mack
| Town | Drive time | Typical availability | Rate vs. epicenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Strip (Bellagio area)Check rooms in The Strip (Bellagio area) → | 8 min | Not measured by us for any round. | Not rate-compared. |
| Las Vegas Convention CenterCheck rooms in Las Vegas Convention Center → | 10 min | Not measured by us for any round. | Not rate-compared. |
| Downtown Las Vegas (Fremont Street)Check rooms in Downtown Las Vegas (Fremont Street) → | 13 min | Not measured by us for any round. | Not rate-compared. |
| Henderson, NVCheck rooms in Henderson, NV → | 21 min | Not measured by us for any round. | Not rate-compared. |
| Summerlin, Las VegasCheck rooms in Summerlin, Las Vegas → | 25 min | Not measured by us for any round. | Not rate-compared. |
Drive times are road-network durations from the Thomas & Mack Center with no traffic, computed on the OSRM public router on 25 September 2026. We have not measured ceremony availability in Las Vegas.
“Check rooms” are partner links (Stay22), and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Live availability near campus
Map and booking links are provided by our partner Stay22. We may earn a commission on bookings made through this map at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
When is UNLV graduation 2027?
Spring commencement is Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15, 2027, according to UNLV's academic calendar: graduate degree candidates on the first day and undergraduates on the second, all at the Thomas & Mack Center. The spring start times are posted closer to the date. The fall ceremonies are Tuesday, December 15 and Wednesday, December 16, 2026.
Which UNLV ceremony is my graduate in?
Graduate degree candidates have one ceremony. Undergraduates attend the morning or the afternoon ceremony depending on their college; for the fall round, Fine Arts, Integrated Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, Nursing, Public Health and Urban Affairs are in the morning, and Business, Education, Engineering, Hospitality and Sciences in the afternoon. The dental, law and medical schools hold their own ceremonies.
Do you need tickets for UNLV commencement?
No. Guests do not need tickets, and seating is first come, first served.
When should we arrive for UNLV commencement?
UNLV asks guests, graduates and faculty to arrive an hour before the ceremony begins. Each ceremony lasts about two hours.
Where do you park for UNLV commencement?
UNLV says there is ample parking outside the Thomas & Mack Center and in the Tropicana Parking Garage, with accessible spaces in both.
Where should we stay for UNLV graduation?
The hotels on Paradise Road, including the Hyatt Place, the Virgin Hotels and the Best Western McCarran Inn, are about three minutes from the Thomas & Mack by road. The Strip's resorts are about eight minutes away.
How we verified this
Last verified:
- UNLV Commencement
- UNLV Academic Calendar
- UNLV Commencement FAQ
- HotelGuides, hotels near UNLV, with detail pages for room counts
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