2026 Winter Commencement

Date and Location

Winter Commencement 2026 will be held in person on Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 1:00PM Pacific Time. The ceremony will be held on the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey campus in the Irvine Auditorium and a reception will follow at the Samson Student Center. Seating at the ceremony is limited and all guests must have a reservation to attend: graduates are responsible for reserving guest seating. 

Graduate Information Sheet

An information sheet outlining important details for the ceremony and reception will be forthcoming.

Guests with Special Needs

If you have a guest with mobility issues who require accessible seating arrangements, please indicate this on the Qualtrics graduation petition or send an email to rsvp@middlebury.edu no later than November 27th so seating arrangements may be made for them. 

International Guests / Visa Requests

Middlebury no longer issues specific invitation letters for Commencement or other institutional events for international guests to apply for visas, based on information provided to us by the U.S. Department of State. You certainly may use your Commencement invitation, or you may use the link to the Middlebury College website where we outline steps you can take to support the visitor visa application of your guests. (You would adjust the sample letter accordingly to reflect the Institute Commencement details.) https://www.middlebury.edu/college/commencement-2023/international-guest-travel

Mandatory Graduating Student Information Meeting

A graduating student information meeting will be held on October 22 which will outline details surrounding commencement and graduating student speaker nominees will present summaries of their speeches. 

Commencement Announcements

Digital announcements to share with guests will be forthcoming.

Regalia

Caps and gowns are NOT required to participate in the commencement ceremony. In lieu of regalia, we encourage graduates to wear traditional cultural dress or appropriate business attire. Details surrounding regalia may be found here.

Graduates who have placed an order to be picked up on campus will be contacted by email early during the week of December 7th to pick up their order. 

Celebration Kit

Enjoy this downloadable celebration kit to commemorate the occasion in your emails, texts, social media, or Zoom. You can also print, cut, and use the ready-made printable signs to decorate your home as you celebrate your virtual Commencement ceremony. 

Please share your images, celebrations, and messages of congratulations with us on Social Media using the hashtag #MIISGradWinter2026

Zoom Background

To download the Zoom Background below, right click an image and choose ‘Save Image As.’ Be aware that you may have to mirror your Zoom video if the logo is backwards to correct this.