Data Science Commencement 2026

Data Science graduate walks across the stage in cap and gown

Dear Data Science Graduates, 

CONGRATULATIONS on all the hard work that has led to your upcoming graduation!!! We are so excited to celebrate with you in June!

Required Action Item: Commencement Questionnaire

Please complete the Data Science & MCS Commencement Questionnaire by April 10 to let us know whether you will be participating in the Data Science, MCS, & Statistics Ceremony on Sunday, June 14 following the university stadium ceremony.

  • This form is required for students in the Data Science / MCS major who are (a) graduating in winter, spring, or summer 2026, and/or (b) planning to participate in the department commencement ceremony on June 14, 2025.
  • The questionnaire is required for all graduates, regardless of whether or not you intend to participate in the ceremony.

Additional Information Related to Graduation:

Please also share this information with your commencement guests. 

Apply to Graduate

In order to have your degree conferred, you must apply to graduate via Axess. The deadline to apply to graduate for spring quarter is Friday, April 10 at 5:00 pm.

Book Hotels Early

The San Francisco Bay Area will host 6 World Cup matches at nearby Levi Stadium in Santa Clara. One of these matches will coincide with Commencement Weekend. For families visiting from outside the Bay Area, please consider booking your hotel accommodations as soon as possible.  For your convenience, lists including websites of Bay Area hotels by region, are included on the Plan Your Visit page.

University Stadium Ceremony

Please see Stanford’s commencement page for all information regarding the university’s main stadium ceremony. Here are some highlights to read more about on that page:

  • Tickets will be required for the main commencement ceremony.
  • Who is eligible to participate in this year’s commencement ceremony

Department/Program Ceremony

We invite you and your guests to join us for the Data Science, MCS, and Statistics diploma ceremony immediately following the university’s main ceremony on Sunday, June 14.

  • Location: The Data Science/MCS/Statistics ceremony and reception will be held in the Sequoia Grove on Jane Stanford Way (in front of Sequoia Hall, across the street from CoDa).
  • Time:
    • Graduates and guests should arrive by 11:30am for the reception.
    • Everyone should be seated by 12:30pm for the ceremony.
    • The ceremony will last until approximately 2:30pm.
  • To ensure we have enough seating and refreshments for everyone, each graduate may bring up to five guests. On the commencement questionnaire, there is space to indicate how many guests you plan to bring. If additional seats become available after we receive all responses, we will reach out to graduates who indicate interest in bringing more guests on the questionnaire.
  • Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate students who want to attend multiple department ceremonies. If you are a double major, major-minor, or coterm, you will need to choose one ceremony to attend.
  • Please carefully review the Data Science, MCS, and Statistics diploma ceremony page for all the details.

Diplomas

Stanford no longer distributes diplomas at department ceremonies. Instead, all diplomas are mailed. Therefore, Stanford recommends that the address indicated in the application to graduate should be able to receive mail through the end of the calendar year.

Cap and Gown

Regalia (cap and gown) is required to participate in Commencement. Stanford and Jostens would like everyone to come to the Grad Fair at the Stanford Bookstore to get their regalia. It will be one-stop shopping and grads will be able to have their regalia in their hands when they leave.

  • April 13: Cap and gown (regalia) online rental for ship to home begins (shipping fees apply).
  • April 14-16: Grad Fair at Stanford Bookstore and in person rental regalia order/pickup.
  • May 1: Deadline to order rental regalia to ship to home(shipping fees apply).
  • June 1-14: Student rental regalia available for order and pick up.

Congratulations again on being so close to this wonderful milestone!

Sincerely,
The Data Science Team