Convocation Ceremony

The College of Nursing recognizes the accomplishments of our nursing students and candidates for graduation through the following events. These events provide an opportunity to celebrate with friends, family, and College of Nursing faculty, staff, and administration.
BSN White Coat Ceremony
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing White Coat Ceremony (BSN WCC) recognizes BSN students' transition into the clinical experience of the professional degree. Traditional, Accelerated, and LPN-BSN pathway students are recognized each semester. Information regarding each ceremony and the number of available guest tickets are provided to students upon completion of all first semester courses. Student registration is required. Ceremony information will be provided to students via their Jagmail accounts.
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Hooding Ceremony
The USA College of Nursing DNP Hooding Ceremony is a separate, special recognition ceremony hosted by the College to exclusively honor DNP candidates for graduation. During this specially-ticketed event, DNP candidates for graduation will receive their doctoral hood from a College of Nursing faculty member. The event is a smaller, more intimate ceremony but is not the official graduation ceremony; degrees are not conferred at the DNP Hooding Ceremony, but instead at University Commencement. University-approved Academic regalia (cap and gown) is required. Candidates are not allowed to participate without the approved regalia.
Fall 2025 Convocation DNP Hooding Ceremony
Date: Thursday, December 11, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. Central Time
Campus Location: The MacQueen Alumni Center
100 Alumni Drive Mobile, AL 36688
DNP Candidates Students who plan to participate in the Fall 2025 Convocation should RSVP by completing the DNP Hooding Ceremony Participation Form.
Guest Tickets: DNP candidates for graduation will be given a limited number of guest tickets, depending on seat availability. Requests for guests tickets must be noted on the participation form to ensure seating.
THE DNP HOODING CEREMONY PROGRAM IS NOT AN OFFICIAL GRADUATION LIST. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy in the program, printing deadlines may result in omission of some names and include the names of persons not completing graduation requirements as expected. Therefore, the DNP Hooding Ceremony program should not be used to determine a student’s academic or degree status. The Office of the Registrar maintains the university’s official registry for conferral of degrees and the student’s permanent academic record.
University Commencement
The USA Commencement ceremony is hosted by the Registrar to recognize not only College of Nursing graduates, but graduates from other USA colleges, as well. Conferral of degrees will take place during University Commencement. Degree recipients will be recognized individually and walk the stage to receive a diploma cover. Post-graduate certificate recipients are not recognized at the University Commencement Ceremony because they already hold a degree. For more information regarding Commencement, please visit the Registrar’s graduation website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Recognition Event Information
Yes. DNP candidates will be hooded on stage during the DNP Hooding ceremony. See information below regarding hooding and procession with the hood over one arm.
DNP Candidates: Please follow this to view a short video with instructions for the hooding process.
If you have any issues with the link, try to copy and paste the link into a different browser as the video format may not be compatible with some browsers.
DNP candidates may also like to view the hooding process from a previous recognition event as a demonstration. This is a link to the Fall 2022 ceremony. DNP recognitions begin at approximately the 1:43:00 mark in the video.
Parking
Event Registration/Check-In
Registration allows the college to anticipate the number of participants to expect for the ceremony, ensuring the venue is large enough to hold all participants and their guests.
Check-in confirms the participant is participating in the ceremony. At check-in, participants will go directly to the registration table to receive a card with their name and line-up number. This card will be carried during the processional and presented to the reader for the participant's name to be announced during the ceremony. Do not misplace this card. Participants who arrive late will be placed at the end of the recognition processional.
Information for Guests
Yes. Handicap parking will be available and clearly marked at the venue. The venue will have wheelchair accessibility. Once inside the venue, ushers will direct guests to handicap accessible seating areas.
Venue staff and student volunteers will be available to direct guests to available seating areas. Guests will not be allowed in the participant registration/check-in area. No strollers, balloons, signs, confetti, silly string, streamer pops, air horns, laser pointers, weapons, alcohol, tobacco products, vaping, or noisemakers are allowed.
Guest Behavior: To ensure all guests are able to hear and see the recognition of their participant, guests are asked to be courteous to all by not making excessive noise when their participant's name is called.
Personal Belongings
Information about the Mobile Area
Location/Contact Information
Our mailing address is (for US postal delivery):
University of South Alabama
College of Nursing
5721 USA Drive N. Room 3068
Mobile, AL 36688-0002
Telephone: (251) 445-9400