What time should I arrive? Where do I park my car? Where do I enter Fenway? Can I bring flowers inside? Will the concession stands be open?
For the fifth year in a row, Boston’s iconic Fenway Park will be home to Northeastern University’s commencement exercises.
Graduate and undergraduate students from the Class of 2025 will participate in ceremonies on Sunday, May 11.
Northeastern Global News will provide live updates from start to finish.
Each campus in Northeastern’s global network is hosting commencement exercises. The dates and times of those ceremonies can be found here.
Here’s everything graduates and their guests need to know about commencement at Fenway Park…
Members of the Class of 2025 and their guests will attend either the graduate ceremony in the morning or the undergraduate ceremony in the afternoon.
The graduate ceremony begins at 10 a.m. A pre-show starts at 8:15 and the procession approximately 8:50. Graduates must arrive at Gate B by 8. Gates to the park also open for guests at 8.
The undergraduate ceremony begins at 4 p.m. A pre-show starts at 2:15 and the procession approximately 2:30. Graduates must arrive at Gate B by 2. Gates to the park also open for guests at 2.
Graduates should enter Fenway Park at Gate B. Guests can enter at Gates A, D or E.
Parking near Fenway Park is limited. Complimentary parking is available on Northeastern’s Boston campus at the Columbus Parking Garage at 795 Columbus Ave. The garage is about a mile from Fenway.
Click here to download or print the Columbus Garage parking pass.
Fenway Park is accessible via the MBTA. Take the D branch of the Green Line to the Fenway stop, then it’s a short walk to the park. You can also take the B or C branches of the Green Line to Kenmore and follow signs to Fenway Park.
The guest list for Sunday is over 50,000, but about as many people will participate in individual college ceremonies during commencement week.
Starting with Monday’s College of Engineering graduate celebration and ending with Saturday’s COE undergraduate celebration, Northeastern will host approximately 50,000 graduates and guests on the Boston campus.
The ceremonies will be held rain or shine, excluding extreme weather conditions, and last about 90-120 minutes. In the event of rain, ponchos will be distributed to graduates.
Bags larger than 12-by-12-by-6 are prohibited with the exception of medical items and diaper bags. Flowers and balloons are also not permitted inside Fenway.
Guests may bring one unopened, clear, disposable, plastic water bottle, 16 ounces or less.
Graduates are allowed to wear Hawaiian Leis and bring the Northeastern-issued country flags that were selected by the graduates and provided by the university.
All attendees will enter Fenway Park through metal detectors. A list of prohibited items can be found here.
Click here to pre-order Northeastern merchandise for pickup at the college celebration ceremonies at Matthews Arena.
All proceeds will support students in need through the We Care Emergency Fund. Click here to learn more about We Care at Northeastern.
Concessions will be available for purchase before the start of the ceremony and will be closed once commencement begins. All registers are cashless and will only accept credit cards.
Water will be available for purchase throughout the ceremony. Alcohol will not be served.
For the 10 a.m. graduate commencement, each graduate is allotted six guest tickets that can be claimed using the MLB Ballpark App and the Northeastern email address of the graduate. All eligible graduates received email with information on how to access their tickets to their northeastern email address.
For the 4 p.m. undergraduate commencement, each graduate is allotted four guest tickets (due to the increased size of this year’s class) that can be claimed using the MLB Ballpark App and the Northeastern email address of the graduate. All eligible graduates received email with information on how to access their tickets to their northeastern email address.
Children aged 2 or younger who are able to sit on an adult’s lap do not need a ticket. Extra tickets are not available. Guest tickets are general admission.
For those who cannot attend, the ceremonies will also be livestreamed at news.northeastern.edu/commencement-2025.
Fenway Park Fan Services staff are available to assist with guests getting to their seats. Read more here.
Entrepreneur David Roux is the graduate commencement speaker for the 10 a.m. ceremony. Roux and his wife Barbara partnered with Northeastern in 2020 to launch the Roux Institute in Portland, Maine.
Elliot Grainge, a successful entrepreneur, record executive and Northeastern graduate, is the undergraduate commencement speaker for the 4 p.m ceremony.
The graduate and undergraduate ceremonies will each include three student speakers.
The graduate speakers are Kaitlyn Annas Gonyer (Bouvé College of Health Sciences), Kushal Shankar (Khoury College of Computer Sciences) and Isaiah D. Simpson (College of Engineering).
The undergraduate speakers are Luke Brothers (Bouvé College of Health Sciences), Jizelle Dorego (D’Amore-McKim School of Business) and Daunte Pean (College of Engineering).
Each campus in Northeastern’s global network is hosting commencement exercises. For more information on ceremonies and celebrations, visit the commencement website.