Information for Guests
We welcome invited family and friends to celebrate with us!
All guests must have a ticket, which is claimed by the graduand during registration for convocation. Any guest under the age of 5 does not require a ticket as long as they are seated on the lap of a parent/guardian for the entire duration of the ceremony.
The term “graduand” is used to refer to an individual who is eligible to graduate but has not officially graduated yet. Once your graduand has crossed the stage at convocation they become a graduate!
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Getting to the Mattamy Athletic Centre
Toronto Metropolitan University is located in the heart of downtown Toronto and parking is extremely limited. Please refer to the Parking Location page for more information on public transit options and available parking lots in Toronto.
Guests are welcome to arrive up to 90 minutes before the start of the ceremony (8:00 a.m. for 9:30 a.m. ceremony or 2:00 p.m. for the 3:30 p.m. ceremony).
When you arrive, your grad will go to the Varsity Court for check-in. Guests will continue to the Convocation Arena guest entrances located on the third floor (for accessible seating) or fourth floor for general seating. There are no assigned seats.
Accessible seating is available on both the third and fourth floor. Any guests accompanying an individual with an accessibility request may sit in accessible seating together. Please be mindful of parking strollers, walkers, wheelchairs in this space as we need to keep the aisles clear for the graduand and faculty processions.
If you require assistance in accessible seating, a staff member will be happy to assist you. Look for individuals wearing a gold gown.
For more details on accessibility resources at convocation, please refer to our accessibility resource page. If you have other accessibility concerns, please contact us at convocation@torontomu.ca.
The Main Entrance to the Convocation Arena is located on the fourth floor. There are two ticket scanning locations, one on each side of the arena (east and west entrance). Each guest is required to have a ticket scanned. If you are presenting tickets on behalf of your group, please ensure you present ALL tickets for scanning.
We recommend guests find seats no later than 30 minutes prior to the ceremony start time (9:00 a.m. or 3:00 p.m.) if they wish to see their graduand process into the Convocation Arena.
Washrooms are located on the fourth floor of the MAC.
Guests are welcome to take photos during the ceremony from their seats. For safety reasons, please keep aisles clear and do not approach the stage at any point. A professional photographer will be on-site to photograph each graduate. Photo proofs will be emailed to grads shortly after convocation.
Flowers will be available for purchase on the first floor of the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The Campus Store will have two stations on the fourth floor for diploma frames and other TMU merchandise.
If you wish to order flowers in advance, please visit the Commencement Group (external link) .
Please note: the Mattamy Athletic Centre does not permit helium balloons into the venue. Any helium balloons in the Convocation Arena may be confiscated by the facility.
After the Ceremony
Please plan to meet your graduate on the fourth floor concourse for post-ceremony celebrations. Graduates will exit row by row and guided to the fourth floor by the convocation staff.
There will be photo stations in the fourth floor Jet Ice Lounge and throughout the building. Please be mindful that we ask all graduates to return their gown and hood and pick up their award document within 45 minutes of the ceremony end time so that convocation staff are able to prepare for the next ceremony.