FAQ: Faculty and Administrators

Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, New York City. You can find a map and get personalized directions to the venue on the Central Park website.

There are six separate ceremonies scheduled over two days: May 21 and 22, 2025.  Find the full list of commencement ceremony dates and times by school and major online.

Each ceremony is approximately 90 minutes long.

Faculty and administrators must RSVP to attend one or more of the undergraduate ceremonies. You are able to choose if you prefer to sit onstage as a member of the platform party or within the faculty section of the audience. 

Yes. Please let us know whether you plan to attend as a member of the platform party (wearing regalia) or as an audience member by filling out the faculty RSVP form for the undergraduate ceremonies. 

Yes! You are invited to attend the ceremony for your program and are encouraged to support your colleagues and the graduating students at all the other ceremonies. Both days’ schedules are identical.

Seating (both onstage and in the audience) is limited, therefore invitations are reserved for faculty and administrators only. 

No. Public transportation is encouraged and readily available.

Academic regalia (cap and gown) is required attire for all who plan to participate in the procession and sit on stage. 

Rumsey Playfield is a large, grassy lawn and the ground may be uneven in many places. Commencement also often involves a good deal of standing and walking for faculty, guests, and graduates. For this reason, we strongly recommend wearing comfortable shoes and discourage high heels. 

Academic regalia—the traditional cap and gown—is required attire for everyone who has a role in the commencement exercises and plans to sit onstage among the platform party. 

Anyone who still needs to order regalia must do so by April 30 by calling the FIT Campus Store at (212) 217-5690 or emailing Nate Crawford at [email protected] with the following information:  

• Name
• Height
• Weight
• Cap Size
• Highest Degree
• College or University (from which your terminal degree was received)

If orders are not received by April 30, the FIT Campus Store may not have sufficient regalia on hand to meet the demand.

We recommend you use the park entrance at 69th Street and Fifth Avenue; the path at this entrance leads directly to Rumsey Playfield. It's approximately a four-minute walk to the gate.

The nearest subway stations are 68th St/Hunter College on the 6 train on the east side; 72nd Street on the B and C trains on the west side. (Note: There are no elevators at either station.)

The closest bus routes are the M1, M2, M3, M4, M66, and M72.

Platform party members will be sent specific details closer to the date of the event.

You can also find a map and get personalized directions to the venue on the Central Park website.

Each faculty member that requires assistance should email Jacqueline Espaillat-Guerrero by May 15 to expedite the entrance process.

There will be two golf carts to transport persons who require assistance from the ADA/VIP entrance at Fifth Avenue and East 72nd Street directly to the backstage entrance area. The stage has a ramp that can readily accommodate a wheelchair or walker. 

Doors open one hour prior to each ceremony. 

You may bring:

• Hats, sunglasses, your phone—basic things you need to enjoy your time at Central Park!

Food and beverages will be provided throughout the day.

Commencement events are held rain or shine. Cancellations will only occur if conditions are dangerous—lightning, high winds or flooding, for example. In the event of a cancellation, we will inform you via the commencement website (fitnyc.edu/commencement) and through FIT Gmail.

Before and after each ceremony there will be a brief time available for you to visit with your students and their guests as they partake in refreshments, take family portraits, pick up gifts, and purchase memorabilia and other mementos in the Celebration in the Park tents.

There is no parking in Central Park. To find parking nearby, you can use a parking app or try these parking lots that are close to the venue, which offer daily and hourly rates:

• iPark: East 67th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• MGP: Parking: East 73rd Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• iPark: East 67th Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue

Smoking and vaping of any kind is not allowed at Rumsey Playfield and throughout Central Park under the city’s Smoke-Free Air Act. Also, commencement is a college activity and is covered under FIT’s Tobacco Free Policy, which prohibits smoking.

Yes! You will be able to tune in live on the commencement website, fitnyc.edu/commencement. The video from each ceremony will also be available on demand after they are completed.