News & Events

Commencement

Commencement is the official ceremony celebrating our graduate students and their work. This year’s ceremony is scheduled to take place in person on Thursday, May 5, 2022, from 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM at The Riverside Church, New York City.

Eligibility to Participate

Students who anticipate completing degree requirements in their entirety and who have submitted a graduation application are invited to participate in the annual spring commencement ceremony. Degree requirements include all course and fieldwork credits, the integrative master’s requirement (if applicable), and any prerequisites and/or workshops as defined in the catalog published the year of the student’s first term of enrollment and the individual letter of admission. All degree requirements must be completed or be in progress with expected completion by the end of the spring semester. Students who complete requirements after the spring term are invited to attend the following year’s ceremony. Students must be currently enrolled in the semester of their degree conferral.

Commencement 2022

Students who completed degree requirements in their entirety by the end of the summer 1 2021, summer 2 2021, summer-long 2021, fall 2021, or spring 2022 term, and who submitted a graduation application were invited to participate in the annual spring commencement ceremony taking place on May 5. Eligible graduates were sent an invitation to the commencement via their college-issued student email account in March. 

Commencement Information

  • Tickets

    2022 Graduates: Please check your Bank Street email for the link to order tickets for your guests. This must be completed by Thursday, April 14. Once you fill out this RSVP form, you’ll receive a link to order tickets at a later date. 

    Please Note: 

    • Our ticketing policy is meant to ensure that the Bank Street community can come together as one for Commencement.
    • Each graduate can request up to three tickets (not including themselves). Infants do not require tickets.
    • Multiple ticket requests and RSVPs will not be honored.
    • Only guests with tickets will be admitted to the ceremony.
    • We will be live streaming the event for all those that are unable to attend.
    • Due to rising COVID cases in NYC and in our own Bank Street community, all graduates, guests, faculty, staff, and volunteers are required to have received two vaccinations and to also have gotten the COVID-19 booster if eligible or have received an exemption. You will also need to have a negative antigen test on May 5 prior to coming to The Riverside Church. In addition, The Riverside Church requires all staff, tenants, guests, and visitors to wear masks at all times.
  • Robes and Academic Regalia

    2022 Graduates: Please check your Bank Street email for the link to order your academic dress from our vendor, Oak Hall. This must be completed by Thursday, April 14. Your email lists your degree type, which you’ll need to complete your order. 

    Please Note:

    • Caps and gowns are optional forms of dress for the ceremony.
    • Oak Hall will provide the academic dress you need to purchase: a black cap, and a black light-weight gown, with Bank Street’s school colors, royal blue and gold, in the master’s degree hood. The link to Oak Hall is in your email.
    • A Bank Street sash will be provided free of charge to all graduates who wish to wear one.
    • Caps and gowns will NOT be available on the day of the ceremony.
  • Venue Information

    This year, we are pleased to be able to gather in person on Thursday, May 5, for our Commencement ceremony at the beautiful Riverside Church, on Riverside Drive between 120th and 122nd streets. 

    Please Note:

    • 2022 Graduates: You are asked to arrive at 3:00 PM. We will let you know which entrance you should use. 
    • The ceremony begins at 4:30 PM and will last until approximately 6:00 PM.
    • We will inform you as to what time your guests can arrive and which entrance they should use. 
    • Due to rising COVID cases in NYC and in our own Bank Street community, all graduates, guests, faculty, staff, and volunteers are required to have received two vaccinations and to also have gotten the COVID-19 booster if eligible or have received an exemption. You will also need to have a negative antigen test on May 5 prior to coming to The Riverside Church. In addition, The Riverside Church requires all staff, tenants, guests, and visitors to wear masks at all times.
    • Photographs and/or videos will be taken at Commencement. By participating in or attending this event, you grant Bank Street College permission to use any image, audio voice recording, or video recording of you in all print and electronic internal and external media that the College may produce or produce in partnership with co-publishers, including but not limited to website content, social media content, videos, catalogs, brochures, print/digital/broadcast promotional or advertising materials, funding and donor materials, textbooks, and teacher or student resources. If you have concerns about photography or video footage taken at the event, please inform an event organizer.
    • We will be live streaming the event for those who cannot attend.
  • Special Ceremony

    If you are unable to attend the ceremony on May 5 at The Riverside Church for religious reasons, we are pleased to invite you and your family to a special ceremony. You must let us know by Friday, April 14 if you plan to attend this ceremony.

    Please Note:

    • The special ceremony will be held at the College on Monday, May 9 at 3:00 PM.
    • If you plan to attend this special ceremony, please email studentservices@bankstreet.edu by Friday, April 14.
    • Only those students who RSVP will be permitted to attend the special ceremony.
    • All visitors to Bank Street’s buildings are required to be fully vaccinated and to have gotten the COVID-19 booster if eligible.
  • Diploma

    Attention 2022 Graduates:

    Please Note:

    • Diplomas are not distributed at Commencement and will be mailed to students approximately two months from the date of graduation.
    • Diplomas are mailed to the address you indicated when you filled out your electronic Graduation Application.  
    • If you need to change the address where your diploma will be sent, please email studentservices@bankstreet.edu.
    • Diplomas will not be sent to students with holds. All financial obligations must be settled with the Business Office and books borrowed from the Library must be returned.
    • Questions regarding diplomas should be sent to studentservices@bankstreet.edu.

Scenes from Commencement 2022

  • Bank Street College of Education Commencement 2022
  • Bank Street College of Education Commencement 2022 at The Riverside Church
  • Drummers during Bank Street College of Education Commencement procession 2022
  • President Shael Polakow-Suransky at Bank Street College of Education Commencement 2022
  • Bank Street College of Education 2022 Commencement Honorary Degree Recipient, Carol Hillman, GSE '67 and '87
  • Bank Street College of Education graduates 2022
  • Bank Street College of Education graduates 2022
Carol Hillman, GSE '67 and '87, Bank Street Commencement honorary degree recipient 2022

2022 Honorary Doctorate Recipient

Carol Hillman
Carol Hillman, GSE ’67 and ’87,  a former early childhood educator and leader, consultant, adjunct professor, and Bank Street trustee and active alumni, was recognized with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa for her dedication to experiential learning techniques and scholarship in the field of education. Ms. Hillman attended Bank Street twice, earning a master’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education in 1967 and returning for a master’s degree in Educational Leadership 20 years later.
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