Clinical Guide Section 6: Fourth Year & Residency Applications Table of Contents Graduation Graduation, the culmination of your medical school career, is coordinated by the Office of Student Affairs. Traditionally, this event is held in the Nob Hill Masonic Center in mid-May, several days after the conclusion of IDS 115, the "Coda" course. Your class has the opportunity to vote for the graduation keynote speaker, for student speakers at graduation and homecoming, for student recipients of the Gold-Headed Cane and the Service Award, and for house staff and clinical faculty recipients of the teaching awards. Graduating classes also traditionally design a yearbook, throw a class party, and donate to the senior class gift. Graduation fees must be paid at the Office of Student Affairs, Room S-245. This includes the purchase of a cap, gown, and hood to wear at graduation; attending the post-graduation reception; parking fees, as needed; and optional purchase of the class photo. This is also the best time to contribute to the senior gift campaign. The class photo is taken on an advertised date several weeks prior to graduation. We try to get complete participation, including from students who initially matriculated with the graduating class. Children of our students are also welcome. Each student receives fifteen complementary invitations to graduation, which can be distributed to friends and family as a means of announcing your good news. Students may opt to purchase extra copies of these generic invitations, or to design personalized announcement cards. Additional information is available in Student Affairs. These invitations are not tickets, and anyone you invite is welcome to come to the ceremony. They will be able to sit in the general admission section in the balcony level of the Masonic Center. During graduation, students may choose up to three "hooders" to participate in the graduation ceremony. These people will be issued tickets for assigned seats in the main level of the Masonic Center. They will accompany the graduate onstage, place the doctoral hood upon the graduate's head, pause for a group photo to be taken by the School of Medicine's hired photographer, and finally escort the new doctor off the stage. The graduation program will include your complete name and residency match results. You will get your diploma from the Registrar's Office several months after graduation, so you must update that office with your correct permanent address. When you need proof of graduation for your residency program or state licensure, please contact the Office of Student Affairs for assistance. If you have any questions about graduation, please speak to Corrie Silva in the Office of Student Affairs. She can be reached at csilva@medsch.ucsf.edu or at 415-476-8081.