Graduation is a significant achievement and a moment to be proud of. It is an accomplishment not only for the graduates, but also for the parents and the whole family. Whether you’re announcing for a child or for yourself, you’ll want to share the good news with loved ones.
The wording depends on how you want to celebrate this milestone. You can choose a simple announcement card or an invitation to the ceremony and/or graduation party in a card.
To make it easier for you, Minted has a wide range of photo announcement cards and graduation invitations to choose from. You can easily pick a design as a template to start with and customize it with your pictures, name, event details, quote, a short bio, and more.
WHAT DETAILS TO INCLUDE
1. A PHOTO OF THE GRAD
If you’re sending your announcement after graduation, you can include a photo of the graduate in their cap and gown. Otherwise, choose your favorite portrait. Here’s our guide to grad photo poses and ideas.
2. THE GRAD’S FULL NAME
It may seem obvious but don’t forget to include your graduate’s name! For a more formal announcement include first, middle, and last name. For a more casual card, you can include a nickname.
3. SCHOOL NAME
Include the full name of the school they graduated from. For high school graduates, you can also opt to include the name of the college or university they may be headed off to.
4. PARENTS’ NAMES
Including the parents’ names in the announcement shows how proud you are. See below for ideas on how to include the parents’ names in the graduation announcement.
5. MAJOR OR DEGREE
If this is a college graduation announcement, don’t forget to include what the student studied. If this is a graduate school announcement, let your loved ones know what type of degree your grad received.
6. GRADUATION YEAR
Add the graduation year to the announcement card as part of the design. Remember, this card is a keepsake too!
7. BACK OF CARD
Have more you’d like to share? The back of the card is the place to get more personal. Opt for a design that leaves space on the back of the card so you can let your friends and family know how hard the graduate worked, what they enjoyed during their time in school, and what they plan to do in the future.
8. PARTY DETAILS
If graduation party is part of the celebration, you can opt for a graduation party invitation design. You can also simply add an enclosure card as the party invitation and send it together with the main announcement card.
SAMPLE GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
We’ve created a list of sample graduation announcement wording to get you started. You’ll notice that it’s organized by degree level and who the announcement is coming from. This way, you’ll find the best wording for you!
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT WORDING
-
Mr. and Mrs. William
Are proud to announce the graduation of
Michael Randy William
Alhambra High School
Class of 2024 -
Announcing our wonderful graduate
Annie Louise Chen
From Arthur Collin High School
Attending the University of Minnesota in the Fall 2024 -
Congratulations Laura Siena Thompson!
Class of 2024
San Marino High School
FORMAL COLLEGE GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT WORDING
-
Announcing the Graduation of
Anne Marie Xavier
The University of Virginia
School of Architecture
Bachelor of Arts
Class of 2024 -
You did it!
Robert Ferino Krummen
BSC in Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Graduate Class of 2024 -
Hip hip Hooray!
Juan Carlos Hernandez graduated!
UC Berkeley
Class of 2024
MASTERS DEGREE GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT WORDING
For all graduate degrees, you may want to consider including more information about the school journey you have been through, such as if what you plan to do with the degree or any other details that your loved ones may care about. Did you attend night school while working the day job? Perhaps you may want to include some thank you notes for people that have been supporting you. Use the back of the card or an additional insert card for your personal notes.
-
Class of 2024
Leslie Alice Wilson
University of Florida
Masters of Education -
Mastered It!
Harold Bruce
New York University graduate class of 2024
Masters in Journalism -
Jenny Day
UC Davis
Masters in Accounting
“A sincere thank you to my community of friends and family for supporting me along the way. I couldn’t have attended night school and kept my day job without your support. Much love, Jenny.”
LAW SCHOOL OR PH.D. GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT WORDING
-
Congratulations!
Kelsey Jane Sutter
Degree of Law, University of Chicago -
Announcing
Kelly Wang, PhD
Clinical Psychology
University of Texas at Austin -
Benjamin Roy Arthur, M.D.
Columbia University
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT FROM PARENTS
Sending a graduation announcement about your child’s accomplishment is a great way to communicate your pride. Here are a few different ways parents can word a graduate announcement and share the family’s big news:
We are proud to announce that [Name], [Relationship (e.g. son, daughter, granddaughter, etc.) of [Your Name]], has graduated with a [Degree and Field of Study] from [Name of Institution]. The graduation ceremony will take place on [Date and Time] at [Location]. We would like to extend an invitation to all family and friends to join us in celebrating this momentous occasion. Please RSVP by [Date]
To make it sleek and tidy, you can shorten the text to fit on your announcement card design.
-
Jill and Steve Reynolds
Proudly announce the graduation of
Samantha Reynolds
Class of 2024
Mills College -
Congratulations to our son
Steven Arthur Miller
Class of 2024
Bowdoin College
B.A. in English Literature
With love, the Millers -
Jane and Frank Johnson
Invite you to celebrate
Paul Adam Johnson
Class of 2024
Middlebury College
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT WITH CEREMONY INFO
Include a 5.5” x 4.25” insert card along with your announcement to invite guests to the graduation ceremony. You can use this space to provide guests with the log-in details to watch from afar or join a virtual party. You can also include wording directly on the announcement such as:
-
Please Join us at the graduation ceremony of
Bryan Eric Schatz
Class of 2024
West Branchville Tech Auditorium
At 1PM on June 5, 2024 -
Mary Black
Class of 2024
Rockland High School
Please join the ceremony virtually
At 2PM on June 5, 2024
[link] -
You’re invited to attend
The graduation ceremony of
Louise Jean Kelly
Parker High School
[address]
At 2PM on June 5, 2024
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT WITH PARTY INVITATION WORDING
Having a party to celebrate your graduation? Your graduation announcement can double as a party invitation, or you can just send a traditional graduation party invitation. Whatever route you choose, you’ll need to include a few more details, like when and where your party will be, and perhaps who the party will be hosted by. Another option: you can include a separate insert card with party details with your announcement.
-
Please Join us in Celebrating
Martin Alan
Park Day High School Class of 2024
[Party location address]
At 2PM on June 5, 2024 -
He did it! And you’re invited to celebrate
Peter Farber, Class of 2024
Emory University
At [address]
[Date]
RSVP to Sarah and David Farber [email address] -
Stephanie Joseph
M.A. in Chemical Engineering
Florida State University
Class of 2024
Celebration to Follow
May 5, 2024
[Address]
WORD IDEAS FOR THE BACK OF THE CARD
The back of the card is where you can get more personal and share your excitement with your loved ones. Minted offers over a dozen unique design templates to choose from that can feature a scholastic timeline, message with school logo, or composed letter.
-
Kelsey loved her time at Martin Luther King High School. She was the captain of her
track and field team, mentored students at our local middle school, and aced her
chemistry exams. In the fall, she’ll attend the University of Georgia where she’s most
looking forward to watching football games and (hopefully!) pursuing her dream of
becoming a veterinarian. With love and pride, The Smiths -
Please join us in congratulating Bradley on all of his hard work! He received his B.A. in
art history in May, and now he will be taking his talents to New York where he will begin
work at the Johnson-Hewitt gallery. We look forward to many visits to the Big Apple!
Love, Marc and Jane -
After five long years of studying into the wee hours of the morning, Jenny defended her
PhD dissertation and is now a clinical psychologist! We are proud beyond words. All our
best, The Rogers Family
ETIQUETTE
HOW TO ADDRESS YOUR GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT
- Print or hand write the recipients’ names and addresses. The family’s name goes on the first line, followed by the street address on the second, and city, state, and zip on the third. If you’re sending it to a family household, you can write “The Brooks Family” instead of listing each individual family member. Alternatively, for a more formal announcement, you may want to address your recipients as Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. Minted has a helpful address collection feature to keep track of all your loved ones’ contact information.
- Choose a return address label or handwrite your return address. Remember that return address labels are relatively inexpensive and having them printed can save a lot of time!
WHOM TO SEND THEM TO
Many people have lost touch with loved ones over the past couple of years. A graduation announcement is a great way to reconnect. You’ll want to send to family members (don’t forget your extended family) and family friends from all stages of life. You can also send this announcement to colleagues or anyone who helped your child along the way (coaches, mentors, teachers from different stages of life). It’s not necessary to send a graduation announcement to classmates of the graduate though, unless you’re having a party and inviting them.
WHEN TO SEND
Unless you’re having a party and you want your announcement to double as an invitation, you have a wide window for when to send your graduation announcement. A great rule of thumb is anytime two weeks before or 6-8 weeks after. If you are having a party, it’s nice to give a month’s notice. If you’re sending your announcement before the graduation ceremony, make sure everything is in order and there’s no reason why your child wouldn’t be able to graduate. If you’re sending after graduation, this gives you an opportunity to include pictures of the graduate in their cap and gown. And while it’s best to send while the news is still fresh, remember that these kinds of announcements are better late than never!