Graduation Announcement Wording Examples

Let us help you to come up with the right wording to announce this big moment of pride and joy.


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

  1. Mr. and Mrs. William
    Are proud to announce the graduation of
    Michael Randy William
    Alhambra High School
    Class of 2024
  2. Announcing our wonderful graduate
    Annie Louise Chen
    From Arthur Collin High School
    Attending the University of Minnesota in the Fall 2024
  3. Congratulations Laura Siena Thompson!
    Class of 2024
    San Marino High School

FORMAL COLLEGE GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT WORDING

  1. Announcing the Graduation of
    Anne Marie Xavier
    The University of Virginia
    School of Architecture
    Bachelor of Arts
    Class of 2024
  2. You did it!
    Robert Ferino Krummen
    BSC in Mechanical Engineering
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Graduate Class of 2024
  3. 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.

  1. Class of 2024
    Leslie Alice Wilson
    University of Florida
    Masters of Education
  2. Mastered It!
    Harold Bruce
    New York University graduate class of 2024
    Masters in Journalism
  3. 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

  1. Congratulations!
    Kelsey Jane Sutter
    Degree of Law, University of Chicago
  2. Announcing
    Kelly Wang, PhD
    Clinical Psychology
    University of Texas at Austin
  3. 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.

  1. Jill and Steve Reynolds
    Proudly announce the graduation of
    Samantha Reynolds
    Class of 2024
    Mills College
  2. Congratulations to our son
    Steven Arthur Miller
    Class of 2024
    Bowdoin College
    B.A. in English Literature
    With love, the Millers
  3. 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:

  1. Please Join us at the graduation ceremony of
    Bryan Eric Schatz
    Class of 2024
    West Branchville Tech Auditorium
    At 1PM on June 5, 2024
  2. Mary Black
    Class of 2024
    Rockland High School
    Please join the ceremony virtually
    At 2PM on June 5, 2024
    [link]
  3. 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.

  1. Please Join us in Celebrating
    Martin Alan
    Park Day High School Class of 2024
    [Party location address]
    At 2PM on June 5, 2024
  2. 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]
  3. 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.

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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!