Graduation

If you believe that you will meet the requirements to graduate in Spring 2025, you must submit a graduation application through SURFS on or before February 10, 2025. Once you are logged into SURFS, click “Students” then “Graduation Application.”

Tickets for the Hooding Ceremony can be picked up from Suite 280 starting Monday, April 28 until Monday, May 12. Please be aware that we cannot release tickets to you until all library books have been returned, all fees and monetary obligations are paid to Student Accounts, and (where appropriate) a financial aid exit interview has been completed. If you cannot pick up your tickets in person during the pick-up window, you may designate someone else to pick up tickets on your behalf.  You must notify Ms. Marilyn Jones in the Office of Student Services whom you have given permission to pick up your tickets in advance of the pick-up window.

All July 2024 Graduates, December 2024 Graduates, and May 2025 Candidates are invited to participate in the May 2025 Graduation festivities. Regardless of whether you plan on attending, please be sure to fill out the relevant Graduate Survey below on or before Friday, April 11. The survey requests information about your post-graduation employment status and your plans regarding bar exams. We request employment information to meet our reporting obligations to our accrediting agency (the ABA Section of Legal Education) and to prospective students.  Please be assured that all individual data is kept confidential; only aggregate data is published. 

Near the end of the Graduate Survey, there are several questions related to graduation events and Hooding Ceremony tickets. Please respond to those questions to let us know whether you and your guests will attend the listed events and to request the tickets you will need for the Hooding Ceremony.  The surveys will be available on this website starting Monday, March 24.

Students who received federal Direct Loan funds while attending UMB must complete Direct Loan Exit Counseling on the Direct Loan website, Exit Counseling | Federal Student Aid. It is required by law. It provides important information that you will need as you prepare to repay your federal student loans. This includes information on loan deferments, forbearances, and the loan repayment options that are available. During the Exit Counseling Session, you will review the terms and conditions that apply to your federal student loans. 

During the Hooding Ceremony, the graduation announcer will indicate that you are receiving an additional degree along with your law degree. Please send the following information to Ms. Amanda Barnes, Office Manager for Student Services: 

• What additional degree will you be earning? (e.g., MBA, MPA, MPH) 
• What school is granting the degree? (e.g., University of Maryland College Park, Smith School of Business; Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health) 
• Will you bring both the hood representing your law degree and the hood representing your additional degree to the law school’s Hooding Ceremony? During the Hooding Ceremony, you have the option of presenting both hoods to the faculty members who will hood you. Please let us know if you plan to bring both or just the hood representing your law degree. 

Are you in need of an invitation letter for a family member/friend coming from overseas to attend your graduation? If so, please request a letter or letters from Ms. Amanda Barnes, Office Manager for Student Services, and provide the following information about your guests: 

• The names of each guest and their relationship to you (parent, aunt, uncle, other family member, friend)
• The date guests are expected to arrive in the U.S. and date of their expected departure.
• The address where each guest will be residing while in the U.S.
• Name and address of the embassy to which the letter(s) should be addressed. 

We anticipate that information regarding approved academic regalia will be available in March.  Please check back. 

If you or any of your guests require special seating or other accommodations, please contact Ms. Marilyn Jones in the Office of Student Services. 

Parking for the Hippodrome Theater is available in the Baltimore Grand Garage at 5 N. Paca St. To gain access to the Hippodrome lobby, parkers are urged to park on the Fayette Street side of the garage and use the Fayette Street side elevators. The Paca Street side elevators do not have access to the Hippodrome lobby and require exiting the garage and walking around the corner to gain access to the Hippodrome entrance at 12 N. Eutaw St. 

Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards 
110 S Eutaw St, Baltimore, MD 21201 
Reservations:  410-962-0202 

Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor 
401 W. Pratt St. Baltimore, MD 21201 
Reservations: 410-573-8700 

Hotel Indigo Baltimore Downtown 
24 W. Franklin Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 
Reservations: 410-625-6200 

Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore 
200 International Drive, Baltimore, MD 21202 
Reservations: 410-576-5800 

Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel 
700 Aliceanna St, Baltimore, MD 21201 
Reservations: 410-385-3000 

Hotel Revival Baltimore 
101 West Monument Street, Baltimore MD 21201 
Reservations: 410-727-7101 

Kimpton Hotel Monaco Baltimore 
2 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201 
Reservations:  443-692-6170 

Lord Baltimore Hotel 
20 W. Baltimore St. Baltimore, MD 21201 
Reservations: 410-539-8400 

Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel 
202 E. Pratt St. Baltimore, MD 21201 
Reservations: 410-547-1200 

Sagamore Pendry Baltimore 
1715 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231 
Reservations:  443-552-1400 

The name on your diploma will be your official name as it appears on University records. You can view this detail in your SURFS account. If you would like to request a name on your diploma that is different from what appears on the University records, you can submit a Request to Change Personal information. 

30 days prior to graduation UMB's Office of the Registrar will send an email asking for you to confirm your address. Contacting UMB's Office of the Registrar, not the Law School's Office of Registration and Enrollment, is the only way to update your diploma/certificate mailing address. If you have any questions regarding your law school diploma, please call UMB's Office of the Registrar at 410-706-7480 or email them at registrar@umaryland.edu. 

Please be advised that graduates will not receive their diploma at the Hooding Ceremony. Diplomas will be mailed to the address on file. 

The Hooding Ceremony will be livestreamed on this page, starting at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 23. 

 Law School’s Office of Registration and Enrollment 

• Eligibility for Graduation  
• Unofficial Transcripts/Grade Reports  

UMB's Office of the Registrar 

• Graduation Application  
• Law School Diplomas 
• Official Transcripts 
• Name Changes/Updates 

Career Development Office 

• Graduation Survey  

Law School’s Office of Student Financial Planning 

• Outstanding Bills 

UMB’s Office of University Student Financial Assistance 

• Student Loans 
• Repayment 
• Direct Loan Exit Counseling  

Thurgood Marshall Law Library 

• Outstanding Library Books/Supplies 

Office of Student Affairs 

• General Graduation Inquiries 

Arrival Procedures for Graduates: 

On Friday, May 23, please arrive at Westminster Hall between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. You will put on your academic regalia and line up alphabetically for the procession to the Hippodrome. We will be walking to the Hippodrome Theatre.  

You will be lined up alphabetically by degree program. During the lining up process, you will also dress in your academic regalia (gown, tassel, and tam). Staff will be on hand to help you if you need help. Don’t put your hood on but drape it over your left arm for the procession. Later, you will carry your hood on stage to be hooded by a faculty member. 

What is the attire for graduation events? 

Graduates typically wear dressy or business/professional attire under their academic regalia and at other graduation events such as recognition ceremonies and receptions. Wear comfortable shoes, but no flip-flops or sneakers. 

How does the hooding process work? 

A staff member will direct graduates, row by row, to the left side of the stage (as you face the stage). Graduates will carry their own hood draped over their left arm. 

Walk forward to faculty members standing nearby. You will give a faculty member your hood and stand in front of them facing the audience. A faculty member will place the hood over your head.  

Walk toward the other end of the stage. You will see another photographer on the other side of the stage who will take your photograph before you exit the stage. After that photograph, exit the stage at the opposite end of where you entered and return to your seat. 

Before the conclusion of the ceremony, a photographer will take a group photo of the class. At the end of the Hooding Ceremony, faculty will leave the stage. Graduates will follow them out of the theater, followed by guests. 

How long will the Hooding Ceremony last? 

We expect that the Hooding Ceremony will last an hour and a half. 

Will there be a photographer at the Hooding Ceremony? 

Photographers will be capturing candid photos as graduates and families arrive and prepare for the hooding ceremony. The photographer will capture photos of graduates as they are hooded. Graduates will be able to view the gallery online for 60 days and purchase photos. 

Information for Guests: 

The Hippodrome Theatre doors will be open for guests at 10:50 a.m. Guests may enter the Theatre from Baltimore Street or Fayette Street. All guests must be seated before the 11:30 a.m. start time. 

All guests, including children and babies, MUST have tickets to enter the Hippodrome. (Graduates do not need tickets for themselves). Security at the Theatre entrances will check all bags, and everyone will go through metal detectors upon entering. 

There is open seating in the Theatre. Guests can sit in any open seat that is not reserved, regardless of the seat numbers on the tickets.  Ushers and volunteers will be on hand to pass out Hooding Ceremony programs and to help direct guests to the entrances into the arena seating areas and to accommodate seating. 

No balloons, flash photography, food or beverages will be allowed in the theatre.