JD students may graduate in May or January. MSL and LLM students may graduate in May, August, or January. The degree conferral dates in January and August will occur on the 15 th of each month and the May conferral date is usually the third Saturday in May. Refer to the academic calendar for the May degree date.
All students must apply for graduation in order to graduate. The graduation application is a two-step process that must be completed in the Fall semester of the academic year in which the student wishes to graduate. Details on the graduation application process can be found on the Registrar’s Graduation website.
JD students interested in pursuing an optional certificate must submit the separate certificate application documents in addition to completing all of the coursework for the certificate. Details about the certificate requirements can be found on the Certificate page.
Each student is responsible for keeping track of whether they are on track in meeting their graduation requirements. Graduation requirements for all of the programs can be found on the Graduation Requirements page of the What’s What. Students can access their unofficial transcript and monitor their progress towards their degree on WebAdvisor.
Students must complete all requirements for graduation by the end of the last day of exams in the semester in which they plan to graduate, unless the Associate Dean for Student Affairs has approved a different deadline that allows the faculty member to submit a grade by the due date for graduating students. Final grades in the spring, for students graduating in May, are due approximately one week before commencement.
There is one commencement ceremony held in May. All students who have completed the requirements for graduation the previous January, or who have completed those requirements by the final day of the Spring semester exam period, may participate in the commencement ceremony. MSL and LLM students who are scheduled to graduate in August may also participate in the May commencement ceremony. Participation in the graduation ceremony by students who have not finished their degree at the time of commencement is purely ceremonial and does not constitute a representation by the law school that they will successfully complete the requirements for graduation.
At commencement, the May or January JD graduate(s) with the highest cumulative G.P.A., may be asked to present the “Reflections of the Graduates” speech.
If the student is the subject of a disciplinary hearing, or the grade point average is below the minimum required for graduation, at the time of the commencement, the Dean may determine that the student is not eligible to participate in the ceremony. The student will be notified as quickly as possible if he or she will not be allowed to participate.
If a student has not fulfilled all graduation requirements by the final day of the exam period (unless a special arrangement has been made, as discussed above), then their degree date will be postponed to the next graduation date. When the degree requirements have been completed, certification of completion of program may be sent to state bars or other parties by the Registrar. The date of the degree however, will be that of the next graduation date.
A student who has completed all graduation requirements but who has not yet graduated may also request a certification of completion of program from the law school for his or her own use (for example, to provide to prospective employers).