The end is in sight! If you've earned 90 or more academic credits, you received a message from the Registrar's Office informing you that you are eligible to apply for graduation.

However, eligibility is only the start of the graduation application process. Below are four simple steps you can take now to ensure that you’ll soon be receiving your UMBC diploma.

Note: Even if you do not plan to participate in the commencement ceremony, you still need to apply to graduate in order to earn your degree.

Step 1: Apply for Graduation!

Tuesday, September 15th is the last day undergraduates can apply for December Graduation. 

Only those students who have every single requirement needed for degree completion on their fall semester schedules will be permitted to participate in the Commencement ceremony.

If you are taking a course at another institution that you plan to transfer, you must have an approved Verification of Transferability form on file with the Registrar’s Office and be prepared to submit a copy of your schedule.

Step 2: Embrace your degree audit!

Your degree audit indicates your progress toward degree completion. If you see “unsatisfied” items, these are requirements that appear to be missing and need to be addressed immediately. Your degree audit is located on myUMBC, under the guide link “Advising and Student Support.”

Make sure any substitutions or waivers of major requirements are documented in your degree audit; you may need to submit a Help/RT ticket to the Registrar’s Office to add these notations to your record. 

Step 3: Wrap up any outstanding details ASAP!

If you have Advanced Placement or CLEP scores, transfer transcripts, foreign language waivers, or other items you need to provide to UMBC, delay no longer!  If the major, minor, or certificate program on your record is out of date, or if you have additional majors or minors that you need to remove, submit a new Declaration of Major form.  Any of these items could prevent you from being able to graduate.

Step 4: Let the celebration begin!

Participating in the commencement ceremony is the culmination of all of your hard work. It’s important to take time to recognize all it took to get you to this moment and be proud of your accomplishments! 

Finally, use this link to check your Honors eligibility, which will be recognized at the ceremony and on your diploma.

The UMBC Career Center is open and committed to supporting students and alumni. Even though we are working remotely, we have shifted all of our services and events in creative and technology-focused ways. The career center will be offering many career and industry events this fall to support you in your career search.  Get started today!

Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) – a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.

To be eligible for the WRP, candidates must be current, full-time undergraduate or graduate students with a disability, or have graduated within *one year of the release of the database each December. Candidates must be U.S. citizens.

*Since it may take time to fully assess the impact of COVID-19 on WRP hiring, WRP will provide recent graduates with disabilities an additional year of eligibility to participate in this fall’s application period and the 2021 database.  This means that all recent graduates that applied to WRP in fall 2019 are eligible to apply again this fall.  Recent graduates who graduated on or after April 1, 2018 will be eligible to apply this fall, along with current degree-seeking students with disabilities. 

 All candidates, whether they applied last year or not, must complete a new application this fall on the WRP website so that WRP can ensure that employers have access to an up-to-date resume, transcript, and application for every applicant.  

Applications for students from participating WRP schools will open on August 24, 2020 and close October 14, 2020. It is required that all candidates complete their application and upload required documents by October 16, 2020.

WRP has switched to an informational interview process for candidates. The interview period this year will take place from October 26-November 18, 2020. All interviews will be conducted remotely, in most cases by phone.

For more information see our website or contact UMBC’s WRP coordinator, Caroline Bodnar, carolc@umbc.edu, 410-455-3975.

Are you ready to learn how to get your finances back on track?

The CASHCoach program provides students with one-on-one assistance to create a budget and helps them understand their spending habits. Your coach will help you identify a savings goal and create a spending plan. You will meet once a month to explore and discuss various financial literacy topics while making progress toward your savings goal.

You'll also have the opportunity to earn a CASHCoach badge that you can highlight on social media pages like LinkedIn!

Click on the flyer to find out how you can apply to participate in the CASHCoach program! 

[Alt Text Image] CASHCoach program badge