With this year’s Winter Undergraduate Commencement ceremony quickly approaching, we wanted to share some additional information with the parents of undergraduate students who will be participating in the ceremony.
Undergraduate Commencement is scheduled for Thursday, December 18 in the Retriever Activities Center (RAC). The doors to the RAC will open for ticketed guests at 9 a.m. The procession of students, faculty and staff will begin at 9:40 a.m. and the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m.
Guest Tickets for Undergraduate Commencement Now Available Electronically
Guest tickets to Undergraduate Commencement are now available electronically. Upon receiving their regalia and floor pass, graduates will be issued a unique code on their floor pass used to access their guest tickets online. If you have not yet done so, please visit graduationtickets.umbc.edu to claim your guest tickets.
Due to limited seating at the event—and to ensure all graduates have an opportunity to invite their family, friends or loved ones to attend—guest tickets are limited to four per graduate.
Each ticket issued has a unique barcode that can be used only once. Once scanned, the ticket is no longer valid and will not work for readmission into the event. We cannot guarantee that tickets purchased from others will be valid or originals and not a duplicate. We do not recommend purchasing tickets from third parties.
All individuals with invalid tickets will be denied entrance and directed to overflow seating on campus.
Ordering Regalia
If your student plans to participate in the ceremony but has not yet ordered regalia, he/she should contact the Bookstore at 410-455-3807 as soon as possible. At this time, your student will be charged $25 for expedited shipping.
Live Video Streaming of the UMBC Commencement Ceremonies
We will be livestreaming commencement for friends and family members unable to attend the ceremony on campus. The video feed will be available around 9:30 a.m. To watch our live Webcast of the event, please visit commencement.umbc.edu/webcast.
Traffic and Parking
Current construction projects may pose particular challenges this year for guests arriving by both car and mass transit. We strongly urge all guests to keep in mind the following recommendations for this winter's ceremony:
● To avoid construction, try entering campus from Hilltop Rd. or Walker Ave., just off of I-695.
● Give yourself plenty of extra travel time to arrive on campus and walk to the RAC.
● All open parking spaces on campus (except for handicapped and service spaces) are available for general parking during commencement (no permit needed); however, some lots will fill up very quickly. Administration Drive Garage will be closed to all parking except handicapped parking.
● Carpool to minimize road congestion.
For more information on alternate routes and parking see our campus maps