Commencement FAQ

Students planning to complete their degree requirements in the Fall 2024, Spring 2025, or Summer 2025 terms are eligible to attend the May 2025 commencement ceremony. All graduating students who wish to be invited to walk in the May 2025 commencement ceremony must submit the Carey SIS Graduation Application by February 14, 2025

Students who complete their degree requirements in the Summer 2025 term can either attend the May 2025 commencement ceremony following completion of program requirements.

The Carey Business School will host two graduation ceremonies tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, 2025.  The times of the ceremonies will be announced in the Spring.

The Carey Business School commencement ceremony will be held at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland.  The address is 1212 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Times for the ceremonies will be announced in Spring 2025.

All bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral candidates are invited to attend the JHU commencement ceremony.  More details can be found on the JHU commencement webpage.

Johns Hopkins has a comprehensive safety and security plan in place to support our Commencement celebrations. This plan includes preparations for the possibility of demonstration activity. While we support freedom of expression, Commencement is an academic event—and it is a moment that so many people have worked so hard to make possible. It is not an appropriate venue for disruptive behavior or violations of University policy, and students have been reminded that disruptions can result in disciplinary action, including immediate removal from the event and/or the withholding of a student’s diploma pending the outcome of student conduct proceedings.

To be eligible to receive the invitation for the commencement ceremony, you must first submit your Carey SIS Graduation Application to let us know you plan to complete your degree. If you are completing your degree requirements by May 2025, please select the “BE Spring 2025” term in the graduation application. If you are completing your degree requirements by July 2025, please select the “BE Summer 2025” term in the graduation application. (Full-Time MS students enrolled in a 12-month academic program who began their program in the Fall 2024 term should select the “BE Summer 2025” term.) Please note the Carey SIS Graduation Application is NOT the registration to attend the commencement ceremony.

Log in to your Carey* SIS Self-Service account. On the left-hand side, click Registration → Program of Study Info → Apply for Graduation. Fill in all required fields and click Submit. *If you are a dual-degree student with another Johns Hopkins University division: Log in to your SIS Self-Service account. At the top of the page next to “student”, click the arrow and select “BU/Grad Degree”. On the left-hand side, click Registration → Program of Study Info → Apply for Graduation. Fill in all required fields and click Submit.

No, diplomas are not distributed at the commencement ceremony. All diplomas are mailed for free via standard United States Postal Service (USPS) 4-8 weeks after your official conferral (graduation) date. If you have additional questions, please submit a request to SEAM—Diploma → Request Support. If you are a dual-degree student with another Johns Hopkins University division, please ensure you select Carey Business School as the “School” in your request.

To request accommodations, please complete the Special Requests Form no later than May 1. Closer to the ceremony, the Office of Student Affairs will be in touch with specific instructions.

Information on guest tickets will be available in Spring 2025.

Yes - The link to view the ceremony is https://video.ibm.com/jhu-carey-business-school

Graduating students in the top 20% of the graduating class are eligible to join.

Invitations will be sent by the end of March.

Yes. BGS members will receive their certificate and commencement cords at the induction ceremony.

The Johns Hopkins Office of International Services (OIS) has provided information on obtaining a Visitor Visa on their website.

The Office of International Services does not provide invitation letters to family or guests to include with their visa application. OIS and Registration has also put together a comprehensive guide on how to apply for a Visitor Visa and provide verification of enrollment through SIS.

Regalia can be ordered online via the JHU Bookstore.

Business formal attire is encouraged for all graduation attendees. Casual clothing items including shorts, sneakers, flip-flops, and t-shirts are prohibited.

Students inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society will be provided with regalia cords. Additionally, graduates who are United States veterans have the option to wear cords.  The university does not provide students with stoles or cords for student organizations.

The Carey Business School has provided a virtual guide with step-by-step dressing instructions. Staff will also be available on the day of the ceremony to assist with dressing.

Students who completed the SIS Graduation Application by February 14^th will be sent an individual link to register for the ceremony and select guest tickets in March. If you did not receive the email, check your spam email folder, as well as non-JHU email accounts to be sure it didn’t come to other accounts. The email will come from no-reply@mail573.jh.edu. If you missed the February 14th graduation application deadline, please submit a request to SEAM—Graduation Application → Request Support.

Students can log onto MarchingOrder to access their confirmation and tickets. The email address needed to log into MarchingOrder is the same email address you submitted in your SIS graduation application.

If you have already submitted your graduation application in SIS, verify the accuracy of the email address you provided in your SIS graduation application.

To view the email address in your SIS graduation application to see which email address the ceremony registration email went to: Log in to your SIS account -> Registration -> Program of Study -> View Graduation Application. If the email address is incorrect in your graduation application OR if you have not submitted your graduation application at all, please submit a support request to SEAM under SEAM—Graduation Application → Request Support.

Student Commencement Speaker nominations will be received through our nomination form. Candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by a peer, faculty member, or staff member. The deadline to submit nominations is Friday. February 16th.

Students planning to complete their degree requirements in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, or Summer 2025 are eligible to be nominated as student commencement speaker.

All nominees will be asked to submit a written draft to the Student Speaker Selection Committee. Finalists will be asked to revise their speeches and submit a final written draft alongside a recorded reading. The student speaker will then be partnered with a Carey faculty member to consult on revisions and review of best practices in public speaking.

There will be one student speaker selected per ceremony.

The runner-up nominees is invited to serve as the student marshal.