UMGC 2025 Okinawa Commencement
Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Yomitan Cultural Center in Okinawa, Japan
Congratulations on earning your degree with University of Maryland Global Campus Asia. We are looking forward to sharing this memorable occasion with you, your family, and your guests.
| Schedule of Events for the 2025 Okinawa Commencement | |
| 9:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (and 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) | Commencement Portraits (Optional): Keyshots, a professional photography company, will be onsite for graduates who wish to have a portrait photo taken. Sign up for a time slot and complete payment in advance. Please bring your pre-purchased regalia to the photography session. A complimentary digital photo of each graduate receiving their diploma folder and shaking the hand of UMGC's president will also be made available to all graduates approximately two weeks following the ceremony. |
| 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Graduate Check-in and Line-up: Graduates will be directed to a location at the cultural center to check-in and robe. Graduate marshals will provide guidance about where and how to assemble. |
| 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Pre-processional & Rehearsal: Graduates will receive a ceremony briefing, including a practice run of the processional and recessional in full regalia. After the practice run, graduates will immediately reassemble at the check-in location until the processional begins. |
| 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Guest Seating: Doors will be open for guest seating at 1:30 p.m. Space is limited and will likely be standing room only. For this reason, we ask you to limit your guests to four guests per graduate. Please do not hold seats, keep seats open, or use seats for purses and bags. Children are welcome but if your child becomes restless, please take them to the lobby. |
| 2:00 p.m. | Processional Begins: Graduates will march from the formation area to the main hall, followed by faculty and the platform party. |
| 3:30 p.m – 6:00 p.m. | Post-Commencement Reception: A reception with light appetizers honoring the graduates will be held shortly after the commencement ceremony concludes. All guests and graduates are welcome to attend. |
| 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Post-Commencement Graduate Portraits (optional). |
RSVP to Attend: Please confirm if you plan to attend the ceremony via the unique link sent to you via email. If you haven't received your link by March 1, 2025, email commencement-asia@umgc.edu.
- If you need to change your RSVP because a change occurred in your plans to attend the ceremony, please go through the RSVP link provided via email to the Tassel system or contact commencement-asia@umgc.edu
Regalia (cap and gown): All graduates must wear regalia to participate in commencement. Regalia must be ordered through our vendor Oak Hall by March 21, 2025 to allow for shipping time. Please note that shipping to an APO/FPO address is considered domestic (USA) shipping (not international, even if the APO/FPO location is outside of the USA). Be sure to select USA as the country for APO/FPO orders. No regalia will be available for rental or purchase on the day of the event. Stoles and sashes are optional and not part of the required regalia.
- Please be sure to remove your gown from the packing material and hang it to remove wrinkles prior to the ceremony day. We recommend that you STEAM your gown to remove creases and wrinkles. Use care with an iron since a hot iron can burn the fabric easily. Steamers will be available for you to use on the day of the ceremony for touch ups.
- Honor cords will be provided by UMGC for graduates who have earned them.
Commencement Dress Code: All graduates are required to wear regalia (graduation cap and gown) to commencement.
- We encourage you to wear business casual attire under your gown and comfortable shoes. Guests are not permitted to accompany graduates to the robing area.
- Note that Graduates are not permitted to have any items (purses, cell phones, etc.) in their hands when they line-up and the graduation gowns do not have pockets. Please leave all items with your guest, or in your car or room.
Commencement Announcements: Official UMGC Asia announcements can be ordered from our vendor Balfour. From the ordering portal, select "state," "school," and “month” of ceremony to get started. Please choose "Maryland" as the state, "University of Maryland Global Campus Asia" as the school and "April" as the month of the ceremony. Then click on "Get Started."
Guests: Due to space constraints, each graduate may have up to four guests attend the ceremony. We anticipate that there may be standing room only and we encourage you to celebrate your achievement with a wider group of family and friends at a different location after the ceremony. Children are welcome at the ceremony but we ask that you take restless children out of the venue.
Who is eligible to attend Commencement?
Students who graduated in Summer 2024, Fall 2024 or Winter 2025 (MBA and MSTL programs) with an associate’s degree or higher can attend one of the Spring 2025 commencement ceremonies.
- If you’ve applied for graduation and are due to complete your program in Spring 2025, you can also participate.
- If your graduation date is outside of the above dates and you wish to participate in one of this year’s commencement ceremonies, please contact commencement-asia@umgc.edu.
All 2024-25 graduates (undergraduate and graduate) and eligible graduate candidates will receive an invitation to attend commencement in mid January, 2025, including a direct link to RSVP and order regalia. If you think that you are eligible for commencement but have not received an e-mail by March 1, 2025 from UMGC Asia inviting you to RSVP, please contact our commencement team at commencement-asia@umgc.edu.
When do I need to apply for graduation?
You must apply for gradation in order to have your degree conferred. You can apply for graduation from your MyUMGC portal. Deadlines for Spring 2025:
- February 15, 2025: Undergraduate students (associate and bachelor's degrees)
- March 1, 2025: Graduate students (master's degrees)
Applying by the deadline ensures that you will receive an invitation to the commencement ceremony and will be included in the commencement program. If you miss the deadline to apply for graduation or don’t get an invitation to attend commencement, please contact us at commencement-asia@umgc.edu.
Graduate Students: If you are in a Stateside graduate program (UMGC Asia only offers the MBA or Master of Science in Transformational Leadership [MSTL]), you are a member of our stateside division. You may join our Asia commencement ceremony by emailing us at commencement-asia@umgc.edu. If you live stateside but want to join the Asia Commencement ceremony, please contact us at commencement-asia@umgc.edu.
Please be sure to apply for graduation no later than March 1, 2025.
Find the information you need to prepare for graduation from UMGC.
Please see the links below to prepare for graduation:
If you have any questions regarding the Okinawa Commencement Ceremony, please see our UMGC Asia Commencement website, or check out our graduation and commencement FAQs. You can also stop by your local office or e-mail us at commencement-asia@umgc.edu.