Graduation & Commencement

• The University of Mary holds one yearly commencement at the end of the spring term. Graduating students include fall, spring, or summer applicants of the preceding school term.
• Diploma applications must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar (see below) no later than April 1 to ensure the applicant's name is included for university graduation publications.
• Late applicants will be welcome to participate in the commencement ceremony, but the name cannot be added to the university graduation publications.
• The application orders the diploma and reserves a chair at commencement, if attending.
• All students must fulfill all academic requirements, and financial obligations, which includes the graduation processing fee. The fee is charged to a student’s account when registering for the applicable student assessment course at the undergraduate, master, or doctoral level.
• Contact graduation@umary.edu  for changes in participation, and with any changes to your diploma mailing address.
• The diploma package will be mailed after the degree has been conferred and all financial obligations have been met. Students who do not attend the ceremony will also receive the university plaque and a copy of the commencement program.
• Extra diploma copies or replacements can be purchased for $25 each; contact graduation@umary.edu or 701-355-8080.

Students are responsible for purchasing their own academic attire. You can review the policy for academic attire in the Catalog under Academic Life: General Policies.

Visit the Jostens Graduation Store for graduation caps and gowns, class rings, graduation announcements, diploma frames, and more. Jostens will also be present at the Bismarck Event Center on the day of Commencement to assist with any last-minute purchases.

Mary academic attire consists of the following:

• Bachelor’s Degree: a black bachelor’s gown, mortarboard, and tassel.
• Master’s Degree: black master’s gown, mortarboard, and tassel. A master’s hood appropriate to your specific degree type.
• Doctoral Degree: black doctoral gown, black tam, yellow tassel, and doctoral hood appropriate to your specific degree type.

Cords will be picked up the day of Commencement at the student lineup.

All graduates are photographed by Lifetouch Photography. Text 422953GY23 to 90738 to opt-in to view your commencement photos after the commencement ceremony.

You can also sign up to receive a notification online. Photos will be available 2-3 weeks after the ceremony.