MSMC Commencement

Students should advise their guests that walking on campus will include some inclines.

• Any graduates or guests with disabilities who require accommodations should contact the Office of Disability Services at 845-569-3638 or disabilityservices@msmc.edu. by April 25, 2025 with their requests. Every attempt will be made to arrange accommodations. Late requests cannot be guaranteed.
•  Service animals are welcome, but no other animals are permitted on campus.
• Security personnel will be available to direct traffic in order to accommodate persons who need to be dropped off near the event (for example: those guests unable to walk). This area will be limited to drop off only; vehicles cannot be left unattended. Please be advised that the need for handicap parking near the event far exceeds daily demand and to best accommodate the number of people in need we request that only those who are unable to “drop off” use handicap parking closest to the event (state permit required). After the ceremony, for safety reasons, pick up near the event will be delayed until the immediate area is clear. This can sometimes exceed thirty minutes.

Degree conferral will be done by the Registrar’s office beginning the week of June 9, 2025. A digital diploma will be sent upon conferral. The printed diplomas will be printed and mailed via Parchment within a 4-week window to the graduates’ permanent address on file. To update their address, graduates must send a request to registrar@msmc.edu via their MSMC email address. 

Only those students who have fulfilled all academic responsibilities along with all financial obligations will be issued a diploma. Diplomas will not be distributed at the Commencement ceremony. 

PLEASE NOTE: Latin Honors in the Commencement Program will be based on your cumulative GPA after Fall 2024 grades; Latin Honors will be updated on the transcripts and diploma, if needed, after all Spring 2025 grades are in. Latin Honors do not apply to Master’s degrees. Honors standings are calculated based on all attempted college-level work. All attempted college level work includes transfer credits, dual enrollment credits and all credits earned at MSMC.

Diplomas state the degree earned, ex: Bachelor of Arts, or Bachelor of Science, or MBA. It will not list the major or concentration. The major, concentration, etc. is listed on the student’s transcript. 

PLEASE NOTE: The degree conferral date on transcripts will be 5.17.25 for both May 2025 ceremonies.

• Graduates who still need their caps and gowns can purchase items at the Campus Store beginning May 6.
• Online orders that were sent to the Campus Store should arrive by May 6.

STOLES – Undergraduate Students

All undergraduate students will receive a stole (at no cost) representing the school in which their major resides:

• School of Business (accounting, business management, finance, healthcare management, sports management)
• School of Nursing (nursing)
• School of Arts, Sciences & Education (all other majors)

School stoles will be given out at ticket pick up and in the vesting areas on the morning of the Bachelor’s Degree Commencement. 

HONOR CORDS

Honor cords are awarded to students as a sign of academic achievement:

• Honor society members, Ralph, Aquinas, and Boyle Scholars, and Honors Program students. Honor cords are distributed at inductions or similar ceremonies.
• Students earning Latin Honors (i.e., cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude) also receive honor cords.  You will be notified by Academic Affairs if you have qualified along with pick up information.
  

HOODS – Graduate Students

All Master's Degree candidates participating in the Commencement Ceremony on May 16, 2025, will receive a hood with the color of their respective discipline to wear over their robes, at no cost.  Hoods will be distributed at ticket pick up and at check in before the Master’s Degree ceremony.

If you would like to order Commencement Announcement cards for your friends and family, or a frame for your diploma, you may do so through the Herff Jones website. Get started here.

Ceremony Photos

• Each graduate will be photographed by a professional photographer as he/she receives a congratulatory handshake on stage. Color proofs will be sent to the graduates and orders may be placed directly with Island Photography at www.islandphoto.com.
  
• During the Ceremony, guests may not approach the stage or stand in aisles to photograph any part of the Commencement ceremony. 
• Photo stations will be set up on the Mount’s scenic campus so that graduates may pose for pictures with family and friends. Faculty will be available to take pictures with graduates immediately after the Commencement ceremony at designated areas.

Release Statement

All attendees of, and participants in, the Commencement ceremonies consent to be photographed, videotaped, and recorded by Mount Saint Mary College or its designees, for the purpose of producing a documentary of the event for distribution to the college community and the news media. All attendees and participants release and otherwise agree to hold the College harmless and to indemnify the College and its licensees and/or assigns from any and all claims arising out of, or resulting from, their appearance or statements in the above documentary.

The ceremonies will be streamed live so no one has to miss out on your big day. The link will be available at the top of this page on the day of each ceremony.