Graduate School Commencement
The Graduate School Commencement Ceremony will be held on Friday, May 3, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. in the Harold Alfond Arena. Attendees should plan for at least a 3-hour ceremony. Keep an eye on this page for all commencement updates as they become available.
Important Dates and Deadlines
- February 1, 2024
Graduates who wish to have their name included in the official commencement program and on the scoreboard must apply to graduate by February 1. Those with FERPA holds should contact the Office of Student Records before February 1 to grant permission to share their name in the official commencement materials. - March 20, 2024
Grad Fair at the Memorial Union - March 22, 2024
Deadline to order Doctoral regalia - April 26, 2024
Email ADA accessibility accommodation requests to amy.m.sturgeon@maine.edu by April 26. For more information, visit the 2024 Commencement ADA Accessibility website.
Doctoral Candidate Eligibility
Doctoral candidates may participate in Commencement ceremonies if ALL of the following requirements are met:
- File for graduation in MaineStreet, deadlines and details available here: http://studentrecords.umaine.edu/graduation
- Submit a Notice of Oral Examination to the Graduate School (2 weeks prior to the defense)
- Submit a tentative dissertation to the Graduate School at least 24 hours prior to the defense
- Successfully present and orally defend the dissertation by April 19. Committee members must sign the Final Thesis Acceptance Form at the defense.
- Submit a copy of the Final Thesis Acceptance Form demonstrating an affirmative vote of the Committee. Students not submitting a final copy of their dissertations by the May deadlines may march at Commencement if they have successfully passed the dissertation defense, but they will officially receive their degrees in August upon completion of remaining requirements.
Ordering Regalia
Master’s, CAS, & EdS Regalia
Cap & Gown: $48.99 + 5.5% sales tax
Master’s/CAS/EdS Hood: $38.99 + 5.5% sales tax
Available for purchase at Grad Fair and from the University Bookstore.
Doctoral Regalia
- Retainable tam with rental gown and hood: $157.99 + 5.5% sales tax ($166.68)
- Custom-fit retainable tam with rental gown and hood: $268.67 +5.5% sales tax ($283.45)
Urgent: doctoral orders must be placed by: March 22, 2024.
Meet Our Commencement Speaker
Stephanie Seguino is Professor Emerita of Economics at the University of Vermont, USA, Research Associate of the Political Economy Research Institute, and a Fellow of the Gund Institute for the Environment. Prior to obtaining a Ph.D. from American University in 1994, she worked as an economist in Haiti in the pre-and post-Baby Doc era. Her research explores the relationship between intergroup inequality by class, race, and gender on the one hand and economic growth and development on the other. She has also explored the economics of stratification, including the gender and race effects of monetary policy. Stephanie is co-editor of two books, Critical and Feminist Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises (2015), and Inequality, Development, and Growth (2011). She has conducted research for a variety of national international institutions including the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the World Bank, and AFL-CIO.
Stephanie has served as Associate Dean of UVM’s College of Arts and Sciences and Chair of her department. She is past president of the International Association for Feminist Economics and of the Association for Social Economics. Stephanie has been committed to public service, applying her skills as a social scientist to important policy issues, including paid sick leave, paid parental leave, and the impact of AI on employment. At the local level, she conducts research on racial disparities in policing and has been a member of the Burlington Police Commission, a police oversight body.
After the Ceremony
The University of Maine Alumni Association invites you to stop by their Alumni Welcome Center tent just inside the gates to Morse Field at the conclusion of the ceremony. The Alumni Association has a small gift for each new graduate, and there will be an alumni-branded photo backdrop there where you can take your new graduate photos with family and friends. The UMaine Bookstore will also have UMaine Alumni apparel for sale in the tent.