Commencement

All graduates planning to attend the commencement ceremony must register by May 1. Registration will open early March

Only graduating students may participate in the graduation ceremony, including walking in the processional and crossing the stage. The University will make limited exceptions when a graduating student requires assistance due to a disability. Students needing accommodations to participate in the ceremony should contact seascommencement@buffalo.edu.

Registration is required for Class of 2023 graduates who would like to participate in the SEAS Undergraduate Ceremony or one of the SEAS Graduate Ceremonies on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The registration site is now open. On this site, you will be able to check how your name will appear in the printed program and register for the ceremony. 

Graduates participating in commencement wear a cap/tam, gown, hood and tassel. Online ordering of commencement regalia will be available through the Cap and Gown page of UB's Commencement website.

Undergraduate students ordering online must select the second option: Student 2023 Bachelor – Other Schools so that they can select either Engineering or Computer Science, as appropriate, to receive the correct color hood and tassel.

Guests of graduates are permitted at both ceremonies and must follow all university health and safety requirements.

There are no ticket requirements for the graduate ceremonies. Students who register for undergraduate commencement can access 4 tickets for the ceremony. Directions on how to reserve tickets are included in the registration confirmation email. Please reserve tickets by May 15, 2023.

View directions, parking and accessibility for Alumni Arena.

Printed Diploma: The Office of the Registrar will mail a printed diploma, free of charge, to your permanent address approximately six weeks after the conferral date. Students are responsible for making address changes; these should be made by the term conferral date to ensure that you receive your diploma.

Update your permanent address

Certified Electronic Diploma: Students who graduated June 2020 and later have the option to purchase a certified electronic diploma (CeDiploma) for $15.95. Notification will be sent to your UB email, from info@credentialtrust.com, approximately 3-6 weeks after your degree conferral date.

Learn more about the CeDiploma

Students earning baccalaureate degrees (including those awarded as part of combined degrees) are eligible to receive Latin honors based on their UB cumulative grade point average (GPA) on the following scale:

Average (based on 4.000=A)

• 3.200 — cum laude
• 3.500 — magna cum laude
• 3.750 — summa cum laude

To qualify for Latin honors, students must present a minimum of 60 credit hours of UB undergraduate coursework, at least 54 of which must be graded credits (i.e., not grades of 'P', 'NP', 'S', or 'U').

To receive the Latin honors designation in commencement program books, and to be eligible to wear the honorific gold cord (cum laude, magna and summa) at the time of ceremonies, candidates for the June degree conferral date must qualify based upon their UB cumulative GPA through the winter intersession of that year and projected UB credit hours through the spring semester of that year. Standings for Latin honors may change once final grades are posted or degrees conferred.

This recognition is only intended for students who will have their degrees conferred in June, or have had their degrees conferred in the previous February or August.

The gold cords will be available through the University Bookstore on North Campus around the beginning of March. Price and purchase details are forthcoming.

Grad Images is the exclusive photographer for individual student photos at degree conferral ceremonies. 

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences continues the tradition of holding a competition to select the SEAS student speakers. With three commencement ceremonies, we will have three competitions: two for graduate students and one for undergraduate students. The competition is open to all students eligible to participate in the 2023 School of Engineering and Applied Sciences commencement ceremonies.

Speaker selection will be based on relevancy, appropriateness of content, and delivery. Speeches should be no longer than three minutes (approximately 400 words). When planning your speech, remember that you will be speaking to the class of 2023, a diverse group of students. Since the speech is short, it is typically best to focus on a single theme. Finalists will be asked to present their speech to the selection committee comprised of SEAS faculty and staff.

The competition winners will deliver their speech during the SEAS commencement ceremony and will also receive a UB class ring (White Lustrium). Graduate Ceremony 1 is on Saturday, May 20 at 9:00 a.m. Graduate Ceremony 2 is on Saturday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m. The Undergraduate Ceremony on Saturday, May 20 at 5:00 p.m.

Submit your speech (via email) no later than 5 p.m., Monday, March 6 to Ona Strang, onastran@buffalo.edu.

Subject: Student Speaker Competition – student name-graduate (or undergraduate)-major

Thank you to our competition co-sponsor Jostens.