Commencement FAQs
The commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, 3 May at 1400 CET at the Ramstein Officers' Club on Ramstein Air Base. Students, their family members, and guests will need to have a military ID card in order to access the Ramstein Air Base. Guests may be signed in by students who have a US military ID card at the West Gate of Ramstein Air Base. Please be sure to allow additional time to sign your guests and/or family members onto the base.
You must confirm your participation. The link for registration and your confirmation will be emailed to graduates and candidates in February 2025. If you have not received the information by the end of February, please contact Student Services at CIV +49-(0)631-56000-90000 or email commencement-europe@umgc.edu.
No, but there is a mandatory check-in on the morning of the ceremony.
You will be able to indicate the number of guests when you submit your registration confirmation. Seating is limited at the venue in the Ramstein Officers' Club. There will be a family tent for overflow and additional guests. Tickets are required to enter the commencement venue and family tent. The tickets for your guests will be provided to you when you check-in on commencement day. The hall will open for guests to be seated at 1230.
Yes, your family and friends can watch you graduate from anywhere in the world using our high-definition live streaming link or on Facebook Live. Please invite anyone not able to attend the ceremony to watch you on one of our live streaming options.
Filming will begin at approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the ceremony.
If you or your guests are arriving from out of town to attend commencement, you may wish to reserve overnight accommodations on base in the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) area, if eligible. Several lodging options are available to you on various military installations in the area, such as:
Ramstein Inns - Vogelweh
Vogelweh Air Base in Kaiserslautern,Germany
CIV +49-(0)6371-47-4980
DSN: 314-480-4920
lodging@ramstein.af.mil
Ramstein Inns - Ramstein
Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein-Miesenbach,Germany
CIV +49-(0)6371-47-4920
DSN: 314-480-4920
lodging@ramstein.af.mil
Hampton by Hilton Kaiserslautern
CIV +49-(0)631-205620
You should order your regalia as soon as possible prior to the ceremony date. The website will open soon for you to place orders. To ensure you receive your cap and gown in time for the ceremony, the final day to order regalia online is 7 April.
There will be a limited supply of regalia for purchase available at the ceremony on a first-come, first-served basis. Please notify the UMGC Europe Office of Student Services as soon as possible if you do not receive your regalia on time. If you would like to contact the vendor directly, you may do so by contacting the Oak Hall customer assistance from 0815-1700 EST by calling CIV 001-540-387-0000 or via email using the customer contact page.
You will be able to participate in the ceremony. However, all required coursework for your degree must be completed by 30 May for undergraduate and 3-term graduate programs or 30 June for 4-term graduate programs. If you have questions about your remaining coursework, contact your academic advisor.
Academic honors for excellence in scholarship for the bachelor's degree are determined by the student's cumulative GPA calculation at UMGC. The distinction of summa cum laude is conferred on those students with a cumulative GPA of 4.000, magna cum laude on those students with a cumulative GPA of 3.901 up to 3.999, and cum laude on those students with a cumulative GPA of 3.800 up to 3.900. To be eligible for any of these categories of recognition, students must have earned at least 30 credit hours at UMGC in courses for which a letter grade and quality points were assigned.
Honors are not calculated for associate, graduate, or doctoral UMGC programs.
Your diploma will be sent to the diploma mailing address you have listed in MyUMGC. To update, change, or verify your address, please go to: MyUMGC, click on the down arrow next to your name in the upper-right hand side of the home screen and select profile.
UMGC graduates can expect to receive their diplomas by mail approximately four to six weeks after the degree conferral date.
Students requiring verification of their degree prior to the degree conferral date may request a letter of completion via email from Graduation Services at graduationserv@umgc.edu. Be sure to include your name, EmplID (student number), and your mailing address in your request. If your letter needs to be sent to a third party, you must submit a written request with your signature via fax or postal mail.