Date: Monday, May 15, 2023

Location: Academy of Music, 240 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Time: 3:00pm

Commencement Packets: Commencement packets, which will contain your graduation tickets, formal announcement cards, and other important information, will be available in Student Affairs in early April. You will be notified via email when packets are ready for pickup. 

As of June 13, 2022, masks are welcomed but not required at the Academy of Music. We ask that audience members be respectful of one another’s choices.

The ceremony will be livestreamed. 

Date : Sunday, May 14, 2023

Location: The Law School

Time: 2:00pm-4:00pm

Tickets: Unlimited, available at time of graduation packet pick-up.

If your spouse, partner, parent, or grandparent is a Penn Carey Law alum or Law faculty or staff member, you may request that this person hand your diploma to you on stage at the Law School graduation. 

To do so, please fill out the Alumni Diploma Tradition Request Form here, by March 1, 2023. 

Although not required at the Law School’s ceremony, most graduates wear academic regalia (caps, gowns, and hoods). This regalia can be ordered through the Penn Bookstore at the Graduation Fair on March 22, 23, and 24. For more information, please refer to Dean Lin’s email on Feb. 21 titled “Commencement Regalia Ordering Information”. 

The University-wide Commencement Ceremony is also on May 15 at 10:15 am at Franklin Field. You can find more information about the University’s Commencement Programming here. 

View the University Commencement Brochure, here. 

Commencement Season is a very busy time for Philadelphia. We recommend making travel and lodging arrangements as soon as possible.

You can find a list of Penn—Preferred Accommodations here, some of which have Penn-discounted rates. You might also find it helpful to review Penn’s Visitor Planning Guide here. 

We understand how important it is for your loved ones to be able to be present to celebrate with you. International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) provides the following options to assist with travel/work arrangements:

Request a commencement invitation letter from the Penn department in charge of commencement. More details will be available shortly. 

Use ISSS template to create your own invitation letter, here.

You can view all messages sent to Law students pertaining to commencement below. 

March 15 - Commencement Information — Action Required 
- JD Message
- LLM, LLCM, SJD Message
- ML Message

February 21 - Commencement Regalia Ordering Information 

• JD Message
• LLM Message
• ML Message

 January 4 - Important Commencement Information 

• JD Message
• LLM Message
• ML Message

General Information for all students (JD/LLM/ML)

• Access to Penn Campus and Resources
  • Access to the Penn campus (Law School, Pottruck, etc.) with your Penn Card will end on July 31.
  • Access to Student Health Services will end on July 31. 
  • Access to CAPS will end on July 31 if you have an ongoing relationship with a counselor. If you are seeking new counsel, the office will assist you getting in touch with someone local after graduation. 
  • Penn Student Health Insurance Plan (PSIP) coverage extends through July 31. For more information, visit the University website. 
  • Graduates who need insurance for a short period of time and are seeking general advice, can learn more here. 
  • Your University email address stays active even after you graduate! For more information, please visit the ITS email information page. 
• Alumni Directory
  • Use the MyPenn directory to stay connected with fellow Law School alumni and the entire Penn community. Be sure to update your contact information and mailing address today to stay current on event offerings in your area! 
• Alumni Clubs and Affinity Networks 
  • There are a variety of ways our alumni can remain active members of the Law School community. No matter if you live near campus or halfway around the world, there is a Club or Society to keep you connected with the school and fellow alumni. For more information about these groups, click here. 
• Alumni Benefits and Services 
  
  • Additional Law School and University benefit and services are available to alumni. For more information, click here.

JD Resources

• Bar Exam/MPRE
  • There are many deadlines, fee payments, and other requirements for registering for and taking bar exams. Be sure to carefully read all Bar Information, here. 
  • Register for the MPRE, here. 
• Degree Requirements 
  • All JD degree requirements are listed, here. 
  • Schedule a graduation audit with the Academic Affairs Office. You can contact Nicole Federico to schedule an audit appointment. 
• Completing Coursework 
  • Grades for graduating students are due the Monday after exams end each Spring. Please be sure to submit your work in time for faculty to review and submit your grade to the Registrar by this early deadline. 
• Loan Repayment Resources 
  • 3Ls are invited to schedule an online “virtual” appointment to meet one-on-one with Dr. Jeffrey E. Hanson, a national expert on student loans, to discuss strategic approaches to managing your finances and planning for repayment of your student loans. 
  • Dr. Hanson will be available on March 30 and March 31 to meet with 3L students via Zoom. Please follow this link to sign up - space is limited and first-come, first-serve. 
  • If you are unable to make an appointment that works for you, you may email Bonnie Baber in Financial Aid to be added to the waitlist. More information can be found on the Financial Planning Series site. 

LLM Resources

• Bar Exam/MPRE 
  • Carefully observe all deadlines, fee payments, and other requirements for registering for and taking bar exams by clicking, here. 
  • Register for the MPRE, here. 
• Degree Requirements 
  • All LLM degree requirements are listed, here. 
  • Schedule a graduation audit with the Academic Affairs Office. You can contact Nicole Federico to schedule an audit appointment.
• Completing Coursework
  • Grades for graduating students are due the Monday after exams end each Spring. Please be sure to submit your work in time for faculty to review and submit your grade to the Registrar by this early deadline.
• Office of Career Strategy
  • Post-Graduate Employment Survey. Each year, all LLM students are asked to complete the LLM Graduate Employment Survey. The information gathered from your survey is very important from an institutional perspective. You must complete this survey before you pick up your graduation tickets.  

ML Resources

• Degree Requirements
  • All ML degree requirements are listed, here.
• Completing Coursework
  • Grades for graduating students are due the Monday after exams end each Spring. Please be sure to submit your work in time for faculty to review and submit your grade to the Registrar by this early deadline.

Each year, all graduating 3Ls must provide their Graduate Employment Certification prior to graduation. The information gathered in this report helps us support both current and future students and is required for the Law School’s mandatory reporting to the American Bar Association. To complete the certification, log into Symplicity. This link will take you directly to the Symplicity Graduate Employment Survey. Please contact OCS for assistance if you forgot your password or have difficulty logging on. You must complete this survey before you pick up your graduation tickets.