This message is being sent to all 3L and LLM students as we cannot cultivate a comprehensive list of expected graduates until after the close of the Fall semester.
Commencement Date
The School of Law’s Commencement Ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 1:00 P.M. in the Center for the Arts on UB’s North Campus.
Student Awards Ceremony
The School of Law’s Student Awards Ceremony is tentatively scheduled for the preceding Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 4:00 P.M. in Slee Hall on UB’s North Campus. Students receiving awards will receive specific invitations to this ceremony. We hope to open applications and nominations for the relevant awards in early March and send invitations to award recipients by mid-April.
Professional Portraits
Photo sessions for our graduating class professional portraits and composite will be held on campus in the Spring semester (exact dates TBD). If you are sitting for the February bar exam, participating in the NYC Program or otherwise will not be on-campus for the Spring 2025 semester, please contact Daniel Ortega at dortega3@buffalo.edu to discuss alternate arrangements.
Registration for Commencement
Registration to participate in the Commencement ceremony will be open throughout the month of February. At that time, you will register to participate in the ceremony and reserve guest tickets. While we do not know the specific number of tickets that will be available, historically it has been 6 per graduate. We cannot guarantee that the same number of tickets will be offered this year.
Student Speaker
Students interested in being the Student Speaker at Commencement will be required to submit an application. Our Student Speaker website and application, including deadlines and timelines, will be updated prior to the Spring semester.
Regalia
Regalia rental will be through the UB Bookstore and likely to occur during March.
We have received a lot of inquiries about individual student groups having their own, unique, regalia item for members to wear during the ceremony; including cords, stoles or pins. Student groups that choose to do this will be responsible for purchasing these regalia items for their members. So that we can facilitate this and provide proper recognition for each item while staying within University guidelines, please email Daniel Ortega at dortega3@buffalo.edu with the name of your student group, a description of your proposed regalia item and a picture of it no later than February 21, 2025.
The School of Law will still recognize and provide the traditional cords: Blue and White cord for student social groups, Burgundy cord for Buffalo Law Review, Green cord for specialty journals, Purple cord for moot court and trial teams, Royal Blue cord for law affinity groups and the White cord for extraordinary pro bono service. In addition, the University also provides recognition items through the ALANA Celebration, the Lavender Ceremony, and the Veterans and Military Recognition Ceremony.
Our BA in Law Graduates
We have received various inquiries regarding participation by our BA in Law students in the School of Law’s Commencement Ceremony. The BA in Law program is a School of Law program, administered by law school faculty and staff. Like other professional and graduate schools across campus that offer undergraduate programs, our BA in Law graduates will be celebrated at our Commencement Ceremony.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding Commencement, please contact Daniel Ortega, Director of Signature Events, at dortega3@buffalo.edu.