Ceremony Preparation

*** Congratulations to the graduating class of 2024! UC Davis School of Law will hold a commencement from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. on Friday, May 10, 2024 at the Mondavi Center.

For more information, please contact the Law Commencement team at commencement@law.ucdavis.edu.

 

The  Commencement App on the Intranet allows you to enter your commencement ticket request, contact information for commencement photo proofs, and provide notes and helpful hints about the pronunciation of your name so that it can be read correctly as you cross the stage. Please review each heading below to ensure you are meeting your commencement deadlines. 

COVID-19 Protocols

Face coverings are strongly recommended.

Guest Tickets

THE EVENT PLANNING TEAM WILL ANNOUNCE THE LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF GUESTS TICKETS THAT GRADUATES WILL RECEIVE. Please submit your ticket requests (not to exceed the established limit) using the Intranet App. Please note: Graduates do not need a ticket. 

Deadline to submit ticket requests: Friday, March 1

Commencement Speakers

The King Hall Class Representatives for the graduating class will facilitate the nominations, ballots and selections of various commencement positions including faculty speaker, student speaker and faculty marshals (hooders). Students participating in the commencement ceremony should review their email for important notifications related to the selection of the commencement speakers and marshals.

Student Speaker nominations are open from now until Friday 2/9. If you think one of your fellow 3Ls would make an amazing speaker please nominate them using this google form. Voluntary submissions will open up on Friday 2/9. The King Hall Class Representatives will have all interested & nominated students send them a video answering their prompt to be released that day. The deadline for these video submissions will be Friday 2/16. 

Deadline to submit nominations for faculty speaker: Sunday, Feb. 4. Click HERE for faculty speaker voting.

Your Name as You Cross The Stage

You may use a preferred name rather than your legal/formal name for when you cross the stage.  Please use the intranet fields for preferred name and phonetic spelling to record both your preferred version of your name and any phonetic notes, tips or hints which might help the announcer to clearly say your name.  Using cues such a “sounds like”, “rhymes with” or using a combination of CAPS and lowercase to indicate where the emphasis should be placed when saying your name aloud are all helpful cues.  The information used for this purpose will not update your student record or change you legal name on file.

Deadline to provide stage name and phonetic cues: Friday, March 1

Commencement Program Booklet

Guests and graduates will be provided with a Commencement Program on the day of the celebration. By default, your Lived Name will be listed in the Commencement Program, but you will have the option to provide a different name when you complete your Application for Graduation. Common changes include wanting to include/exclude a middle initial or middle name, or preferring to be listed by your legal name.

Your undergraduate degree(s) are also listed with your name. Please visit the Intranet Commencement page to check this degree and school for accuracy. If you would like other degrees listed (Masters, Ph.D., etc.) you may request that they be added.

The Commencement Program will also list activities and awards for each graduating student who provides them. You can list up to 10 activities and/or awards you participated in or earned while studying at King Hall. Please visit the Intranet Commencement page to choose from the list provided. If you have a law school achievement you want to add which is not on the list, you may include it in the request line (all requests will be reviewed). Before submitting a new request, please be sure to review the activities which fall alphabetically under “King Hall,” “UC Davis,” or “Law Student Association” as many activities have a formal title beginning with their governing entity.  Please note that because we are under a print deadline we are not able to make any exceptions to the deadline below.

Deadline to submit: Monday, April 1, 2024

Announcements

Announcements can be ordered online at the  UC Davis Bookstore website.  Some customization is allowed on announcements for special activities and awards.  Your order will ship within two days and estimated ship time is up to five days. For Grad Pack pricing and/or information on availability of class rings and portrait photography, please visit the  UC Davis Bookstore website.

Academic Dress

The academic attire for participants in the ceremony is a doctoral gown and tam with a purple tassel. Academic hoods are provided by the Law School the day of commencement and are distributed to students before they cross the stage. The hood is the possession of the School of Law and must be returned to the School of Law immediately following the ceremony. Hoods are available for purchase for those who want to keep a hood after graduation. See Purchasing Academic Hoods, below.

How to order cap and gown

Rental includes keeper tam, rental gown, and keeper tassel. Gowns can be rented with purchase of grad pack or rented on its own. Purchase of Grad Pack offers the best discount. Online ordering will be available beginning February 9th, at the UC Davis Bookstore website. Click on Cap & Gown or Grad Pack button to get to the order form which will give you a choice for JD and LL.M. gowns. If you do not pre-ordered by the deadline, you must contact the  Commencement Coordinator at the bookstore to arrange to place your rental order in person.

Deadline to order cap and gown:   March 21 (price increases after March 21 - any orders placed after this date will incur a $15 late fee). Last day to order: April 23

Deadline to order announcements and other items: See bookstore website for details.

Picking-Up Orders

All bookstore orders will be delivered to King Hall. Tams, gowns, and tickets will be available for pick up in the Career Services Office the week prior to commencement. You will be notified by e-mail when you can pick them up. If your order includes a Grad Pack, it will be delivered for pick-up with your cap and gown. For Grad Pack pricing and/or information on availability of class rings and portrait photography, please visit the UC Davis Bookstore website.

Timeframe for order pick-up :   (during career services business hours)

Purchasing Academic Hoods

If you choose to purchase your own hood rather than borrow the Law School hood, academic hoods are available for purchase. Students can access and print the order form by clicking on the following link:  (Purchasing Academic Hoods).    The bookstore normally carries a limited supply of new JD hoods in stock, but they can also be special ordered at no additional cost if they run out. In order to have one in time for our ceremony, orders should be placed by a date to be announced.