Graduation Information

The Whiting School Master’s Recognition Ceremony is the main ceremony intended for students from both the full- and part-time graduate programs. Students who have already conferred with their degree/certificate in summer or fall 2024 and those who are expecting to confer with their degree/certificate in spring 2025 will receive invitations to RSVP directly from Tassel (formerly MarchingOrder); however, please note that an invitation to RSVP does not guarantee eligibility to participate or indicate confirmed degree completion. Please consult with your academic program if you have any questions about your conferral timeline and requirements.

Date: Monday, May 19 

Time: 9 a.m. ET 

Location: Homewood Field | 111 W University Pkwy | Baltimore, MD | 21210 

Reception: Keyser Quad, directly following ceremony 

Rain date: Tuesday, May 20,12:30 p.m. ET, same location, with reception to follow. More information about the rain date is provided below. 

Campus maps, including an accessibility map and a JHU wayfinding app, can be found here. 

All students who have completed or are nearing completion of their Master’s degree requirements will receive invitations to RSVP directly from Tassel (formerly MarchingOrder) the first week of March 2025. Each graduate will be required to RSVP to attend the ceremony and must RSVP by Wednesday, April 16.

All graduates and guests are welcome to attend the WSE Master’s Recognition Ceremony Reception directly after the graduation ceremony on the Keyser Quad on Homewood campus. Light hors d’oeuvres and a campus walking tour will be provided.

Please note, the reception will not open early. To give respect to all graduates and their guests, please do not leave Homewood Field until the ceremony has officially ended. Please help us keep our campus spaces clean by placing your trash in the receptacles. 

Family and friends are welcome to attend the ceremony and reception. Homewood Field will open to guests starting at 8 a.m. Guests will not be provided with tickets, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no limit to the number of guests.

Guests who need to book hotel rooms are encouraged to do so as early as possible. Several local hotels are offering special rates for the families and friends of JHU graduates. For more information, please visit the JHU Commencement Places to Stay page

A livestream will be available for guests who are unable to attend in person via the Ceremony Livestream webpage. The link for ASL interpretation can be found here.

Each graduate will need to wear appropriate academic regalia (cap and gown) to participate in the ceremony. You will be able to order regalia during the Grad Fair, or online at https://oakhallcg.com/pages/jhuwhiting. The deadline for ordering regalia online is Friday, April 4. 

Master’s regalia ordered online will be shipped to the student’s desired home address. 

Regalia can also be purchased at the bookstore starting on Thursday, April 10 (the opening of Grad Fair) and will be available in store through commencement. There will be an extremely limited number of regalia available for purchase onsite the day of the ceremony.

Please keep in mind that Commencement is a long and active day, and graduates are encouraged to wear appropriate attire and comfortable shoes or footwear. We will provide bottles of water to graduates on the field at Commencement. 

Questions about regalia should be directed to Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins at 410-662-5850.

Grad Fair will take place from Thursday, April 10 through Saturday, April 12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day at the Johns Hopkins Barnes & Noble at 3330 Saint Paul Street. Vendors will be on hand with information about class rings, announcements, and diploma frames. 

This short video shows how to wear and care for your academic regalia. 

Graduates should arrive by 7:30 a.m. Check in and the graduate lineup will be located at the Ralph S. O’Connor Center for Recreation (map).  Any graduate who does not bring proper academic regalia will not be permitted to participate in the ceremony. Robing and lineup for the processional will take place in the gyms. 

Children are not permitted on the field with the graduates during the ceremony. If you are graduate attending with small child(ren), please make sure you have another adult with you who can supervise and sit with your child(ren) in the event you cannot do so. 

Security Measures 

To ensure everyone’s safety, heightened security measures are in effect for the Commencement ceremonies. Graduates will need to pass through a metal detector to get to check in and line up. Plan to arrive carrying your academic regalia. You can put your robe on after you have passed through security. Please be aware that additional security may be in place at the entrance gates for all Commencement attendees. 

Leave all bags and purses at home or in your vehicle. If you bring a bag, you will be directed to a bag check, which will cause delays checking in.   

You will not be permitted to cross the stage with personal items (such as purses, cameras, any personal items, and bags) and when you return to your seats after crossing the stage, you may not be in your original seat. Thus, leave all large belongings at home or ask your guests to hold these items for you until after the ceremony. 

Signs, posters, banners, horns, flags, and selfie sticks will not be allowed inside the stadium or buildings for safety reasons. First aid will be available to those that need it.  

Lineup Number and Name Card 

Each graduate will be sent a line-up number before arrival at the ceremony. Please make note of your line-up number. Graduates who have their lineup number do not need to check in and therefore can head directly to the Bob Scott gym for lineup.  

Each graduate will be provided with a name card at lineup, for use during the ceremony. This card is particularly important as it dictates your place in the lineup and will be scanned as you cross the stage.   

GradImages 

GradImages will take pictures of each graduate as they walk the stage. The photographer will contact graduates directly after the event to offer various purchasing options. 

Yes! We are looking for a few participants to sing or play the national anthem at this event. If interested, please submit a video file here by Friday, April 18.

All persons, bags, and personal items are subject to inspection before entering venues for Commencement exercises. Food and drink are not permitted in Homewood Field; however, water will be provided. 

All bags and purses larger than 13″ x 15″, including luggage and backpacks, will not be permitted in the venues for guests nor graduates. Clear bags, purses, diaper bags, and seat cushions or seat backs will be permitted inside Homewood Field. All graduates and guests will need to pass through a metal detector to enter the stadium and all items will be subject to search at all entrances. Please instruct your guests to leave all unnecessary items in a vehicle or at home so as not to be denied entrance into Homewood Field. 

The use of recorded devices is allowed. Please note, a recording of the ceremony will be available in early summer. 

It is recommended that guests park in the San Martin Garage or South Garage lot. Parking will be free for this event. Due to the number of attendees, traffic will be heavy, so prepare to arrive early to allow plenty of time to park. Additional information can be found on the Parking & Transportation page.

When you arrive, you may walk or take a shuttle to Homewood Field. Campus maps, including an accessibility map and a JHU wayfinding app, can be found here.

The ceremony will have designated accessibility seating for individuals with disabilities and up to three companions. Wheelchairs are not available at Homewood Field.

Captions and ASL interpretation will be available in the stadium and on livestream. If captioning or ASL interpretation is needed, please have your guest ask an access usher to be seated in the ASL section. For guests attending virtually, captions will be provided on the ceremony livestream while a separate livestream is available for those who need ASL interpretation.  

Please contact [email protected] by April 18 if you or a guest needs ASL interpretation or captioning. 

During the ceremony, graduates will cross the stage. There will be a long ramp on either side to make the stage accessible for everyone. 

Requests for large-print or Braille program books should be sent to [email protected] by Friday, April 18.

If you need a particular accommodation not listed above, please send your requests to [email protected] no later than Friday, April 18. 

In the event of severe weather on Monday, May 19, the Master’s Recognition Ceremony will instead be held on Tuesday, May 20 at 12:30 p.m. at Homewood Field with a reception to follow in Keyser Quad. Graduates will be alerted via e-mail at least one day prior should we move to a rain date.   

 Several significant changes will occur that you will need to note: 

Parking 

Due to another ceremony taking place on Tuesday morning (in which all the on-campus parking will be used), all Whiting graduates and guests will be required to park at the nearby Keswick campus parking lot, located at 3910 Keswick Rd, Baltimore, MD 21211 (map).  From there, graduates will be shuttled over to campus. Attendees may also opt to walk about fifteen minutes to Homewood field (walking directions here). Please make sure to allot additional time when parking at Keswick. Please do not park in accessibility parking spots without a placard or decal, to avoid ticketing and/or towing.

Arrival and Seating 

Instead of lining up, graduates will be directed to Homewood Field to be seated with their department or program. Graduates should arrive by 11 a.m. and volunteers will be on hand to assist graduates to their seats and to give out name cards.

Homewood Field will open to guests starting at 11:30 a.m.  

All previous information regarding security measures, bag restrictions, academic regalia, accessibility, etc., will be the same as listed above.  

Diplomas will not be given out at the ceremony; all diplomas will be mailed in early summer. Please note that under university regulations, all final grades must be posted and any outstanding JHU accounts must be paid in full before a student’s diploma may be released. More information about receiving your diploma can be found on the Office of the University Registrar’s website.

All graduating students who do not have another active affiliation with Johns Hopkins will no longer have access to any products, resources, or applications that require single sign on (SSO) using their JHED ID after their 180-day grace period. However, as an alumni benefit, all Johns Hopkins alumni will have an alumni email account created for them with the address [email protected]. This is a full, working email account. To learn more and to set up your alumni e-mail account, visit the alumni e-mail webpage.

The formal conferring of degrees by President Ronald J. Daniels will take place during the university-wide Commencement exercises on Thursday, May 22 at 9 a.m.  The rain date will be held on Friday, May 23, 2025 at 9 a.m. at Homewood Field. More information can be found here. Please note, Master’s students are invited to attend but will not walk across the stage. 

More information can be found on the JHU Commencement FAQs page. 

Please contact us with any questions: [email protected]