Thursday, May 21, 2026
Main Commencement ceremony
About the Main Ceremony
The main commencement ceremony is the highlight of each Terp’s academic journey! On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the University of Maryland hosted the main commencement ceremony at SECU Stadium, where we came together to honor the hard work, resilience, and achievements of Terp graduates. The main ceremony featured our commencement speaker, president, and other notable speakers and honorees. Students were recognized as a group with their school or college.
SECU stadium gates opened at 5 p.m., and the student processional began at 6 p.m. The speaking program began after the roughly 60-minute processional.
Graduates were assigned an arrival time of 4:30 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. at Cole Fieldhouse for the main ceremony processional lineup.
Each graduate and their guests were also invited to attend the individual school or college ceremony for their program. At these individual ceremonies, graduates walked across the stage and had their names read.
2026 Commencement Ceremony
Watch the University of Maryland’s main commencement ceremony celebrating our graduating Terps! The ceremony includes remarks from commencement speaker Dr. Jeanette Epps, President Darryll J. Pines and other special guests. Follow on social media and join in using #UMDgrad.
2027 Commencement
The 2027 commencement ceremonies will be held from May 23 through May 26. The main commencement ceremony will be held on Monday, May 24. School and college commencement ceremonies will be held between Sunday, May 23, and Wednesday, May 26.
The exact dates and times of each ceremony will be announced in September 2026. Please check commencement.umd.edu for updates.
All future commencement dates are also available on the university's academic calendar.