Commencement Checklist
View the complete schedule of Commencement Events and Frequently Asked Questions for additional commencement information.
The Commencement Checklist will be updated regularly so be sure to visit this page often for the most up-to-date information and Commencement Checklist deadlines. For questions about this page, please email the Office for Law Student Affairs.
Update Contact Information
Ensure that your contact information is up-to-date in the MySanDiego portal.
Register for the Bar Exam
Go to The State Bar of California website to register for the 2023 California July Bar Examination--the deadline to register is April 3rd.
If you are planning on taking a bar exam in another state, please refer to the Academic Success and Bar Programs website.
Apply to Graduate
MANDATORY REQUIREMENT FOR ALL GRADUATES
The APPLICATION TO GRADUATE will be open until March 31. You must complete each of the following mandatory steps in order to be approved to graduate:
- Apply to Graduate: In the MySanDiego portal, access the Law Student page, Academic Records Tools channel, and complete the Apply to Graduate process. If you experience any technical issues accessing the Apply to Graduate link, contact the Office of the Law School Registrar.
- Complete an Online Exit Survey: Complete this survey to provide important commencement information, bar exam plans, and feedback about your law school experience. Select your program's corresponding online exit survey below. You must use your USD Email Address to complete the survey. If you have questions about the online exit survey, contact the Office for Law Student Affairs.
- JD Candidates: 2023 Exit Survey
- LLM and MSLS Candidates: 2023 Exit Survey
- Complete the Graduate Employment Outcome Survey (JD Candidates ONLY): You are required to complete the Post-Grad Employment Outcome Survey in your #HireUSDLaw account. Click on your profile in #HireUSDLaw and then "Jobs and Job Offers." Choose “Report Status” and select the appropriate outcome for what you plan to do after graduation (for most of you, after taking the Bar exam) and complete the accompanying survey questions. If reporting a job, please report only jobs you have accepted. If you need assistance or your employment status changes any time after you initially complete the survey, please contact Jocelyn Salvatori. The ABA and NALP require all law schools to collect this information. NOTE: The agencies later publish the information merely as collective statistics, not tied to any particular graduates’ names to protect your privacy. For guidance on answering the survey questions, refer to the NALP Graduate Employment Survey FAQs.
Failure to complete these steps by Wednesday, March 31, 2023, may result in a delay in processing your approval to graduate. Please be sure to contact the appropriate department if you have questions or concerns.
Deadlines
- Deadline to complete the Application to Graduate process.
Singer Interest Due
Audition to sing the national anthem at Commencement! Apply to audition by March 31, 2023.
Deadline
- The timely filing deadline (before late fees) to register for the July 2023 California Bar Exam. If you have questions about the bar exam, contact the Academic Success & Bar Programs office at lawacademicsuccess@sandiego.ed
u, or make an appointment here: www.calendly.com/asbp.
Concentration Applications Due
Last day to submit your JD concentration application. Contact the Office for Law Student Affairs if you have any questions.
LLM in Comparative Law students and MS in Legal Studies students should submit their concentration application (PDF) to Graduate and International Programs.
MS in Legal Studies students should submit their concentration application (PDF) to Graduate and International Programs.
Student Commencement Speaker Application Due
If you would like to represent the class of 2023 as the student speaker at commencement, the Student Bar Association is collecting submissions. Submissions are limited to graduating 3Ls/4Ps. Speeches must be no longer than 8 minutes when delivered, and should include no identifying information on the document. We are using exam ID numbers to indicate the owner of each speech, while maintaining anonymity. The graduation committee will review all submitted draft speeches and choose a select group of finalists who will then be invited to give their speech before the committee in person (audition date TBD). The committee will select the commencement speaker from the finalists. Submit your commencement speech by April 4 at 5:00 pm.
Deadlines
- Email lawstudentaffairs@sandiego.edu to request USD alumni relative participation in commencement.
File Your Taxes
All 2023 Graduates File your Taxes! Jeffery Hansen, expert on Financial Literacy and Borrower Education, encourage all graduating students to file their federal tax return for 2022 (form 1040) if they are graduating in 2023 so that they will have an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) that can be used to calculate their initial monthly payments, if they are using an Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plan, e.g., REPAYE. Payments in the IDR plans are based on the borrower's most recent AGI, provided they filed a federal tax return in at least one of the two prior tax years. By filing your taxes, student the opportunity to have a lower required/billed monthly payment in the initial year of repayment.
Commencement Registration
- Registration link will be live till May 5th. All graduates must register.
Pro Bono Hours Due
All Pro Bono hours must be submitted by April 26, 2023 at noon. Submit hours via HireUSDLaw for recognition pursuant to the Pro Bono Service Recognition Policy and Process. Contact the Office of Career and Professional Development if you have any questions.
Deadlines
- Complete mandatory financial aid exit loan counseling.
- Participate in the graduating class gift campaign. Check back for more information.
- Complete the Keep in Touch Alumni Survey.
- Join T.E.A.M. (Torero Employer and Alumni Mentors), a university-wide virtual networking, mentoring, and job posting platform.
Review Health Insurance Coverage
If you are enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), you will remain enrolled in the policy period for which you have remitted payment. Please visit the SHIP Benefits and Features webpage for more information on the specific coverage dates for domestic students and international students.
You will receive an email from USD Student Wellness in late April with information on the insurance coverage options that are available after you graduate.
Registration for Access to Westlaw and CEB OnLaw Pro After Graduation
Law graduates can register for Westlaw's Grad Elite program to continue to use Westlaw for 18 months after graduation. Grad Elite provides access to Westlaw, Practical Law, Drafting Assistant, and other products in the Practice Ready package for 60 hours per month with no restrictions on use, including for professional and commercial purposes. Students must extend their passwords to get post-graduate access. For more information and to extend your Westlaw password, log in and authenticate your Grad Elite status at this website: https://lawschool.westlaw.com/authentication/gradelite.
Graduates can also get 18 months of free access to CEB OnLaw Pro if you sign up for an account before graduation. CEB Pro includes unlimited continuing legal education (CLE) and lawyer skills programs in addition to California practice guides and primary law. Sign up for an account by retrieving the law school’s registration code and then creating a new account at https://www.ceb.com/aba.
Access to Lexis and Bloomberg Law should continue automatically after graduation. For more information about graduate database access, please see the LRC’s guide for 3Ls and recent grads or contact us at lrcrefer@sandiego.edu.
Diplomas and Certificates
- Diplomas will be mailed to your mailing address on file; Concentration certificates and Honors Brochure will follow mid-summer.