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New Students

Interested in attending the University of Maryland? Make sure you apply for admission by the deadline. To learn more visit:

For all newly admitted students, on behalf of Veteran Certifications Services, the University of Maryland’s School Certifying Officials, we welcome you to the University of Maryland! Please follow these steps to understand how to use your VA Education Benefit to support your educational goals at UMD.

1. Complete the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) online application for education benefits.
   • If you've never used VA benefits, you must first apply using the link above.
   • Check the VA for average processing times
2. Complete the FAFSA. The University of Maryland strongly encourages all eligible students, regardless of financial circumstance, to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which can be done before being admitted or enrolling at the university. VA benefits may be used in conjunction with other types of aid, contact the Office of Student Financial Aid for assistance.
3. Attend an orientation program. Undergraduate students should register for a New Student Orientation, graduate students should contact their program for information about orientation. Students will register for classes during their orientation.
4. Review your residency status. This information is available on your admission letter or the Testudo Registration (Drop/Add) application. You may be eligible for in-state residency at the University of Maryland. Please review Military and USM Employees for more information.
5. Request to be certified to the VA. As soon as you have registered for classes, submit a signed UMD VA Enrollment Certification Request to Veteran Certification Services. Once you receive your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), submit the document to Veteran Certification Services. These documents do not have to be submitted at the same time. 
   • Please submit these documents via email to vabenefits@umd.edu.
6. Wait for your benefits to pay out. You will receive a confirmation email from VA when you have been certified by the university. To ensure timely processing, submit your UMD VA Enrollment Certification Request form to our office as soon as you register for a term. 
   • For Post 9/11 GI Bill® Students, the VA requires a two-step certification process. The first certification includes information to activate any monthly funding disbursements from the VA (e.g., housing and book stipend). The second certification includes tuition and mandatory fee totals which cannot be finalized until the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period. VA tuition will be released to the university approximately two weeks after the student is certified.
   • For students using Chapter 31 or Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® benefits who have provided a written request to be certified for a term, late fees and financial penalties will not be assessed for the portion of the account that is covered by VA. See GI Bill Delayed Payment Policy for more information.
7. Get engaged on campus. To learn more about activities and opportunities on campus, including scholarships and other financial aid options for veterans visit On-Campus Resources.

Current Students

Welcome back, students! Please follow these steps to use your VA Education Benefits to support your educational goals at UMD.

1. Prepare for registration. Follow these steps to get ready to register. Remember as a veteran student you get Priority Registration for fall and spring semesters. Make sure you take advantage of this benefit to stay on track for your graduation goals!
2. Register for classes as soon as you are eligible to do so.
3. Request to be certified to the VA. As soon as you have registered for classes, submit a signed UMD VA Enrollment Certification Request to Veteran Certification Services. Once you receive your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), submit the document to Veteran Certification Services. These documents do not have to be submitted at the same time. 
   • Please submit these documents via email to vabenefits@umd.edu.
4. Wait for your benefits to pay out. You will receive a confirmation email from VA when you have been certified by the university. To ensure timely processing, submit your UMD VA Enrollment Certification Request form to our office as soon as you register for a term.
   • For Post 9/11 GI Bill® Students, the VA requires a two-step certification process. The first certification includes information to activate any monthly funding disbursements from the VA (e.g., housing and book stipend). The second certification includes tuition and mandatory fee totals which cannot be finalized until the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period.
     • VA tuition will be released to the university approximately two weeks after the student is certified.
   • For students using Chapter 31 or Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® benefits who have provided a written request to be certified for a term, late fees and financial penalties will not be assessed for the portion of the account that is covered by VA. See GI Bill Delayed Payment Policy for more information.
5. Get engaged on campus! To learn more about activities and opportunities on campus, including scholarships and other financial aid options for veterans visit On-Campus Resources.

UMD Students Visiting Another Institution

If you are a UMD student wishing to take a course at another institution and have that course and its credits transfer back to the University of Maryland, while utilizing VA Education Benefits as a guest student, follow these steps:

1. Request Permission to Enroll (PTE) from the College of your major.
2. Submit a copy of your approved PTE form and a request for a parent letter to Veteran Certification Services at vabenefits@umd.edu. Please specify whether you would like the parent letter to be sent to you or to the institution directly. If the letter should be sent to the institution, please include contact information for the School Certifying Official.

Guest Students

If you are enrolled in a degree-seeking program at another institution, and wish to use VA Education Benefits while temporarily enrolled at UMD, follow these steps:

1. Obtain a parent letter from your primary (home) institution’s School Certifying Official. The letter must contain:
   • student’s name,
   • degree program at the home institution,
   • exact course(s) being taken at UMD, and
   • statement from the home institution that the credits being taken at UMD will apply to your degree at your home institution.
2. Register for courses.
3. Complete the UMD VA Enrollment Certification Request .
4. Submit the parent letter, UMD VA Enrollment Certification Request and your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to our office.
   • Please submit these documents via email to vabenefits@umd.edu.
5. Request a copy of your transcript to be sent to your home institution at the end of the semester.

Once the parent letter and the UMD VA Enrollment Certification Request is received by Veteran Certification Services, a UMD School Certifying Official will certify the guest student’s enrollment to the VA.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at benefits.va.gov/gibill.

Undergraduate Students

The following repeat course guidelines apply to ALL courses that may not be repeated for additional credit.

1. The following students are required to follow the repeat guidelines effective Fall 1990:
   1. All new freshmen who began at University of Maryland, College Park Fall 1990 and after.
   2. Transfer students from schools other than Maryland community colleges who began at University of Maryland, College Park, Fall 1990 and after. This includes transfer students from another University of Maryland institution.
2. There is a limit to the number of times a student may repeat a course. Students may have one repeat of any course in which they earned an A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F, P, S, W, NG or Audit; they cannot be registered (after the schedule adjustment period) for any given course more than twice. A student’s dean’s office may grant an exception allowing an additional course repeat. In this case, students must present a plan for successfully completing the course. All attempts will be counted toward the total limit for repeatable credits. Students may not choose the Pass-Fail option when re-registering for a course in which a grade of I has been noted.
3. Students may repeat no more than 18 credits. Additionally, if a student withdraws from all courses during a semester, those courses are not included in this limit.
4. The grade point average will include all attempts at a given course that result in a grade of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, or F. However, to help freshmen and transfer students adjust to the University of Maryland, College Park, the following two exceptions allow for the cumulative GPA to be calculated so that only the higher grade is included:
   1. When the repeated course was taken within the student's first semester at University of Maryland, College Park, or
   2. When the repeated course was taken within the student's first 24 credit hours attempted (including transfer credits) or within the semester during which the student reached the 24th credit hour attempted. Advanced Placement Exam credits do not count toward the 24 credit count.
5. Any grade earned in prior attempts of a repeated course will appear on the student's transcript, regardless of whether the grade is dropped from, or included in, the cumulative grade point average.
6. Repeat by transfer: If a student repeats by transfer a course that was taken before or during the semester in which the student reached 24 credits attempted (including transfer credits) and the transfer grade is higher, then the original grade in the course will be excluded from the GPA calculation.
   1. If the course was taken after the semester in which the student reached 24 credits attempted, the original grade remains in the GPA calculation.

Source:  Academic Catalog.

Graduate Students

A student may repeat a course in an effort to earn a better grade. Whether higher or lower, the most recent grade will be used in computing the grade point average.

Source:  Academic Catalog

Certifying UMD Documents for Use Overseas

Foreign countries may require documents to be certified in order to be accepted in the foreign jurisdiction. Apostilles and authentications certify the authenticity of the signature on a document, the capacity in which the person signing the document acted, and the identity of any stamp or seal affixed to the document. 

The educational documents usually requested for certification overseas are the diploma, official transcript, and/or enrollment/graduation verification letter. Please check with the the country in which you will be working or studying to find out if they will require an Apostille or authentication.

Apostille

The United States is part of the 1961 Hague Convention. Signatory countries of the Convention have agreed to recognize public documents issued by other signatory countries if those documents are authenticated by the attachment of an internationally recognized form of authentication known as an Apostille.

Authentication

Countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention may require that the documents undergo an additional step for obtaining an authentication. The authentication validates the document for use in the foreign country.

Obtaining an Apostille or Authentication for UMD Documents

The steps below detail the process for obtaining an Apostille or authentication. Please note that the Office of the University Registrar can facilitate Step 1 only. Subsequent steps require action with other agencies, as indicated, and are provided solely as a guide to help you through this process. Since different countries require different forms of certification, it is ultimately your responsibility to determine what additional action, beyond Step 1, is required for the specific country with which you are dealing.

CeDiplomas are official, secure, and verifiable electronic PDF's of UMD-issued diplomas. Starting with the Spring 2022 graduating class, alums have the option to purchase a certified electronic diploma or certificate. 

CeDiploma FAQs

Things to Remember

Double check your name and address

• Check your application: Login to Testudo, select "Graduation Application and Diploma Status" then scroll down to "SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS" to review the diploma name and mailing address that was submitted on your application.
• Verify your address: If you need to change your diploma mailing address, you can do so on your graduation application in Testudo before the posted deadlines. Please allow 24-48 hours for the change to be visible in Testudo.  
• Verify your name: If you need to change your diploma name, email diploma@umd.edu before the posted deadlines. Don't forget to include your UID in the email.
• Diploma changes:  Any changes to name or address after the specified date for your term will require you to order another diploma at cost using the Testudo Diploma Remake Request.

Plan ahead & stay informed

• Degree dates: Review Diploma Delivery for information on when degrees will post to transcripts and when diplomas will be placed in the mail.
• USPS tracking: Be on the lookout for emails to your @terpmail.umd.edu or @umd.edu email address from both diploma@umd.edu (Diploma Services) and info@paradigm-corp.com (Paradigm) for important diploma reminders and USPS tracking information.
• Hold for pick-up: Diplomas that are “hold for pick-up” will not subsequently be mailed.
  • Diplomas that are picked up will come with a manilla envelope (please plan for inclement weather accordingly).
  • Authorization for another party to pick-up a diploma can be found in Diploma Delivery FAQ's.
• Damaged diplomas: UMD is not responsible for inclement weather during diploma delivery - please plan accordingly based on estimated delivery times provided in the tracking.
  • Damaged diplomas can be remade at cost using Diploma Remake Request.
• Receiving and opening your package: Diplomas are delivered in tubes that do not typically fit in standard mailboxes. Be sure to refer to Diploma Delivery FAQ's for sizes and instructions on how to open the tube without damaging your diploma.

Check your printed diploma for accuracy

• Once your diploma is received, check that the information printed is correct.
• Graduates have 120 days from the mailing date of their diploma to notify Office of the University Registrar of grammatical errors on their diploma. After this period, a diploma remake order is required.

Other diploma options

• Graduates have the option to purchase a Certified Electronic Diploma for $13.95.
• Graduates have the option to purchase a Diploma Remake Request for $50.
• UMD-specific diploma frames are available for purchase through various retailers.