Apply to Graduate | Graduation Certification | Degree Verification | Date of Degree and Commencement Ceremony | Diplomas | Graduation Checklist

Apply to Graduate

To be a candidate for the bachelor’s degree, you must apply to graduate by the deadline stated in the Academic and Administrative Calendar. To apply, go online to MyUCSC and follow the instructions. If you apply between the published deadline and the end of the quarter, you will be assessed a $75 late fee and may not be eligible for department honors. If you did not apply to graduate by the end of the quarter, you may file a late application until six weeks after the end of the quarter, with a $100 fee.

Students who are not registered in the quarter they apply to graduate, nor in the quarter immediately preceding the quarter in which they apply, are assessed a $75 records reactivation fee. This fee is nonrefundable.

To change an announced date of graduation, follow the information provided at the Office of the Registrar website under Graduation > Apply to Graduate. The records reactivation fee is also assessed, if applicable, when you reschedule candidacy.

Graduation Certification

The Office of the Registrar checks to see that all university, campus, general education, and college requirements are met. The department(s) for your major and minor, if applicable, verify that major requirements, including the comprehensive requirement, have been completed.

It is your responsibility to fulfill all requirements no later than the last day of the quarter for which you apply to graduate. You will be removed from the graduation list if the final graduation check reveals deficiencies. If you have an Incomplete in a course that is required for your major, minor, or university requirements, you will not be able to graduate until after you make up the incomplete work, and you must reapply to graduate for another term.

If you apply to graduate for a particular quarter but do not complete the requirements for graduation, your application will not automatically be forwarded to the next quarter and you will not be considered a continuing student. You must notify the records section of the Office of the Registrar by filing the Apply/Reapply to Graduate form.

Degree Verification

A Certificate of Completion is available to any student who has received a degree or has completed all requirements for the degree and has applied to graduate for a future quarter. Currently enrolled students or students who have not had all transcripts from other institutions evaluated are not eligible for a Certificate of Completion. These students should order an official transcript once their degree has been posted. (Your degree is usually posted to your transcript within six weeks of the end of the quarter.)

Certificates of Completion indicate the student’s name, the date the degree was or will be awarded, and the student’s major, college, and honors, if any. You may download a request for a Certificate of Completion. Include a check for $17 for each certificate you request. Certificates are available if you have earned your degree or, for future degrees, within 10 working days after notification is received by the student’s major department that all major requirements have been completed.

Date of Degree and Commencement Ceremony

For degrees awarded for fall, winter, or spring quarters, the date of your degree is the last day of the quarter. For degrees awarded for summer, the degree date is the last day of instruction of Summer Session II.

Commencement is offered by the colleges once each year at the end of the spring quarter. Consult your college for commencement ceremony information. Note: You must be affiliated with your college for the two quarters leading up to your graduation, regardless of whether you plan to participate in commencement ceremonies.

If you plan to participate in the commencement ceremony but will not complete your degree requirements until a later quarter, do not apply to graduate on MyUCSC until the quarter in which you will complete all degree requirements. Contact your college office to be included in commencement exercises. You need not apply for graduation in order to participate in commencement ceremonies.

Diplomas

The name on your diploma will appear exactly as it does on university records. Accents, tildes, etc., can be added to your diploma if you notify your student records adviser at the Office of the Registrar.

University, college, and major honors, if awarded, are printed on the diploma (see Honors). Minors and concentrations are not printed on the diploma.

Diplomas are mailed three to four months after the graduation date to the permanent mailing address on record with the Office of the Registrar.

Graduation Checklist

Check the following before applying for graduation. All requirements must be completed by the end of the quarter for which you apply.

Have you completed the following requirements?

• University requirements in American History and Institutions and Entry Level Writing
• All major requirements of your major(s)/minors(s)
• All general education requirements
• 180 credits
• UC grade point average of 2.0 or greater
• No more than 25 percent of UCSC credits graded on a Pass/No Pass basis
• Requirements of your college
• Senior residence requirement

It is your responsibility to confirm you have applied to graduate and your degree was awarded. To check your graduation status on MyUCSC go to the Student Center, click Student Advising Summary at the top of the Student Center, and click the Degree tab. Your degree status will be displayed.

Please note: If you are completing your final course work at an institution other than UCSC, you must have an official transcript sent to the Office of the Registrar. If you are unable to provide a transcript by the last day of the quarter in which you wish to graduate, you must apply for graduation for the following quarter.

Before you graduate, here are some questions to consider:

• Does your official academic record indicate your major? If not, submit a Petition for Declaration of Major/Minor as soon as possible and no later than the time you apply to graduate.
• Have you declared a minor? If so, you must complete all requirements or drop the minor by contacting the adviser for the minor to be dropped.
• Have you declared a double major? If so, you must complete all requirements for both majors before graduating; you may not graduate in one quarter with one major and in another quarter with the other.
• Are you completing an individual major? If so, contact the chairperson of your committee to make sure that your major requirements will be completed by your announced graduation date and arrange for the final meeting with your committee.
• Is your name correct on your official university record? If you need to correct your name, you must file an official Name Change or Correction petition with documentation when you apply to graduate or no later than the end of the quarter.
• Are all your financial obligations cleared? A hold will be placed on your transcripts if you have outstanding debts with the university.
• Have you received loans from the university? If so, you are required to attend an exit interview at the Student Business Services Office before leaving school. A hold will be placed on your transcripts if you fail to attend.

Revised: 09/01/18