Graduation Requirements
Graduation requirements are checked in accordance with the UNC Graduate Catalog and Degree Works. The student must specify the Catalog under which they wish to have their degree requirements be evaluated and must meet all published degree requirements in that Catalog. The Catalog used to meet degree graduation requirements is normally the one published for the academic year during which the student first enrolls after admission to the university.
The student may select any subsequent Catalog up to and including the current one, provided the student was in attendance at the university during that academic year. However, a student may not choose to meet partial requirements in one version of the Catalog and other requirements in another version of Catalog. See University Catalog Policy.
To graduate in any given semester:
- The student must submit a complete application for graduation to the Graduate School by the published deadline, and
- All graduation requirements must be completed (with relevant documentation submitted to the Office of the Registrar and Graduate School, as necessary) by the Wednesday prior to the date that diplomas are released for the semester.
Degrees are not awarded during the Interim Winter Session; students who complete their graduation requirements in an Interim Winter Session are considered graduates of the subsequent Spring semester.
Participating in the Commencement Ceremony
In order to participate in a Fall or Spring commencement ceremony, doctoral students must be admitted to candidacy and all students must be on the tentative graduation list prior to the date of the respective commencement ceremony. If students have not applied for graduation they will not appear on any graduation list. Students will not receive their degree diploma until they submit an application for graduation.
There is no Summer commencement ceremony; all Summer graduates are invited to participate in the Spring or Fall ceremony.
Degree Conferral Policy
Academic records are final upon degree conferral. Under no circumstances will changes be made to academic record after degree conferral.
Diploma Release
Concentration and minors are not printed on the diploma. Only the degree and major(s) are printed on the diploma.
Diplomas will be released two weeks after the release of official transcripts.
Diploma mailing addresses must be updated/provided at least three weeks before the release of diplomas. If the student does not provide a diploma mailing address by that time, the student's diploma will be mailed to their permanent address. In the event there is no permanent address on file, the parent address will be used instead. If the student does not have an active mailing address on file, their diploma will be held for one year. After one year, a fee will be required to re-issue the student's diploma.
The student may change their Diploma Mailing address through the Update Addresses and Phones link up to three weeks before the diploma release date.
The student's diploma will not be released if the student has a hold on their account. If the student's hold is released after the release date of diplomas, please contact the Graduate School at grad.school@unco.edu or 970-351-2831
For exact deadlines, please visit the Graduate School website: unco.edu/graduate-school/student-resources/preparing-for-graduation/graduation-deadlines.aspx