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Students who have completed all degree requirements for both their major and the College and who have observed the rules and regulations of the University, including the Honor Code, will be recommended to the faculty of the college for conferral of a degree by the University of Virginia, if otherwise in good standing.
To check the status of their satisfaction of degree requirements, students should schedule an interim degree audit (see Scheduling a Review of Interim Degree Audit below).
The final steps of preparing to receive a degree are the following:
Apply for graduation before the appropriate deadline (see the academic calendar) with the College Registrar in Garrett Hall 102. To complete the application, you must have an advisor sign a VISTAA report (see Scheduling a Review of Interim Degree Audit below) and fill out a diploma card.
Students who miss a deadline may apply for the subsequent graduation and must register for the semester in which it occurs.
The application process for May graduation begins in October, with the final deadline to file a May degree application falling in December before winter break. If you miss the deadline, we will take late forms the week after Thanksgiving, after all audits are completed.
A packet of information will be mailed to your local address in early October which will include all deadline dates and pertinent information for applying for graduation. Be sure to verify your local address in the new SIS (Student Information System, formerly ISIS) in September to be sure that you receive this mailing.
If you are planning to graduate in January, the deadline for filing is the last weekday in September (see the College's online calendar for the specific date).
January Graduates will not receive a packet in the mail like the May graduates. You only have to have a VISTAA report signed by your major/minor advisers and fill out the Diploma Card for that graduation.
We do send a reminder letter to about 800 students each fall to remind them that if they intend to graduate in January they need to fill out the paperwork by our deadline (ads are also placed in the paper).
If you are planning to graduate in August, the deadline for filing is the last weekday in June (see the College's online calendar for the specific date).
You must have an adviser sign a VISTAA report and fill out a diploma card. August graduates will not receive a packet in the mail like the May graduates or a reminder like the January graduates. The registrar depends on students to apply for August graduation, since they do not have any way of knowing who could graduate after the two separate sessions of summer school.
Please report to 102 Garrett Hall on one of the days indicated by the first letter of your last name. For example, if your last name is Parker, you would attend the week of November 6 on either Wednesday or Thursday.
Students who miss all the assigned times may return the week after Thanksgiving..
| Week of | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 20 | A, B | A, B | C, D, E | C, D, E | C, D, E |
| October 27 | F , G | F, G | H, I, J, K | H, I, J, K | L, M |
| November 3 | L, M | L, M | N, O, P, Q, R | N, O, P, Q, R | S, T |
| November 10 | S, T | S, T | U, V, W, X, Y, Z | U, V, W, X, Y, Z | U, V, W, X, Y, Z |
| November 17 | Thanksgiving Break | Thanksgiving Break | Thanksgiving Break | Thanksgiving Break |
The University conducts a graduation ceremony each May to recognize and honor those students who have completed all degree requirements during the previous academic year. Students who graduate at the end of the summer or fall semesters are invited to attend the May ceremony following their graduation. Summer and fall graduates may not participate in a ceremony conducted prior to the actual awarding of their degrees.
Students must be enrolled in a degree-granting school in the semester in which they expect to receive a degree. Degree candidates who do not enroll for credits must enroll for the non-resident status.
Students in the Teacher Education BA/MT program know from the outset that this is a five-year program, with both diplomas awarded in the fifth year.
Students in the fourth year who have met all of the requirements for the B.A. may participate in Final Exercises on a limited basis. They are invited to "walk the Lawn" and, with the co-operation of the major Department, may be recognized at the diploma ceremony as "BA/MT students expected to receive both degrees in the following year." In this fourth year they receive neither a diploma, nor graduation tickets, and their name does not appear in the program.
Students who wish to avail themselves of this opportunity must obtain a statement of completed degree requirements from Judy Updike, College Registrar (Garrett Hall 102), and take that to the Director of Undergraduate Programs in the major Department. Departments may, but are under no obligation, to recognize these students during the diploma ceremony.
Students who have met all of the graduation requirements, but who missed the final deadline for submitting their degree application are invited to "walk the Lawn".
At the discretion of the Department during the graduation ceremony, the Director of Undergraduate Studies may indicate that these students have met all of the academic requirements for graduation and are expected to receive the diploma in August. The student's name will not appear in the graduation program and there will not be a blank diploma from the Registrar's Office.
These students must complete the following steps to participate in Final Exercises:
To receive a diploma from the University, students must achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in courses required for graduation. Students who graduate in May can receive their diplomas at the Final Exercises held on the Lawn, or they may pay a fee to have the diploma mailed to them.
Students who graduate in August or December may either pick up their diploma in the Office of the University Registrar or pay a fee to have the diploma mailed to them.
Requirements to recieve a diploma:
The University reserves the right to withhold the diplomas of financially delinquent students or when students have engaged in Standards of Conduct violations at or prior to graduation ceremonies. The University also reserves the right to revoke diplomas previously conferred when the student has not satisfied the rules and regulations of the University.
There is a week in early December after all audits are due that we will take late forms.
You will be mailed a reminder in January to come in and do the audit and you will have until the first week of February to turn in your paperwork to us.
Completed requirements for more than one program will be awarded as a double major. (This notation is placed on the transcript but not on the diploma.)
We do not use the VISTAA report to check your major requirements; we only use the audit form that you will have your major and/or minor advisor(s) sign to verify what you actually need to do to complete your major requirements.
You will have another advisor sign your degree audit; your major department can assign you to someone who can do this.
The staff in the College Registrar's Office, 102 Garrett Hall, would be happy to assist you with any questions you may have about the forms. They will also check your forms when you turn them in to be sure that you have filled out everything correctly, and to be sure that you will graduate on time.
You will not be notified if everything is okay – you will only hear from us if there is a problem with your requirements. You can assume that "no news is good news." However, if you are anxious to verify that everything is okay, you may contact the College Registrar's Office after the add/drop deadlines in the spring. We continue to audit your record for months after the degree process in the fall.
No, you will receive what we call a "dummy" diploma (a blank). The actual level of distinction that you receive in your program will be printed on your diploma, and that cannot be done until levels of distinction are reported at the very end of the Spring semester. Your official diploma will be mailed to you later in the summer.
Students who earn the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree do not have their majors listed on the diploma. Only students who complete the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree in Physics or Chemistry have their majors listed on the diploma.
No. Students who graduate in August and December may not walk the lawn before they graduate; they may walk the following May. Students not graduating are not eligible to receive tickets, will not have their names in the program, and will not receive any type of diploma.
Lost or damaged diplomas may be replaced upon written request and payment of $50 plus a mailing fee. An original replacement will be issued. If the original diploma is lost, a notarized statement verifying the loss is required and the replacement diploma will have the word ‘replacement’ inscribed at the bottom.
In cases of legitimate professional reason, a one-time request can be made for a ‘duplicate’ diploma upon payment of $50 plus a mailing fee. A duplicate diploma will have the word ‘copy’ inscribed at the bottom.
Replacement and duplicate diplomas are printed in diploma format in use at the time of the request. When possible, the degree title and signatures of president, dean, and university registrar in use at the time the original diploma was awarded will be used, but the title and/or signatures currently in use will be substituted if necessary.
Diploma replicas will conform to the format and signatures in use at the time of request.
Additional information about replacement and duplicate diplomas can be obtained by contacting the diploma coordinator at the Office of the University Registrar.
Go to Garrett Hall to get Graduation forms