Graduation and Honors

Students must notify the College of Applied Health Sciences of their intent to graduate by applying to graduate after registering for their final semester of courses. The Office of the Registrar offers instructions on applying to graduate, also known as adding your name to the pending degree list. Undergraduate students must apply to graduate by the 10th day of instruction in the semester in which they plan to graduate. Students are encouraged to apply to graduate immediately after registering for their final semester of courses. Applying early allows sufficient time for a pre-audit of your coursework for degree certification. Additionally, information regarding graduation activities, including the commencement ceremonies, is sent only to students on the pending degree list.

Students who miss the deadline to apply to graduate should contact the College of Applied Health Sciences Academic Records Officer, Tina Klebek (klebek@illinois.edu), to request late addition to the graduation list.

Illinois Commencement coordinates University wide Ceremony and college-level ceremonies. The College of Applied Health Sciences offers two ceremonies, one for students completing a bachelor’s degree and another for those completing a master’s or doctoral degree. Students are responsible for registering to participate in commencement events. Information about commencement events, including registration instructions and deadlines, will be sent to students who have applied to graduate. The College of Applied Health Sciences does not host a December commencement event. Students graduating in December are invited to attend the next May commencement event. Students graduating in August may participate in the in the college’s May commencement event preceding their official graduation.

Students should review diploma information from the Office of the Registrar. The Graduation FAQ page offers important information about diploma name and receiving your diploma. Please note that diplomas will not include information about minors completed.

Students completing their final coursework off campus must promptly send an official transcript to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Students are encouraged to review the process for transferring credit to Illinois before ordering an official transcript to be sent.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign establishes an internal degree certification deadline following the completion of each term. This date is based on the conclusion of the academic term and the deadline for final grades. All students who have applied to graduate and completed degree requirements will be certified as graduates by this date. After being certified as a graduate, students may order final transcripts, and a diploma order will be created.

Campus policy does not permit retroactive degree awards. It also does not let you add majors, minors, or certifications to a degree already awarded. Students who are not certified as graduates by the certification date will be added to the following graduation list. Students can ask AHS Undergraduate Affairs for a letter confirming their requirements and indicating when the degree will be awarded.

The names of undergraduates who have achieved grade point averages for a given semester in the top 20 percent of their college class will be included on a list prepared for the Dean of the college. To be eligible for Dean’s List recognition, students must successfully complete a minimum of 12 graded Illinois semester hours and have a grade point average in the top 20 percent of their college class. The minimum GPA is 3.98/4.00 for the 2026-27 Academic Year (reviewed each summer and subject to change). Only grades in hand at the time the list is compiled will be considered in determining eligibility unless it can be established that the final grade average will be above the minimum required regardless of the grade eventually received; students with I, DFR, or missing grades will be added as soon as letter grades are received and eligibility can be determined. Credits earned during the semester through proficiency and advanced placement examinations may not be counted toward the 12-semester-hour requirement.

Students who are registered with the Chez Veterans Center or with Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) who are enrolled less than twelve but a minimum of nine (9) graded semester hours who are in the top 20 percent of their college are also eligible. Such students must sign a release with CVC or DRES indicating their consent for consideration for Dean’s List eligibility and have submitted that consent by email to ahs-acaffrs@illinois.edu no later than Reading Day in the semester in which they wish to be considered for Dean’s List. These consent forms are valid only for the semester in which they are issued, and students must submit by the deadline updated consent forms for each semester in which they wish to be considered for Dean’s List. 

University Honors – Bronze Tablet

Continuous academic achievement is recognized by inscribing the student’s name on a Bronze Tablet that hangs on a wall of the Main Library. To qualify, an undergraduate student must have at least a 3.5 (A = 4.0) cumulative grade point average for all work taken at the University through the academic term prior to graduation, and rank, on the basis of his or her cumulative grade point average (including University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and transfer work, if any) through the academic term prior to graduation, in the top 3 percent of the students in his or her college graduating class. 

Transfer students, in addition to meeting the general rules for qualification, must satisfy two additional requirements: they must have cumulative University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign grade point averages as high as the lowest ones listed for students in their colleges who qualify on the basis of having completed all of their work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and they must earn 40 or more semester hours at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through the academic term prior to graduation. 

For the purpose of this award, college graduating class means all students receiving bachelor’s degrees from the same University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign college between July 1 of each year and June 30 of the next. 

For the purpose of this award, academic term prior to graduation means: for August graduates, the preceding spring semester; for October graduates, the preceding spring semester; for December graduates, the preceding summer session; for May graduates, the preceding fall semester. The list will be determined each year after grades for the fall semester are available. To be considered in the calculation of University Honors, all grade corrections must be recorded by the end of the eighth week of the spring semester.

College Honors 

Honors 

A student must have earned an Illinois grade point average of 3.250 or higher based on a minimum of 55 graded semester hours. 

High Honors 

A student must have earned an Illinois grade point average of 3.500 or higher based on a minimum of 55 graded semester hours. 

Highest Honors 

A student must have earned an Illinois grade point average of 3.750 or higher based on a minimum of 55 graded semester hours. 

James Scholar Honors Program 

AHS James Scholar students will receive this designation on their official transcripts for each year of completion. Students that remain eligible at the time of graduation will be recognized at the AHS Convocation Ceremony.