After determining your eligibility to graduate, you must complete two mandatory items to graduate.

1. Notification of intent to graduate

In order to graduate, you must notify the College of Applied Health Sciences of your intent. This is done at the same time that you register for your final semester of classes through the student registration system. If, for some reason, you do not do so by the 10th day of class, contact your advisor. Otherwise, your name will not be added to the pending degree list, and the date of your degree award and diploma will be delayed. Also, you should be aware that if you are removed from the list, for any reason, such as dropping a required course, you cannot register for additional coursework without the approval of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Affairs.

Please note, indicating your intent to graduate does not automatically register you for the commencement and convocation ceremonies. To participate, see the Convocation page.

2. Certifying your degree

The university establishes a degree certification date following the completion of each term. If you are on the pending degree list you must complete all degree requirements—including requirements to formally announce your candidacy for a degree—by the degree certification date for that term.

If you miss certification deadlines

Campus policy does not allow for the retroactive awarding of an individual degree; nor does that policy allow for the retroactive posting of additional majors, minors, or other academic curricular certifications to a degree that has been awarded. Students who confirm their completion of outstanding degree requirements — including the requirement to formally announce their candidacy for the degree — after the official degree certification date for a particular term will have their names added to the next available graduation list. However, such students may request and receive from AHS Undergraduate Affairs for personal use a letter confirming their completion of all requirements for the degree and confirming the date upon which the degree will be awarded.

If you are a graduating senior, but are taking courses off-campus, please be advised that you will need to send a copy of your official transcripts to the registrar’s office after completion of the coursework. If you are graduating in a subsequent semester, you will need to be sure to add your name to the pending degree list after you’ve completed the coursework as this is the only way that the Academic Records Officer knows that you need your degree to be certified.

Once the mandatory steps are completed, all that remains for you to do is participate in commencement and convocation ceremonies. Celebrate your achievement by attending these ceremonies in May. (AHS does not have a convocation ceremony in August or December.) You must register for commencement and convocation ceremonies in order to participate.

If you have completed all degree requirements and are set to graduate in May, you will be dropped from any summer coursework that you have registered for. The college does not allow students who have graduated to take summer courses as degree-seeking students. If you are interested in taking summer courses, you must contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to take courses as a non-degree student.