Commencement Policies
Walk-through policy
Candidates completing requirements for a degree in the fall semester will be invited to participate in the December ceremonies. Candidates completing requirements for a degree in the spring semester will be invited to participate in the May ceremonies. Candidates completing requirements for a degree in the summer semester are invited to participate in the following December ceremonies. Each student is permitted to participate in one commencement ceremony.
Exceptions to this policy will only be made for extenuating circumstances and if ceremony capacity allows for it.
Commencement participation exception request
Changes in ceremony date and/or time are granted for extenuating circumstances. To be considered, students must complete the exception form listed below. All decisions are final.
Prior to completing the request, please review the guidelines below:
- Students are limited to a single request.
- Exceptions are only considered within one calendar year of the student's conferral date.
- If requesting to walk early, students must have applied for graduation and be enrolled in all remaining degree requirements. Please see the Registrar's office webpage for more information.
- Requests are reviewed in the semester that the student is requesting to walk. For example, requests to walk in December are typically reviewed in October/November. Requests to walk in May are typically reviewed in February/March. Dates are subject to change based on ceremony schedule and planning timeline.
- Exception forms must be submitted at least 4 weeks prior to the commencement date in order to be considered. Graduates will receive an automatic email response when their form has been reviewed.
- Undergraduate students approved to walk early are not eligible to receive honor cords or medallions early.
- Students approved to walk in a different semester ceremony will not be listed in that commencement program. Students are only listed in the program that aligns with their conferral date.
SUBMIT A COMMENCEMENT PARTICIPATION EXCEPTION REQUEST
Time change policy
Candidates are invited to attend the ceremony time in which their college is listed. When the ceremony schedule is released, this information may be found on the ceremony schedule page.
Changing ceremony times is only permitted for graduates requesting to be in the same ceremony as an immediate family member of if there is an unavoidable conflict with the assigned ceremony time. Students requesting a change in their ceremony time must complete the form below. Forms must be submitted at least 3 weeks prior to the commencement date in order to be considered.
Please note ceremony time changes are only available for the current commencement period.