Commencement Policies
Please see the information below to learn more about CMU's 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.
Commencement participation exception request
Students with extenuating circumstances may apply for an exception to participate in a different ceremony than their assigned one. Be sure to read through the information below to determine if the request meets the criteria needed for approval. All decisions are final.
Before filling out the request form, please familiarize yourself with additional important details about the process:
- Each student is limited to a single request.
- 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.
- 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.
Note: In addition to the extenuating circumstances listed below, approval of exception forms depends on the availability of space in the ceremony.
Defer participation
Requests to defer participation in a commencement ceremony are approved only for the following extenuating circumstances:
- Health issues (of the student and/or their immediate family members).
- Military (deployment of the student and/or their immediate family members).
- 2020 graduates who were unable to attend their ceremony due to COVID-19 are invited to attend a future ceremony.
Criteria to defer:
- Exceptions will only be granted to ceremonies within one calendar year of student's conferral date (the conferral date appears under a student's Degree Progress in the 'Graduation' tab.).
Early participation
Requests to participate early at commencement are approved only for the following extenuating circumstances:
Criteria to participate early:
Note: Undergraduate students approved to participate early in commencement are not eligible to receive honors cords or medallions in advance and will only be listed in the program corresponding to their conferral date.
Time change policy
Candidates are invited to attend the ceremony time provided in their commencement invitation. When the ceremony schedule is released, this information may also 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.