Graduate College Candidates

Graduate students may participate in the Commencement Ceremony at the end of the Fall or Spring term that their final degree requirements are completed or the next later term. There is no Summer Commencement Ceremony. Summer degree candidates may participate in Spring or Fall Commencement as stated below.

Applications for Graduation must be submitted by these deadlines:

  • Spring Graduate Degree Candidates: April 1, 2018
  • Summer Graduate Degree Candidates: July 1, 2018
  • For deadlines for commencement participation, see the appropriate paragraph below:

Summer Graduation - Master's and Specialist Degree Students:

Students who will complete their degree requirements in Summer, and who apply by Sunday, April 1, 2018, for Summer graduation (degree conferral), are eligible to participate in the Spring Commencement Ceremony. Students who will complete their degree requirements in Summer, and who apply after April 1, 2018, for Summer graduation (degree conferral), are only eligible to participate in Fall Commencement Ceremony.

Summer Graduation - Doctoral Degree Students:

Students who complete their degree requirements in summer may apply for Summer or Fall graduation (degree conferral), but they will only be eligible to participate in Fall Commencement Ceremony. Exceptions for Summer doctoral candidates to participate in the Spring Commencement Ceremony will only be made if the student applied for Summer Graduation by April 1, 2018, and has completed all degree requirements, including defense and final submission of the dissertation to the Graduate College, prior to the last week of classes of the Spring term.

Completing Your Degree Requirements:

Completing your degree requirements means that all coursework and all departmental graduation requirements (e.g., comprehensive examinations, internships, student teaching, correspondence work, departmental defense, internship, thesis, dissertation, research paper, project, recital, etc.), that are part of your degree program, are completed.

You can track your progress towards your degree by utilizing your Academic Advisement Report, which provides information on how your coursework applies to your degree requirements.  If you have any questions or concerns about your academic progress or your Academic Advisement Report, please meet with your academic advisor or with your Record Analyst.

Applying to Graduate:

If you are completing your final degree requirements during the Spring 2018 semester and plan to have a degree awarded in May 2018, you must submit your Application for Graduation by April 1, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. to ensure inclusion in the Commencement Program.

Students with multiple majors need to submit only one graduation application.

To see if your degree has been awarded, please refer to your unofficial grade report.  The graduation checkout process takes time to complete as the Record Analysts have to verify all degree requirements have been met. Please do not be alarmed if your degree isn't posted immediately upon grade submission.

Commencement Ceremony Reply:

The Commencement Ceremony Reply is available and will remain open until Friday, April 27, 2018, at 5:00 p.m.

All Spring 2018 degree candidates, whether or not they are planning to attend the May 2018 Commencement Ceremony, must submit a Commencement Ceremony Reply. The information provided on the Commencement Ceremony Reply is utilized for the Commencement Program, photographers, the reader at the Commencement Ceremony, and the UNI Alumni Association.

If you are a degree candidate completing your degree requirements in another semester, but would like to participate in the May 2018 Commencement Ceremony, you may attend the ceremony if you fill out the Commencement Ceremony Reply. Doing so will allow a reader card to be prepared for you. 

Deficiencies:

If you are not planning to meet requirements for your degree during the Spring 2018 semester, and you submitted an Application for Graduation, please notify your Record Analyst as soon as possible.

All deficiencies must be satisfied before June 8, 2018.  If deficiencies are not completed by this date, you must then complete the Application for Graduation for the term in which you plan to complete all remaining degree requirements.