Information for Graduating Students

The Graduate School cannot determine when a student is eligible to graduate. It is the responsibility of the student to apply for graduation when they are nearing completion of the degree requirements. Students must apply for graduation even if they are not participating in the commencement ceremony. 

The Graduate School issues a calendar of Graduation Deadlines for graduating students each semester and makes it available on the Graduate School website. It is incumbent on the student to be aware of graduation deadlines. Students applying to graduate should be aware that the graduation application deadline occurs at the very beginning of the requested graduating semester.

Students must be enrolled in the term in which they are graduating or submit an Early Deadline. A student who is graduating must apply online for graduation no later than:

  • the 12th class day of the Fall semester for December graduation
  • the 12th class day of the Spring semester for May graduation
  • the 12th class day of the Summer semester for August graduation. (Note: August doctoral graduates may participate in December commencement only. August master’s graduates may choose to participate in May or December commencement if permitted by the student's program. If participating in the May commencement, students must apply by the May graduation deadline. The term ‘graduation’ refers to degree completion and conferral; the ceremony is called ‘commencement.’ Although students completing master’s degrees in August may elect to participate in May commencement, they do not graduate until August.)
  • Ph.D. candidates must have their committee and program chair-approved dissertation, with all corrections made, submitted/uploaded, and must have completed ALL requirements for the Ph.D. before they are allowed to participate in commencement.

A student may apply for graduation while on academic probation. However, a degree will not be conferred to a student who earns a failing grade (D, F, FN, FS) in a course that is required for the degree. Doctoral students are not allowed to graduate with a C on their transcript.  All graduate students must meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirement of 3.0. A student must be in good academic standing in order to graduate. The student may need to re-enroll or apply for the early deadline for the following semester's graduation date.

Late applications for graduation are not accepted. Applications must be received by the deadline to start the audit approval process. Students who do not meet the deadline may consider the Early Deadline to save on enrollment costs for the next semester.

A student cannot graduate with an incomplete grade on their transcript. This applies even if the Incomplete grade is in a course unrelated to the student's degree plan.

If a student who has applied to graduate determines they are not able to meet the submission deadline, which is the last day to file documents required for graduation with the Graduate School, then they may request to 'rollover' their application for graduation to a future semester by submitting the Rollover Form. This request must be completed by the 'rollover' deadline, which is the submission deadline. By meeting the 'rollover' deadline, the student does not have to reapply for graduation or pay another application fee. After the 'rollover' deadline, any student who is unable to meet the submission deadline must reapply online for graduation and pay another application fee. A student may request to 'rollover' her or his application twice.  After two ' rollovers' have been granted, any failure to meet the submission deadline will result in the student being removed from the graduation list and will require the student to reapply for graduation and pay another application fee.

The requirement that a student is enrolled in the term in which she or he is graduating may be waived only if all the following criteria are met on or before the Monday of the week before the semester begins:

  • All degree requirements must be met;
  • An Early Deadline form must be submitted to the Graduate School;
  • All forms and documents, including their committee-approved thesis or dissertation, if applicable, must be submitted to and approved by the Graduate School;
  • An application for graduation must be submitted for the graduating semester, which is the next term, and the application fee must be paid.

The student will have their degree conferred at the end of that semester. Students can request, in writing via e-mail to the Graduate School, an Employer Verification of Degree Completion from the Graduate School stating that all degree requirements have been met, along with the official date the degree will be conferred. The request for an Employer Verification of Degree Completion must include:

  1. The student's full name and ID number;
  2. The name of the business/company, the names/titles of the recipients;
  3. The mailing address or e-mail where the letter is to be sent.
  4. The student may request a copy of the letter. If requested, the student must include their TWU email address. Copies of official TWU documents will be sent only to the student's official TWU email.

Commencement Ceremonies

Denton commencement ceremonies are determined based on how many students apply and are certified to participate in commencement. The Denton commencement schedule will be determined 6-8 weeks prior to graduation. Notification of the commencement schedule will be sent to the graduating student's official TWU email prior to the event. Denton Commencement ceremonies are held in Pioneer Hall, located on TWU's main campus at 304 Administration Drive, Denton, TX 76204. Pioneer Hall is on Bell Avenue, just north of Administration Drive. Please refer to the Denton campus Map. 

Houston commencement ceremonies are determined based on the number of students who apply and are certified to participate. The commencement venue varies each semester. Notification of the commencement schedule will be sent to the graduating student's official TWU email prior to the event. The venue and schedule will be determined 6-8 weeks before graduation. 

Ceremony Tickets

Students who have indicated that they will be attending the graduation ceremony will be provided with tickets for guests. The number of tickets allowed per student is determined by the number of graduating students and fire code requirements. Students may return extra tickets to the Registrar's Office to be distributed to other students. There is no guarantee of extra tickets. For those guests without tickets, the university provides nearby live-stream viewing areas.

Diplomas

Diplomas are ordered after the ‘rollover’ deadline each term (Fall, Spring, Summer). If a student fails to 'rollover' their graduation application, they will have to reapply for graduation for the next term and pay another application fee. This fee covers the cost of printing another diploma with the correct graduating term. 

Diplomas are ordered from a vendor outside TWU and are typically received in the Registrar's Office approximately four weeks following commencement. Diplomas are mailed to students after the degree audit has been completed and confirmed, and confirmation that all financial obligations to the university have been met (including library and parking fines). Diplomas are generally mailed approximately ten weeks after degrees have been conferred and posted to the student's transcript. Diplomas are mailed to students from the Registrar's Office. Students are responsible for providing an accurate mailing address to the Registrar's Office for diploma delivery.