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Graduation, Degree Certification & Commencement

A help sheet with procedures, dates, and deadlines for the current semester can be found here.

Graduation

You must remain enrolled until the end of the semester in which you complete all degree requirements. You graduate in a given semester if you have completed all degree requirements, including grade changes, before the first day of the next semester. You won’t officially graduate, however, until the end of the semester, so your degree won’t be on your transcript until approximately the fourth week of the next semester. Your diploma will be mailed to you about 90 days after the end of your graduation semester.

Degree Certification

Provisional Certification

The Graduate School will issue a letter of Provisional Certification if requested by the student. The student must have completed all the requirements for an advanced degree, including depositing copies of the thesis, dissertation, or report in the Graduate School office.

Official Certification

The Graduate School office authorizes and mails the diplomas within approximately 90 days of the end of the semester in which the student finishes. It is important to keep the Graduate School informed of current addresses. A replacement diploma costs $35.

The Board of Control receives and approves the list of degree recipients at its next regular meeting after the end of the semester. That meeting date is the conferral date for the degrees, but the effective date is the end of the semester in which the student finishes.

Commencement Ceremony

Michigan Tech has commencement at the end of fall and spring semesters. Commencement information is mailed to all eligible students about two months before the ceremony, generally in mid-March and early October. Any graduate student is eligible to participate in the nearest UPCOMING commencement if

1. The student's advisor has signed the "Request to Participate in Commencement Prior to Final Submission of Documents" affirming his/her confidence that the student will defend, correct and submit to the Graduate School, their thesis/report/dissertation and all final paperwork prior to the official end date of the FOLLOWING semester.
2. The Graduate School receives this form with the advisor's signature prior to the process that initiates printing of commencement materials (about one month before commencement).

You may also defer participation to a later commencement by notifying the Graduate School via the LAM form or via phone or e-mail.

Please confirm your commencement plans with the Graduate School at the beginning of the semester in which you intend to participate in commencement. Students who leave campus before commencement should keep the Graduate School office informed of their commencement plans and their current address.

Your name will appear in only one commencement program, either the commencement for which you are first eligible, or a later one if deferral is requested in a timely manner.