Graduation Policies and Procedures
Undergraduate Students
Before you apply to graduate
What is graduation? Graduation at UW means two things must be true:
- You must have a graduation application on file, and
- You must complete all degree requirements (including at least 180 credits) by the end of the quarter for which your graduation application is on file.
If both of those things are true, you can graduate in any quarter - AUT, WIN, SPR or SUM. Note that we only host celebration events one time per year, in June. Students with a graduation application on file for SUM quarters are invited to attend the celebration events in the prior June. Students with a graduation application on file for AUT quarters are invited to the celebration events in the following June. Celebration events include the university commencement and the department convocation, among others.
Instructions to apply to graduate
To initiate a virtual graduation application, please send an email to geogadv@uw.edu with the following information:
- Your UW Student Number
- Your UW NetID
- Your birthdate (to confirm your identity)
- Your requested graduation quarter (must be within 3 quarters from current quarter)
- Confirm your major(s)
- Confirm your minor(s)
If you would like to meet with an advisor via Zoom to review your graduation application & degree plan together, we are happy to do that! Please visit Geography Advising to request an advising appointment or attend Drop-In Advising hours via Zoom.
After you apply to graduate
Congratulations on completing your graduation application. Please note: completing this form does not mean you have graduated; you only graduate when you satisfy all degree requirements and complete 180 credits. Once you meet those requirements this should be the last form you need to file in order to graduate on your specified date.
Filing this form entitles you to two quarters’ worth of priority registration, which you must use on the first registration day of each of the next two quarters.
You must either graduate in the quarter listed on your graduation application or you must change your intended graduation quarter. Failure to either graduate or change your graduation quarter will result in a block on your registration. If you want to change your quarter of graduation or discuss ways to finish your degree elsewhere, contact Geography Advising.
Graduate Students
Graduate students indicate their intended graduation quarter by submitting either a Final Examination Request (Ph.D. students) or a Masters Degree Request (M.A. students) in MyGrad. Please be sure to notify the Director of Academic Services (ngross@uw.edu) after submitting the request. If you intend to graduate in SUM 2024 or AUT 2024 quarters, and you'd like to be invited to the preceding June Convocation and Commencement events, please reach out to ngross@uw.edu before April 12, 2024.
Diplomas
UW diplomas list the student’s name, degree earned, and any applicable honors. Majors are not listed on UW diplomas.
Diplomas are mailed to the student’s mailing address selected on MyUW (local or permanent) two to three months following graduation. OUR staff will attempt to contact the graduate in the event a mailed diploma is not accepted at the mailing address and/or returned by the postal service.
More information about diplomas is available from the Office of the University Registrar.
Expiration of Computing Services
Expiration of access to services offered to students (undergraduate, graduate, and Professional & Continuing Education students) is based on your enrollment status. In many cases, access expires after you are not enrolled for two consecutive quarters, excluding summer quarter, which aligns with the rules for enrollment eligibility. Expiration notifications are sent for some services. When you are no longer a student, you can continue to sign in with your UW NetID, and you can forward your UW email address to your own personal email address. More information available from UW-IT.
UW Commencement Ceremony
Students who earned a degree in Autumn 2023, or Winter 2024, or have applied to graduate with a departmental adviser for Spring 2024 or Summer 2024, are eligible to participate in university’s June 8, 2024, graduation ceremony. The Commencement event will list the names of graduates from Summer 2023 through Spring 2024. While Summer 2024 graduates may participate in this year’s Commencement, their names will not be listed in a program until the following year’s Commencement. Beginning in May, you will be directed to a website to order caps and gowns, rings, graduation announcements, etc. For all pertinent ceremony information, please visit the Commencement website.
YOUR STEPS TO A GREAT COMMENCEMENT DAY 2024
Department of Geography Convocation
The Department of Geography Convocation is scheduled on Friday, June 7, 2024, at 10:30 AM Pacific Time. In early May we will send an email invitation with more details to recent alumni who earned a degree in Autumn 2023 and Winter 2024, and current students who have applied to graduate in Spring 2024 or Summer 2024. Please pay careful attention to your email inbox – and check your SPAM/junk mail folders regularly – to be sure you receive this invitation!
We welcome your feedback or suggestions about the Department of Geography Convocation, so please feel welcome to email geogadv@uw.edu if you have any ideas to share with us.
What's Next After Graduation?
Now that your graduation is coming up, you may be wondering how to prepare for what's next. Please know your geography major advisers are here to help! Visit the link below to get started.
5 Steps to Explore & Prepare for Careers
Please direct all questions about anything on this page to:
Nell Gross, Director of Academic Services
ngross@uw.edu