Countdown to Commencement
GWSB’s Undergraduate Ceremony is typically held on a Thursday in May and the University’s Ceremony is typically held the Sunday after GWSB's Undergraduate Ceremony. See the full Schedule of Events here.
Step 1: Submit your application for graduation on time!
All students should apply for graduation via the online graduation application in GWeb. You must be registered for at least one class in the term of your graduation. If the term you expect to graduate is not listed, you most likely need to register for your final courses first. Students who miss the published deadline must use the late paper application and will be assessed a $35 late application fee.
Step by step instructions on applying to graduate and deadlines can be found here.
Note: You will not receive an e-mail confirmation regarding your application. However, if you’d like to confirm we have it, check DegreeMAP the next day and you should see this in the top left.
- You will be able to complete the online Graduation Application after you register for Spring courses in mid-November.
- If you complete your application by December 8, a GWSB advisor will review your academic record before the Spring add/drop registration period ends and will notify you if any problems are identified with your spring schedule and completion of your degree requirements.
- The official deadline to complete the May graduation application is February 1. After this date, you will have to complete the late paper application and will be charged a late fee.
- Please note that your application must be submitted before March 15 in order for your name to appear in the May Commencement program.
- Students who have a maximum of 3 classes to complete in the summer are eligible to participate in this year’s commencement. If you have more than 3 classes remaining, you should consider graduating in the Fall and participating in next year’s ceremonies.
- Complete the online Graduation Application by March 15, if you plan to participate in the May Commencement activities or by July 1 in order to avoid a late fee. After July 1 you must submit the late paper application to the Advising Center.
- Please note that if you apply for Summer graduation between March 15 and July 1, your name will not appear in the May Commencement program. Your application must be submitted before March 15 in order to be listed in the program.
- Students who graduate Fall can participate in the following May Commencement.
- Complete the online Graduation Application by October 1 in order to avoid a late fee. After October 1 you must submit the late paper application to the Advising Center.
- Keep checking your GW e-mail after your final semester! The Events Office will be reaching out to you regarding ticket distribution closer to the ceremony.
Step 2: Review your DegreeMAP ASAP to see if you are on track to complete all degree requirements.
The “Requirements” bar showing Degree Progress at the top of your worksheet should only show 100% once you have officially completed all of your degree requirements and grades are posted at the end of your final semester.
Example of how your Degree Progress bar should look after you registered for your final semester:
Your Requirements bar will only show 100% once all requirements have been checked green and final grades are in. Example:
This is found at the top of your DegreeMAP. If your degree, concentration, minor, or second major are incorrect/incomplete, contact a GWSB advisor ASAP. You cannot confirm your remaining requirements until this is correct. To update a BBA concentration, simply e-mail [email protected]. If you still need to declare a Minor or Second Major outside of GWSB, use the Minor / Second Major Declaration Form and meet with the department to complete it. Once signed by the minor/major's department, upload the form here and a GWSB advisor will add it to your degree.
- Degree requirements highlighted in Blue are classes “in progress”; this will include your Fall & Spring classes until final grades are posted, as well as any classes that are missing final grades from previous semesters. If you have missing grades or Incompletes, you should contact your professor ASAP to resolve your grade.
- Degree requirements highlighted in Red are classes that still need to be completed in order for you to graduate (ie – in Spring if you are planning to graduate in May). Make a list of the requirements in Red: will you be able to complete all of them in one semester (ie – is the total 18 credits or less)? Have you completed all pre-req’s for remaining classes? (Refer to the Bulletin for pre-req info.) If you think that something highlighted in Red is incorrect, refer to Step #3 below.
- If something moved around, don't worry! Unfortunately this happens often. Just e-mail an advisor or [email protected] and we can fix it for you. This may take up to a week or two to resolve.
Scroll down to the end of your Worksheet. Any classes (past or present) that do not fulfill degree requirements will be listed in a category called “Fallthrough Courses,” which would appear just below the School of Business Electives. If you have questions about anything listed in Fallthrough, refer to Recommendation #3 below.
If your abroad credits have been applied to your GW record, they will be listed in your DegreeMAP worksheet. If you don’t see them, you should have received information from the Office for Study Abroad about possible missing course approvals or transcripts. If you have questions about abroad credits, contact the Office for Study Abroad.
GWSB students must earn a 2.0 GPA or higher, both overall and in their major courses. Your cumulative GPA is found at the top of your DegreeMAP worksheet.
Your major GPA is listed in the “Bachelor of Business Administration GPA Block” for BBA students and in the “Major in Accountancy” block for BAccy students, or “Major in Finance” block for BS students.
The Latin honors GPA requirements are: cum laude, 3.4–3.59; magna cum laude, 3.6–3.79; summa cum laude, 3.8–4.0. Since your final GPA is not tabulated until after all of your coursework is completed, the School of Business will not distribute regalia for these honors. Beta Gamma Sigma is the only school wide honors that is currently recognized during GWSB celebrations. Qualifying students will receive an invitation to join in late February or early March. For inquiries, please email [email protected]. More information regarding honors is posted here.
Step 3: When in doubt, visit the Advising Center!
Completion of degree requirements is your responsibility as a student, and the Advising Team is here to serve as a resource if you have questions about those requirements. Click here to view advising availability for Drop-In or to schedule an appointment.
Step 4: Keep up with Countdown to Commencement e-mails.
Between the months of January to May you will receive many e-mails regarding graduation from multiple offices on campus. Be sure to read all of them! E-mails sent from the Advising Center will be under the theme “Countdown to Commencement”. These e-mails will guide you through applying for graduation, picking up tickets, and day of celebrations. GWSB Events Office will also send information regarding picking up tickets. GWU Commencement will send all general reminders regarding regalia and the National Mall commencement activities.
Step 5: Visit the Career Center & get help landing a job.
If you have not utilized Fowler Career Center’s resources yet, do so ASAP! Log into Handshake to schedule an appointment with a Career Coach and get help navigating your search.
Step 6: Order regalia.
All students must wear a cap and gown for the School of Business Celebration and during Commencement. Visit the GW Commencement site for ordering information. NONE will be available on the day of, you must order ahead. GWSB and Graduation Services do not provide any cords for honors, etc. Students in Beta Gamma Sigma or any other society should receive their stoles directly from the fraternity/program they are affiliated with.
Step 7: Audition to be GWSB’s Graduation Ceremony Student Speaker or Singer.
Students interested should reach out to [email protected]. More information will be posted here leading up to auditions in March. The University-wide student speaker competition is run through the Office of University Events. If you are interested in auditioning to speak on the National Mall, please contact the Office of University Events.
Step 8: Pick up tickets and attend GWSB's Graduation Events.
In order to obtain tickets, students must complete the graduation survey. View additional information for GWSB’s commencement and the graduation ticket distribution schedule here. University wide Commencement information will be posted here.
Step 9: Show Up to the Undergraduate Procession!
Students are expected to show up on time. Arrival and attire information is posted here.
Step 10: Celebrate and wait patiently for your degree to be awarded.
Your degree is not officially awarded until after graduation and you do not receive personal notifications during this time, unless there are issues involved. Read carefully: Following your graduation date, advisors will review each DegreeMAP to confirm that all requirements have been completed. Once completed, GWSB Advisors send your paperwork to Office of the Registrar’s Graduation Services. There, they will officially update your official graduation status from GW and order your diploma, delivery of which may take an additional 6-8 weeks following degree conferral. Your diploma will be mailed to either your "diploma" or "permanent" address in GWeb. Please make sure you do not have a financial hold on your account. Diplomas will not be mailed if you have a financial hold of $500.00 or more. If you have a question regarding your account, please contact the Student Accounts Office. Questions about diplomas should be sent directly to Graduation Services: [email protected].
To check if your degree has been awarded: Log into GWeb and View your Unofficial Transcript. If your degree has officially been awarded, it will be listed under "DEGREE SOUGHT". For example, "Awarded: BBA in Business Administration..."
Only AFTER your degree has been awarded, The Office of the Registrar can provide official certifications and transcripts showing that your degree has been awarded. We suggest you review your unofficial transcript to confirm your degree was awarded before requesting official transcripts to be mailed. Should you or your employer need documentation proving that your requirements have been completed prior to your degree being officially awarded, please contact the Advising Center.
