Where will the information pertaining to graduation be sent?
How do I receive my degree if I can't be present for the ceremony?
What are the graduation requirements?
What is the program for Commencement?
How long should my guests plan on staying in Atlanta for the graduation ceremonies?
What if it rains on graduation day?
Under what circumstances can I request "permission to walk" at graduation?
May I study abroad during my final semester?
Where can I get more information about graduation (robes, videos etc.)?
What should I wear for graduation?
Where will the information pertaining to graduation be sent?
Information will be sent to the address on record. This is where the Bursar's office sends your bills. In addition we will be sending emails to all seniors throughout the year. Please make sure you read all of emails so that you don't miss important information.
How do I receive my degree if I can't be present for the ceremony?
You will need to request permission from the Office for Undergraduate Education to receive your degree in absentia. Please submit a Permission to Graduate in Absentia form to White Hall 300.
What are the graduation requirements?
In order to be a degree candidate for any given term, students must file an application for the bachelor's degree with the Office for Undergraduate Education at the beginning of the semester they expect the degree to be conferred. The degree application (PDF) is available online or from White Hall 300. Deadlines for submitting applications each term are indicated in the Registrar's Academic Calendar.
What is the program for Commencement?
Details will be made available on the Commencement website.
How long should my guests plan on staying in Atlanta for the graduation ceremonies?
Rain is always a possibility in springtime Atlanta. In the event of inclement weather, the College ceremony may be moved back to 2 p.m. and be completed by about 5 p.m.
What if it rains on graduation day?
In the event of inclement weather, the College ceremony will reconvene at 2 p.m. in the Woodruff PE center. Severe weather plan tickets (rain tickets) are available for the student to pick up in April; they will be notified when they are available. Each College graduate will receive two guest tickets. Additional guests may view the ceremony in White Hall classrooms.
Under what circumstances can I request "permission to walk" at graduation?
Students are permitted to walk in the Commencement ceremonies of their entering class. This Commencement usually occurs four years after entering Emory or Oxford College for students who began as freshmen. Students may not participate in Commencement early (for example, after only three years) unless all requirements are completed. Of course, students who graduate early may always return and walk with their entering class the following May.
Students seeking to participate with their entering class may request “Permission to Walk” with their class if they lack no more than 16 hours of additional coursework or other requirements that will be fully completed the Summer or Fall semester immediately following the May Commencement.
Students deleted from the Graduation List due to unsatisfactory coursework on Grade Roll Day (Friday before Commencement) will be notified and automatically granted permission to walk in the Commencement Ceremony by the Dean of the College, and therefore, do not need to complete a Permission to Walk form.
Students studying abroad who are planning to graduate and who anticipate that their grades might not be posted by Grade Roll Day do not need to submit a Request for Permission to Walk with Class. These students will be notified and automatically granted permission to walk in the Commencement Ceremony by the Dean of the College.
Students receiving a dual degree from Emory and Georgia Tech are permitted to participate in the Emory Commencement if their entering class is graduating and they have 16 hours or less left to complete the Emory Degree. Dual degree students who have not yet completed all requirements for the Georgia Tech degree may participate fully in the Emory Commencement if all requirements for the Emory Degree are met.
Please be aware that when Permission to Walk is granted, the student will receive at Commencement a folder with a letter indicating “Permission to Walk” instead of the student’s Diploma (the audience will not be made aware of this fact). While all names will be read aloud and all students will walk across the stage, the students should also be aware that their names will NOT be printed in the Commencement Program because of that document's official status. All students who officially receive their degrees in the August or December following the Spring Commencement when they walked will instead have their names appear in the Commencement program the following May.
Students may request permission to walk by completing the Request for Permission to Walk with Graduating Class form.
May I study abroad during the summer semester after Commencement?
Graduating seniors are eligible to participate in summer study abroad. Students either can defer graduation until the end of the summer or apply to the Graduate School as a student in Special Standing.
Generally students choose to defer graduation in order to receive final aid or to complete final requirements to graduation. Students who wish to defer graduation are still eligible to walk with their class with permission from the Office for Undergraduate Education. Emory summer study abroad courses would count toward the cumulative GPA. Students currently receiving financial aid or a courtesy scholarship would remain eligible.
Follow this link to download a degree application. Please take note of the deadline for degree application submission. If the grades for all summer study abroad courses are not reported and posted to a student's transcript by the deadline for Emory College of Arts and Sciences certification of degrees (generally early- to mid-August for summer graduation), the diploma will not be dated for that term. Rather the diploma will be dated in the actual term in which all grades were recorded on the transcript. In order to graduate on time at the end of the summer, students should be sure to remind their summer program director(s) that they are intending to graduate at the end of the summer and to complete all program assignments in a timely manner so that grades can be posted by the deadline.
Students who not wish to defer graduation may apply to the Graduate School as a non-degree student in Special Standing. Click here to view the special standing application. The application and official transcripts must be received as part of the Summer Study Abroad Application packet delivered to CIPA. The graduate School has agreed to waive the $50 application fee for summer study abroad students. Students in special standing do not receive merit awards or financial aid. The grades earned on summer study abroad do appear on the undergraduate transcript but ar enot calculated into the GPA. However, students should note that, if they later apply to other schools, the summer grades will be seen by these universities, even if they are not part of the undergraduate GPA. Students in special standing who later wish to enroll in a Graduate School degree program must submit a formal application for admission to the Graduate School.
Please contact the Center for International Programs Abroad (CIPA) office for more details.
Where can I get more information about graduation (robes, videos etc.)?
Please visit the Commencement website which is updated by early spring.
What should I wear for graduation?
Sensible and cool clothes are recommended under your robes since the ceremony will start at 7 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m.