Graduation and Degree Auditing

Here you will find information to prepare you for graduation. 

student graduating

All students must file an Application to Graduate with the Registrar’s Office the term before you plan to complete your degree. This starts your audit process. Applications can be found on the Forms page.  Please see application for specific due date. Late fees will apply to all applications filed after the deadline.

Graduation Prerequisites

The Registrar’s office conducts the final review of degree candidates' academic records to verify that all are on track to graduate in the term indicated on their application, including all degree requirements, the total number of units completed, and minimum grade point averages for major, minor and CORE where applicable. 

  • Results of audit will be sent by e-mail to each candidate's Dominican student e-mail address upon completion of the review.
  • Look for emails in March-April for Spring audits and October-November for Fall audits.
  • An email will confirm eligibility to walk in the Spring Commencement Ceremony. 

Issues that may delay a student's ability to graduate

  • Missing course substitution forms
  • Unresolved Incomplete or In-Progress grades
  • Missing transcripts (with grades) for courses taken off-campus
  • Missing authorizations for taking courses off-campus
  • Missing major or minor declaration forms

Participating In Commencement

Commencement is held in mid-May and mid-December each year. For the ceremony date, please see the Academic Calendar.

All students who are in good standing, have applied for graduation, and have completed the requirements for a degree are eligible to participate in the Commencement ceremony as follows:

  • May Application: May Commencement Ceremony
  • August Application: December Commencement Ceremony
  • December Application: December Commencement Ceremony

Students who have applied to graduate but have not completed the requirements for a degree may be approved to participate in Commencement on a case-by-case basis. Generally, approval for participation is given only under the following conditions:

  • The student must indicate on the graduation application that they wish to participate in Commencement.
  • The student must have no more than one course (3 or 4 units maximum) outstanding, as verified by the Registrar’s Office.
  • The student must be registered by the Friday of the Priority Registration Week for the remaining outstanding coursework or for Prior Learning examinations (e.g., CLEP, or DSST) required for the completion of their degree. Registered courses and exams must be in the subsequent term or participation will be rolled to the next ceremony.
  • The student must have submitted all Experiential Learning portfolios for review by the Friday of the Priority Registration Week.

Students will be notified by the Registrar’s Office of their eligibility to participate in Commencement in their degree audit letter

Degree Conferral

Degree conferral is not the same as Commencement. Degrees are conferred upon members of the graduating class one at a time, after the final grade is posted for the final degree requirement on each student’s transcript. Dominican is committed to conferring degrees within 60 days of the Commencement date, provided that all outstanding grades and requirements have been submitted.

Dominican confers degrees three times per year. The date of conferral that appears on the transcript is relevant to the term in which the final grade was posted.

  • Spring degree date: May 15,  posted by July 15, diploma by August 30   
  • Summer degree date: August 15, posted by October 15, diploma by November 30
  • Fall degree date: December 15, posted by February 15, diploma by March 30

Degrees are conferred in random order, however, priority is given to those with pending transcript requests for licensing board examinations, graduate school applications, and employment-related matters, in the order they are submitted.

Transcripts

Transcripts showing conferred degrees are available via the online ordering process, and take 5-10 working days for standard processing. If the degree must be posted before the transcript is sent, the transcript request should be clearly marked “Hold until after degree is awarded." Transcript requests marked in this way are available within 60 days after the official graduation date. Transcript request information can be found on the transcript page.

Diplomas

Diplomas are ordered in bulk, after degrees have been posted for a given term. This process takes about an additional 30 days after conferral, so diplomas are not usually mailed until approximately 100 days after the degree date, as shown in the table above. An email will be sent by the Registrar's Office prior to mailing to confirm address on file. 

Students who have applied to graduate will receive informational letters about commencement activities, ordering regalia, invitations and other related matters from the President's Office early in the spring semester.

Learn More About Commencement