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Apply to Graduate
In order to officially graduate and receive a diploma, students must submit a graduation application. Degrees are not automatically awarded when degree requirements are satisfied.
Undergraduate students
Undergraduate students must meet with their academic advisor to complete a graduation application. Graduation applications are due by the third Friday of the quarter in which a student intends to graduate. Students pursuing a double major or double degree must meet with advisors for both degree programs.
Students can apply to graduate within 45 credits of completing their degree. Students intending to complete degree requirements in summer quarter must apply by the spring quarter deadline to be eligible to register for the Commencement Ceremony.
Students graduating from the University of Washington Tacoma should use this checklist to facilitate a smooth transition.
Graduation requirements
To graduate with a bachelor's degree, students must earn a minimum of 180 credits with a 2.0 cumulative GPA or higher for coursework completed at UW Tacoma. Additionally, students must meet their major requirements and satisfy all general university graduation requirements. Student can run a degree audit through their MyUW to track their progress.
Minors
If a minor is listed on the graduation application, the student must either complete the minor or drop the minor officially before they can graduate. This prevents students from being graduated when they intend to complete the minor. If a minor is declared but does not appear on the graduation application, it will be removed.
Graduate students
Students receiving a Master’s degree or a Doctoral degree need to contact the Graduate Enrollment Management Services (GEMS) at uwgrad@uw.edu or 206-685-2630 for graduation deadlines.
Commencement Ceremony
University of Washington Tacoma students participate in a Commencement Ceremony on one day each year, at the end of spring quarter. Students who have graduated the previous autumn or winter quarter, along with students who have applied to graduate in spring or summer quarter are encouraged to participate.
Participating in the Commencement ceremony and graduating are two separate events. Students must both apply to graduate and register to walk at Commencement. Walking at Commencement does not mean a student has officially graduated.
Degree Granting
The degree granting process begins once final grades have posted to the transcript the Wednesday following the final day of the quarter. The degree granting process may take up to three weeks for some students.
Students who complete all requirements to graduate will get an email confirming their official graduation status after the degree is granted. This email will have the subject “University of Washington Notification of Degree Posting: Next Steps.” It will be sent from registra@uw.edu to your uw.edu email. If you do not receive this email, you may not have graduated (even if you attend Commencement). Check your unofficial transcript for confirmation. If you do not receive this email and “degree earned” not noted on your transcript, check with your academic advisor.
Students have 45 days after degree conferral to address any errors on the transcript.
Diplomas
- Diplomas are shipped out approximately two-three months after the student’s graduation date.
- UW diplomas list the graduate’s name, the degree earned, and any applicable honors.
- Minors and most major/options are NOT PRINTED on UW undergraduate diplomas. In most cases, it will reflect “Bachelor of Arts” or “Bachelor of Science” only.
- All UW diplomas are 8.5 by 11 inches
Diploma Name and Diploma Mailing
Approximately six weeks after graduation, the Office of the University Registrar in Seattle will send graduated students an email with a link to a form where students can indicate a preferred diploma name and mailing address. Effective with the Summer 2021 graduating class, the diploma name does not need to match the student record name. The form may be used to indicate a preferred name, hyphens, spaces, lower/upper case letters, accents, or other special characters. If a student does not complete the form, or misses the deadline provided in the email, the diploma will be printed using the student record name and mailed to the permanent address per UW records.
Undeliverable Mail
Please note that the University of Washington will not be responsible for undeliverable diploma mail. Graduates may request and purchase a replacement diploma in the event their diploma does not arrive to the provided diploma mailing address or is not returned to the Registrar’s office by the postal service
For any questions regarding the diploma name or delivery, please contact diploma@uw.edu.
Replacement Diplomas
The University of Washington offers students the ability to directly order replacement diplomas through an online ordering system and to pay for the order charge, plus applicable shipping and handling fees, with a credit card. Students may order a replacement diploma issued in the name of their choice.
To purchase replacement diploma, log into the Replacement Diploma Request Portal and follow the instructions to purchase. There will be an opportunity to enter the name preferred on the diploma as part of the order form. Note that there is a $20.00 charge plus any applicable shipping and handling fees.
Certified Electronic Diploma (CeDiploma)
For students graduating June 2016 or later, alumni may download a Certified Electronic Diploma at no charge. For more information, visit Certified Electronic Diploma (CeDiploma).
Posthumous Degrees
A degree may be awarded to a student who dies prior to the completion of degree requirements if the following guidelines have been met:
- Request is made by a family member(s);
- Student was within two quarters of graduating;
- The Dean/Director of the school/department attended by the student approves the awarding of the degree.
Procedure
The family must submit a formal request (posthumous degree form) to the student’s academic department. The department will then review the student’s record and a graduation degree audit will be given to the dean or director of the student’s department for a final determination.
If approved, the formal request will be returned to the Office of the Registrar for action (degree posted and diploma ordered) and the Office of the Registrar will notify the family. If it is denied, the Dean or Director of the student's department will notify the family and include a letter of explanation.
At UW Tacoma, Deans and Directors have full authority over the awarding of a posthumous degree within the department they represent.
Obtaining an Apostille
An apostille (pronounced "uh-pos-till") is a stamp or seal verifying the authenticity of an official document. Most official documents are recognized only in the country in which they were originally issued. The U.S. is a signatory to a 1961 treaty that provides mutual recognition of documents bearing an apostille. In the U.S., apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State for the state in which the document was issued.
To obtain an apostille for a UW diploma, the graduate must submit a copy of the original diploma that has been signed and stamped, as a true copy, by an official from the University of Washington to the WA Secretary of State. Graduates who have their original diploma, can deliver a copy of the original to the Graduation and Academic Records Office via mail, fax, e-mail or in-person. If the diploma copy is verified as a true copy, it will be signed and stamped by a Registrar official. It will then be sent back to the graduate in order to request the apostille through the WA Secretary of State. For information on obtaining an apostille, please visit the WA Secretary of State’s Apostille and Certificate Program.
To request a newly-printed original diploma, please review the information about Replacement Diplomas.
