Commencement

WSU holds commencement ceremonies each year in December and in May. All baccalaureate and master’s degree candidates for the spring semester are eligible to participate in the May ceremony and all baccalaureate and master’s degree candidates for the fall semester are eligible to participate in the December ceremony. Baccalaureate and master’s degree candidates for the summer semester are eligible to participate in either the preceding May or following December ceremony.  

Doctoral degree candidates are only eligible to participate in a ceremony after all requirements for their degree have been successfully completed (May or December). Summer doctoral graduates are generally not eligible to participate in the preceding May ceremony, but may participate in the following December ceremony. Exceptions may be granted for summer doctoral students if they have successfully defended their dissertation, and the defense paperwork is on file in the Graduate School before the spring ceremony. Contact the degree audit specialist in the Graduate School for details.

More information may be found at the WSU commencement website.¹

Degree recipients may obtain their diplomas from the registrar’s office per the schedule posted on the office's website. Diplomas will be mailed from that office upon a written, signed request that includes the name and student identification number of the degree recipient, the complete address where the diploma is to be mailed, the appropriate mailing fee, and a readable copy of the degree recipient’s driver’s license or other government issued photo ID. More information can be found on the registrar's website.¹

¹

Link opens new window.

Academic Distinction

Degrees are conferred with distinction upon students who have shown excellence in scholarship during their academic career, as evidenced by both their overall GPA and their institutional GPA. The minimum standard for graduating summa cum laude is an overall and institutional grade point average of 3.900. The minimum standard for graduating magna cum laude is an overall and institutional grade point average of 3.550. The minimum standard for graduating cum laude is an overall and institutional grade point average of 3.250. These grade point averages are frozen at the time of graduation. The student's diploma and complete transcript show their academic distinction based on this frozen GPA after final grades are submitted. However, since commencement takes place before final grades are processed, the student's academic distinction published in the commencement program is based on the student's GPA at the end of their second to last semester and may differ.