Graduation Information

Congratulations! You've ALMOST earned your graduate degree! Graduation is a process –

1. PHD students  - 1) Apply for Graduation – scroll down for more instructions, 2) Complete a Candidacy form.
2. Masters students - 1) Apply for Graduation – scroll down for more instructions, 2) the Graduation Analyst will review your UMDgree to verify you are ready to graduate.
3. Certificate students – 1) Apply for Graduation – scroll down for more instructions, 2) the Graduation Analyst will review your UMDgree to verify you are ready to graduate.

All correspondence pertaining to graduation will be sent to student University email accounts only. No written correspondence will be sent via U.S. mail. Please check your @memphis.edu regularly throughout the semester.

In order to graduate you must meet all program requirements and:

• have a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00 or better; and
• be fully admitted to a graduate degree and/or graduate certificate program before filing your graduation application.
  • Students completing a Graduate Certificate program must be officially admitted to the program. To add a Program/Certificate, please use the Graduate Readmission/Modify Program form. 
• Non-Degree Students are NOT eligible to file for graduation.

Deadlines for Degree Candidates

How to 'Apply to Graduate'

• Visit the MyMemphis portal >
  • To access the application, select Student Pages >My Degree. Locate the Commencement and Graduation channel on the right side.
  • Carefully review Step 1 - Prerequisites to Graduate.
  • Select Step 2 - Apply to Graduate and complete the application.
  • Proceed to Step 3 - Diploma Mailing/Cap and Gown form. All students are required to complete both the Diploma Mailing and Cap and Gown form, even if you do not plan to attend the ceremony. For students completing a graduate certificate program, there will be no access to the Cap and Gown portion as they do not participate in graduation.
  • Step 4 will be emailed to approved students in your final semester. The form will be sent from The Commencement Office to your Memphis email account only.

• After the application has been completed, click View Your Submitted Application to check the status.
• Revisit Step 3 only if you need to make changes to your name or to the diploma mailing address. Do not go back to Step 2.

Required Forms

Candidacy Forms: Required for Doctoral Programs

Doctoral Students – Candidacy forms are required. We strongly recommend that you send the candidacy form to your departmental advisor at least 1-2 weeks prior to the submission deadline so that the form will reach the Graduation Analyst by the required deadlines.

Master’s Students – Your UMDegree will indicate if you are ready to graduate.  Check UMDegree: This can be found on your Student Pages. In the My Degree section, click on the UMdegree logo. 

Certificate Students – Your UMDegree will indicate if you are ready to graduate.  Check UMDegree: This can be found on your Student Pages. In the My Degree section, click on the UMdegree logo. 

1. Verify the Masters Degree and/or Certificate is part of your degree plan – if not please submit an Academic Program Update Form to Graduate Admissions,
2. Verify you have taken all the courses needed to complete the degree.  
3. Candidacy forms are no longer required for Masters and Certificates.

Course Substitution Form: Complete this form for each course that was approved as a substitution for a required course in your program. This should be submitted along with your candidacy form.

*Before starting on your candidacy form, log into myMemphis and obtain an unofficial copy of your transcript. This will help with completing your list of courses.

*If you previously filed for graduation and did not meet all degree requirements, it will not be necessary to submit a new candidacy form unless you have made significant changes to your degree program. 

*MASTERS and CERTIFICATES – course substitutions need to be processed and updated to UMDegree.  Please work with the program advisor to have these substitutions posted.

If you have trouble with the Etrieve candidacy forms, you may submit the paper candidacy forms to the Graduate School. Here is a link to the doctoral paper candidacy forms. Remember, you will be responsible for obtaining all the necessary signatures. 

Questions about the Graduate School candidacy forms? Contact Graduate School Graduation Analyst at gsgraduateanalyst@memphis.edu.

Degree Certification

Students will be certified for graduation only when all degree requirements are met, including the removal of all "I" or "IP" grades earned from previous semesters, and the successful completion of comprehensive examination requirements or final approval of master's theses or doctoral dissertations.

If degree candidates earn any "I" or "IP" grades during their last semester of enrollment, they will be automatically disqualified from graduation and will be notified of this disqualification via UofM email only.