Saturday, December 15th is a milestone for many of our current students here at the Graduate School. At 1:00pm, students completing their degrees and walking in commencement will gather in the Media Room of the TD Arena. At 2:00pm, the ceremony celebrating their achievements will begin.
To those students – and others who are already thinking ahead to their own commencement ceremony – I pose the following questions: Do you know what you have to do before commencement? Are you ready for commencement?
Maybe you are, maybe you are not, or maybe you do not know. Either way, there are three major things I would like to briefly point out:
1. Regardless of what your undergraduate institution did, as a Master’s candidate, you will wear academic regalia for the commencement ceremony. You should purchase this from the College Bookstore. The costs for matte finish academic regalia are listed below. The deadline to order regalia is Thursday, November 15, 2012. Before graduation, open and check your regalia to ensure you have all items and the correct color hood. Bring all items with you to the TD Arena on December 15th. You can find a complete list of the items you need, associated costs, and the correct color of your program’s hood here.
2. Diplomas will be ordered for students. To ensure accuracy and avoid delays in receiving your diploma, please check the following information on MyCharleston before November 1, 2012:
- Name: Check your unofficial transcript to be sure your name is correct. The name printed on your diploma must match exactly what is on your College of Charleston record.
- Graduation address: Check your addresses to ensure that the permanent address is correct. This address is where your diploma will be mailed if not picked up on the designated pick-up days. It is pertinent that you check this information! Please send address updates to the Graduate School Office.
- Fees paid: Make sure all fees have been paid before you leave the college. Diplomas are not be released to students with an account balance.
3. Check your degree records – do not just assume you are good to go. Things to remember:
- The Graduate School Office needs a copy of your Program of Study form and any Program of Study Change forms you may have completed.
- Transfer credits: If you have approved transfer credit, please make certain that an official copy of your transcript was sent to the Graduate School Office (students in Education programs) or to your graduate program office (all other programs). Transfer credit have to be manually applied to your student records and this takes time.
- If you are completing a thesis for Fall 2012, you must successfully defend your work and submit your thesis online by midnight, Monday, December 3, 2012.
- If comprehensive exams are required for your program, please arrange to take the exam on the scheduled dates.
You can find this and more information on the Commencement page. Be sure to use navigation pane on the left side of the page to access additional information!
