Application for Degree or Certificate

In order to be considered for a degree or certificate, all students must file an Application for Degree or Certificate.

Exceptions: Doctoral and M. Phil candidates should go to their department or follow instructions from the GSAS Dissertation Office instead. (Note: Doctoral students must deposit their dissertation at least a week before the conferral date in order to graduate.) Students at Teachers College and Barnard College must use forms issued by their own schools. For more information, please contact the Barnard Registrar or the Teachers College Registrar.

Submitting the Degree/Certificate Application: You should submit the Application for Degree or Certificate by the appropriate deadline. When a deadline for application falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Please allow at least a month for processing.

Names: Unless you explicitly indicate to us otherwise, your diploma will be printed under your legal full name. You can verify the presentation of your name on SSOL under the "Academic Profile" rubric. If you wish to make changes to the name that will display on your diploma, you may do so by writing to the Office of the Registrar at [email protected].

Please keep the following guidelines in mind:

A change to your middle name can be made simply upon request without the need for additional paperwork.

Any changes to your last name must be requested via Name Change Affidavit with the appropriate accompanying documents and forms of ID.

The Office of the Registrar can accommodate printing a preferred first name on a diploma without the need for a Name Change Affidavit. Should you wish to have your preferred name printed on the diploma, simply write to [email protected] for further guidance.

If you want to make changes to your first name on your official academic record (i.e., changing the name that will print on the transcripts and academic certifications), you will need to submit the Name Change Affidavit and all accompanying documentation. 

Please direct any questions about names and academic records to either [email protected] or [email protected]

General Submission Deadlines

Morningside Students

Graduating In: Apply By:
October September 1
February November 1
May December 1


Medical Center Students

Graduating In: Apply By:
October August 1
February December 1
May/June February 1

 

Except in cases where student populations have been instructed to apply for graduation through other means, students should complete the online Application for Degree available directly within SSOL, under the Degree Application Status tab.

 

All students eligible to apply through this online Application will find a button on the bottom of the Degree Application Status page, marked “Apply for Degree or Certification.” Clicking the button will allow students to submit their Application for Degree directly to the Office of the Registrar.          

NOTE that the Application includes multiple graduation dates. While the application will default to the next available conferral date, students must ensure that they have selected the correct graduation date for their program from the pulldown menu.   

Diplomas will be ordered and mailed by our printing vendor roughly three weeks after the conferral date. Keeping this timeframe in mind – and the additional time required for delivery of the diploma, it’s important that we have an address on file for you that will be current for at least two months after graduation.

If you need to update your address, you may do so through Student Services Online (SSOL) anytime until 5 p.m. on the Monday before graduation – please be sure to select the DP (Diploma) address option. Your diploma will be sent exclusively to the DP address on file for you. You must enter a Diploma Address on SSOL in order to receive a diploma.

You may check the status of your degree application in SSOL at any time.

Additional information about graduation requirements may be found here.