Applying to Graduate
Students who intend to graduate in the next academic year must complete an Application for Graduation as directed by their respective academic advising office. The graduation application deadlines are also posted on the Homewood Registrar's Office website. The university confers degrees three times per academic year, and there is one annual commencement ceremony in May.
Graduating in May
Most students who enter the university directly from high school graduate in May after eight semesters of full-time enrollment. Full-time enrollment is a minimum of 12 credits. Part-time enrollment is not permitted within a student's first eight semesters. Students are required to have full-time status in the semester immediately prior to graduation, and must therefore be enrolled for at least 12 credits in the final semester even if all course and credit requirements could be met with fewer than 12 credits. The May conferral date is the Thursday before Memorial Day which is usually the University-wide Commencement date.
Graduating in August
A small number of students complete their degree during the summer. Students who have completed eight full-time semesters may graduate in the summer if all degree requirements have been satisfied by the degree conferral date (last weekday before the fall term start in August). Students who have not completed eight full-time semesters should see the Graduating Early policies below.
Graduating in December
Students may complete their degree at the end of the fall semester, which does not include Intersession. Students may graduate in December if all degree requirements have been satisfied by the degree conferral date (defined as the last weekday in December). Students are required to maintain full-time status (enrolled for at least 12 credits) in their final semester, unless they are in their ninth semester or later.
Note for students who entered as transfer students:
Transfer students are not subject to the eight semester full-time restrictions as listed above. Transfer students must complete at least four full-time semesters at JHU before they are eligible to graduate.
Completing Graduation Requirements
Students are responsible for completing the requirements for a bachelor's degree as indicated for KSAS students, and WSE students. All grades and credits for courses that are required for graduation must be submitted in time to clear students for graduation.
Each student expecting to graduate will receive a SIS notification regarding their outstanding student account balance. All outstanding balances must be paid in full before a student's diploma may be released, although degree conferral still occurs. Transcript release and eligibility for participation in the Commencement ceremony are not affected. Note that unresolved Advisor Alerts on a student’s record do not prevent degree conferral, Commencement ceremony participation, diploma release, or transcript release.
Students who have not completed degree requirements after eight full-time semesters (or four full-time semesters for transfer students) of enrollment may register for less than 12 credits, and pay for courses on a per-credit basis. With approval of the student's academic advisor, these students may take courses elsewhere to meet the remaining graduation requirements; but must observe the 12 credit limit on transfer credit. Students must follow the standard pre-approval process for transfer credits. These students also may have part-time status in the semester when they graduate. If applicable, students should consult with the Office of Financial Aid prior to part-time enrollment.
Graduating students who are taking courses through the Baltimore Student Exchange Program (BSEP) or in other divisions of the university must make arrangements with their instructors on the first day of class to have final grades submitted to the host registrar and then to the Homewood Registrar by the Homewood deadline for submitting grades for graduating students. If such an arrangement cannot be made, students should not remain enrolled in the course.
Students who graduate in December may remain in university housing and/or continue to participate in student organizations only if they enroll for a minimum of 6 credits during the following spring semester.
A student's degree and/or certificate may not be conferred with unresolved charges of misconduct or academic ethics violations.
No member of the faculty is obliged to provide students or graduates with an evaluation or letter of recommendation which does not accurately reflect the faculty member’s true opinion and evaluation of the student’s academic performance and conduct.
Students who have completed eight or more undergraduate semesters may take an additional course or two after graduation to complete a second major or minor if they have filed an approved plan with their respective advising office before their initial graduation date. For additional details, please review the complete policy in the Student Status section, Alumni Enrollment tab.
Graduating Early (less than 8 semesters)
Students are eligible to graduate early at the end of the fall or spring semester if they have completed all requirements for graduation, including the residency requirement. Students graduating early may not use intersession as a final term to complete remaining graduation requirements. Students may not graduate early during the summer except in the circumstances described below:
- Student has at most two incomplete grades in spring semester required courses, or
- Student has one incomplete grade in a spring semester required course and needs one required course in the summer, or
- Student needs one required course in the summer.
These students must meet with their respective academic advising office prior to the May commencement ceremony to file an August conferral plan. This plan requires proof of summer course registration, if applicable.
Students who graduate in fewer than eight semesters may also take courses after graduation as a full-time or part-time student if not completing an additional major or minor. Students who graduate early lose the opportunity to complete additional majors or minors after graduation.
Incomplete Grades and Graduation Status
Students with incomplete grades or missing grades in required courses at the date of conferral will not graduate.
Students who have completed at least eight full-time semesters and have met the residency requirement and who receive one or more incomplete grades in their last semester in attendance, may complete those incomplete grades and are not required to register for additional coursework unless required for their degree.
Students who have completed less than eight full-time semesters and:
- who receive one or two incomplete grades in required course(s) during their intended last spring semester should review the Graduating Early policies.
- who receive three or more incomplete grades during their intended last spring semester are required to register for another full-time fall semester (at least 12 credits) in order to complete all degree requirements, including the residency requirement.
- who receive incomplete grades in required course(s) during their intended last fall semester must resolve these incomplete grades no later than the December degree conferral date or register for another full-time spring semester (at least 12 credits) in order to complete all degree requirements, including the residency requirement.
Last Semester Option
In their last semester before graduation, students may request that they be excused from taking the final examination in one or more courses. This option is solely at the discretion of the course instructor. This option is not available to students who are graduating early.
S/U Option in the Last Semester
Students in their final semester, who will have completed at least eight full-time semesters of enrollment when they graduate and who are taking more credits than are needed to complete graduation requirements, may take one or more of the extra courses for S/U credit. Engineering students must obtain their academic advisor’s written permission via email. The academic advisor's approval indicates that the student will have completed all degree requirements without this course. Approval from the academic advisor must be attached to a SEAM case. Arts & Sciences students must obtain approval from the Arts and Sciences Academic Advising Office and submit this with a SEAM case.
Independent Work in the Last Semester
Students in their final semester, who will have completed at least eight full-time semesters of enrollment when they graduate and who are taking more credits than are needed to complete graduation requirements, may take up to 6 credits of independent academic work, either graded or S/U. In addition, the usual limit of no more than 6 credits per year of independent academic work will be waived if the additional credits are for extra credit work done in the final semester.
Graduation Closes the Undergraduate Record
Upon graduation, the undergraduate record is closed. The only permitted changes are the resolution of incomplete grades, missing grades, and grade errors. These changes must be resolved by the first Monday after 30 days have lapsed since the degree conferral date. Students wishing to take additional courses at JHU after graduation should refer to Alumni Enrollment policies.
General and Departmental Honors at Conferral
Students may receive general honors, departmental honors, or both at conferral. General Honors are awarded to students with cumulative grade point averages of 3.50 or better. The final determination is made after all grades have been reported. Departments set their own standards for the award of Departmental Honors. Students should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for their major about the requirements for departmental honors.
General and Departmental Honors are noted on a student's academic record following the student's last undergraduate semester before conferral. In addition, honors are noted in the Commencement program. However, because the program is printed several weeks in advance, not all honors are announced in time for inclusion.
Completing Honors in the Major
Students who are completing requirements for Honors in their major must complete all requirements to earn honors before conferral. For example, students may not stay on after graduation to complete an honors thesis, present a poster or give a presentation, or write a final research summary.
Commencement
The university commencement ceremony is held once each year in May.
The student's respective academic advising office determines whether a student has completed all requirements, and clears the student for conferral and participation in Commencement. Students who graduate in August, December, and May are invited to participate in the Commencement Ceremony in May following their degree completion. Students who graduate in August may receive permission to walk in the May ceremony preceding degree completion if they file an August conferral plan with their respective academic advising office. The diploma and degree will not be awarded until all courses are completed successfully and recorded.