Graduation Information for Academic Advisors

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Graduation process for undergraduate students
Most common reasons for graduation deficiencies-undergraduate students
Graduation process for graduate students
Most common reasons for graduation deficiencies-graduate students
Office of the Registrar's role in graduation
Advisor's role in graduation
Advisor online resources
Frequently asked questions

Graduation process for undergraduate students

Undergraduate students must submit an Application to Graduate through My Missouri State in order to be considered for graduation eligibility. Select the Student tab, then choose the Graduation Application and Status Review link.
- The deadline to apply to graduate and have your name in the commencement program is March 31 for spring commencement and October 31 for fall commencement.
- Students graduating in the summer have the option of participating in the commencement ceremony the spring preceding or fall following the semester of their graduation. Students will mark their choice on their application to graduate. These students will have their names included in the corresponding commencement program and have scholastic honors calculated based on the scholastic honors policy.
It is the responsibility of the student to seek assistance from their academic advisor if they are unsure of their graduation eligibility or if they do not understand how to resolve a deficiency in their degree audit. Students acknowledge that they have reviewed their degree audit while completing the Application to Graduate.
When an undergraduate student applies to graduate, the Office of the Registrar reviews their audit and leaves a message in the student’s Advising Notes.

Once final grades are posted, students should complete the following steps:

Review their degree audit to ensure the audit percentage shows 100%.
Ensure all holds have been cleared. A hold does not prevent participation in the commencement ceremony, but will prevent the release of the diploma and transcript.

The final graduation clearance review takes place after grades are posted. This happens the week following commencement. Each student’s degree audit is checked to see if all requirements are met. If all requirements are met, the degree is posted.

Students who are ineligible for graduation receive an advising note and email notifying them that they have been removed from the graduation list. Examples of ineligible students include, but are not limited to, those who fail classes in their last semester, did not meet GPA requirements, and/or have various other issues preventing them from graduation.
Students who have pending issues from the semester of the graduation application or prior (e.g. transfer work, incomplete grades, pending degree audit exception) receive an advising note and email notifying them of the deadline to resolve the issue and still be cleared for their intended semester of graduation. This is typically as follows:
- The last day of June for the spring semester
- The last day of August for the summer semester
- The last day of January for the fall semester.
Students will also receive an email if they have a hold preventing the release of their diploma and transcript.

Common reasons for graduation deficiencies for undergraduate students

Missing degree audit course exceptions. Students will sometimes tell us on their graduation applications that alternative coursework has been approved, but no such approval has been entered on their degree audit.
Completion of the Undergraduate Exit Survey.
Completion of the Missouri Civics Exam.
General education Human Cultures or Public Affairs four different course prefix (or code) deficiencies.
Unresolved incomplete grades for required courses.
Official transcripts have not received for courses being transferred to Missouri State to fulfill degree requirements..
Major, minor, and/or certificate residency requirements. Appeals must be submitted to the Degrees Committee using an Expedited Appeal of Major/Minor Residency form.
Failure to meet the 40 hours of upper division (300 level or higher) undergraduate coursework or 120 minimum undergraduate credit hours requirements. Particularly, it is important to note that substituting a lower division course to satisfy an upper division requirement does not mean that the lower division course counts toward meeting the 40 hour requirement.
Failure to take into account the effect of repeated courses as repeat codes are not added to the academic record until the end of the semester. Make sure to deduct any repeated courses from minimum credit hour counts of major requirements as the audit will not deduct them until repeat codes are applied during end of semester processing.
Failure to meet BA degree requirements. The most common errors are belief that an Associate of Arts degree waives these requirements (they do not); and failing to take into account restrictions as far as double counting courses between majors, minors, BA fine arts requirements, and general education.
Failure to inform the Office of the Registrar of adding or dropping a minor, certificate or additional major.
Taking graduate courses as "senior permission" instead of "mixed credit" which makes them ineligible to be applied towards an undergraduate degree.
GPA deficiency in a specific block GPA (general education, major, minor, certificate, College of Business upper-division, professional education, etc) or cumulative (MSU, combined MSU plus transfer) GPA.

Graduation process for graduate students

Graduate students must file an Application for Graduation through My Missouri State and should consult with their advisor early in the semester prior to graduation to determine if all program requirements will be met. There is a deadline for submitting the application for inclusion in the printed Commencement program. The deadline to apply to graduate and have your name in the commencement program is March 31 for spring commencement and October 31 for fall commencement.
Graduate students should refer to the Graduate College website for deadlines for thesis, comprehensive exams, and research.
Once grades are posted, student should complete the following steps:
- Review their degree audit to ensure the audit percentage shows 100%
- Ensure all holds have been cleared. A hold does not prevent participation in commencement ceremonies, but will prevent the release of the diploma and transcript.
Students who have pending issues from the semester of the graduation application or prior (e.g. transfer work, incomplete grades, pending degree audit exception) must resolve the issues by the deadline for their intended semester of graduation. This is typically as follows:
- The last day of June for the spring semester
- The last day of August for the summer semester
- The last day of January for the fall semester.

Common reasons for graduation deficiencies for graduate students

Failure to file an Application for Graduation
Failure to have a Comprehensive Examination Application/Results Form submitted to the Graduate College (by department) after successful completion of comprehensive exams
Failure to submit final thesis to the Graduate College before the semester deadline.
Failure to have a Seminar Report Form submitted to the Graduate College (by department) after successful completion on non-thesis research requirement.
Failure to meet the minimum required 3.00 GPA for all graduate-level Missouri State and transfer coursework.
Failure to have an official transcript sent from another university showing approved transfer courses. Official copies must be sent directly from the other university to the Graduate College.
Failure to have all "I" and "Z" grades changed.

Office of the Registrar's Role in Graduation

The Office of the Registrar maintains the accuracy of the degree audit system, making sure degree and program requirements are correct and match the catalog. The office reviews and processes Applications to Graduate for undergraduate students and sends corresponding advising notes to students and advisors. These advising notes indicate receipt of the application, not verification of graduation requirements being met. At the end of the semester, The Office of the Registrar grants degrees based on the requirements listed on the degree audit and prints diplomas accordingly.

Advisors’ Role in Graduation

Advisors should review students’ degree audits and help plan a path to graduation. An advisor should look at a student’s degree audit when he/she receives an advising note to make sure the student is not missing any requirements for graduation. Advisors should submit information to complete any exceptions needed by the student and ensure that those exceptions are processed.

Advisor online resources

Bear Intelligence - the resource for graduation data and reports
Scholastic Honors policy
Degree Works

Frequently Asked Questions

The student's name, degree earned, major(s) and scholastic honors appear on the diploma. Minors and major options do not appear on the diploma, but are on the transcript. Students earning two majors of the same degree type receive one diploma. See the complete policy related to what is and is not included on the diploma.
No. Students are not required to RSVP for commencement. The student's name will only be read during the ceremony if they are present. Students who do not attend commencement can pick up a diploma cover and program from the Office of the Registrar the week following Commencement. Students who did not attend commencement but were eligible for scholastic honors can pick up an honors cordon after Commencement from the Plaster Student Union Administration office.
Refer to the "Commencement Eligibility" section of the Graduation Eligibility page.
This information is available on the Commencement website. Caps and gowns and hoods are purchased through the Bookstore. Students may wear a borrowed gown provided it is the correct color and style. Undergraduate students wear maroon robes while master and doctorate regalia are black.
The official graduation numbers are not available until the graduating class is officially "closed". Once the class is closed, no additional graduates are added, even if the reason for ineligibility (e.g. incomplete grade, transfer work) now resolved originated in an earlier semester.
Scholastic Honors for the ceremony are figured based on the student’s GPA and hours the semester prior to graduation. A student must complete at least 30 credit hours at Missouri State University. Honors are based on the lower of either the Missouri State or overall GPA. See the full scholastic honors policy. Scholastic honors are recalculated after final grades are posted and changes can be either positive or negative. Final scholastic honors are reflected on the transcript and diploma. The student may exchange the honors cordon received at commencement through the Plaster Student Union Administration office. As noted in the scholastic honors policy, graduate students are not eligible for scholastic honors.
The process is much the same as for completion of a degree. Student must declare the certificate as a program of study. Students may utilize the online Application to Graduate system to declare their intent to complete a certificate. Certificates are posted to the transcript and a certificate printed at the same time diploma processing occurs for the semester.
Yes, all graduate students participating in the ceremony are required to wear a hood in addition to their cap and gown.
No. Missouri State does not calculate or maintain a class rank.
Major GPA's are only available post-graduation by running a "what-if" degree audit for the student's graduation major and major catalog year.
There is a "Notes" section in the Application to Graduate system where students can report this information to the Office of the Registrar. If students are transferring coursework, they should indicate the institution where they are enrolled and what course they are completing. If this information is not provided, it may cause students to be removed from the graduation list.
Student may print and submit a PDF version of the application. Application to Graduate for undergraduates.