The steps to Commencement are simple, but they require active participation on the part of the student to go smoothly. Please be aware of the following actions and keep up with the process throughout the semester you plan to graduate.

1.  Be certain first of all that you have an ACTIVE "student.gsu.edu" email address. This is the only official notification instrument that the college and university use to communicate  your status as a graduation candidate. If your address does not work, first check the Help Desk of university IS&T at 404-651-4507 to check for technical problems. You must have registered for classes within the last three semesters to have an active email address.  If you have been away from Georgaii State longer than 12 months, first complete re-entry into your graduate program and then follow the instructions to reactivate or create a new Georgia State University email address.

Do not set up your email address to forward mail to another account. If you have already done so, please be certain that email is being forwarded to an active email account. Often students set up mail to be forwarded, and then change or close the target account. The Office of Academic Assistance cannot be responsible for communication of required information if email is being routed to a "dead" or forgotten email account not sponsored by Georgia State University.

If you have particular problems with this requirement, please email the Office of Academic Assistance at aaecoe@langate.gsu.edu

2. Register for graduation at the Registrar's Graduation Services office: The Registrar typically asks students to register for graduation TWO SEMESTERS in advance.

http://www.gsu.edu/applying_for_graduation.html

You must be registered for graduation for your name to appear on the official graduation list. If you finished your degree requirements a prior semester, you need to update your graduation date. If you intended to graduate a previous semester and were unable to do do, you must contact the Graduation Services office to verify your eligibility at graduation@langate.gsu.edu. Also,  students who know they will not graduate the semester for which they have applied should contact the Graduation Office as soon as possible. Students may either email the Graduation Office at graduation@langate.gsu.edu, stating what semester they now wish to graduate, or complete the Change of Graduation Date form and return it to 231 Sparks Hall. If the email option is selected, please note that this method is only valid if the student receives an email confirmation from the Registrar's Graduation Office. The Education academic assistance office does NOT handle registration for graduation.

3. Register for classes. If you are expecting to graduate fall semester 2006 or later, you will need to be registered during the semester that you complete your requirements for the degree. Check with the graduate coordinator in your department to determine which courses and how many hours you will be required to take.

4. At the beginning of the semester you will receive confirmation of  your registration from the Office of Academic Assistance, along with all instructions and forms to proceed with the graduation process. At this point, if you are not still planning to graduate the registered semester, you will be asked to notify by return email the college graduation auditor of your situation. Waiting until later in the semester could cause unnecessary confusion or delays.

5. In most cases, you will have received an official audit from the Office of Academic Assistance sometime during the semester before that which you have selected for graduation, evaluating your potential for graduation and indicating which classes or requirements you were yet to complete. During the semester you intend to complete graduation requirements you will receive a "confirming audit" that will act as a final check to let you know your completion status.

The Academic Assistance Office checks for the following compliance for graduation:

• Residency Requirements to see that the proper number of consecutive terms of residency have been met;

• Time Limit Requirements to assure that all graduate work has been done from proposed graduation from the program to no more than seven years for masters and ten years for doctoral candidates;

• Number of Research Hours Taken to verify that each student has completed the number of research hours established by the college for all master’s and doctoral candidates;

• Number of Hours Taken in Full Status to ensure that 20 semester hours of coursework have been completed in Full Graduate Status for those students who were initially admitted under another category

• Authenticity of Previous Degrees based on original transcripts submitted at the time of application or more recently if necessary;

• Cumulative Grade Point Average to determine that a 3.00 or better graduate GPA from Georgia State University (regardless of time limit) is held by the date of graduation.

• Program Completion to see that students has completed all requirements (course and non-course) listed in the catalog under which they matriculated.

Regulations for particular programs of study are certified complete by the department program coordinator for the particular department of the candidate.

If you began a graduate program of study in Fall 2004 or later, you may be able to check your compliance status online through GoSolar.

6. Manuscript requirements: If you are in a program that requires the submission of a portfolio, you must have your paper completed and approved by the graduation calendar deadline date for the semester of expected graduation.

If you are a candidate for a degree requiring a thesis or dissertation, you must comply with the instructions in the dissertation guidelines, and upload your approved composition to the library web server according to all instructions.