Enrollment Services

Applying for Graduation

In order to receive your degree after completing your degree requirements, you must apply to graduate by submitting a Degree Application to the Enrollment Services Center (ESC) in Britt Hall. Students should apply only after identifying the term in which they will have completed all degree requirements and no earlier or later than two terms before the term in which they expect to graduate. For more information on when to submit your degree application, please see the FAQ below.

How do I get started?

• Click on the link above to fill out the online form or download the PDF version (hard copy available the ESC in Britt Hall).
• Read the "Application for Degree Checklist" on the back of the form.
• Fill out the application completely. You must select a degree, major, and catalog option.
• Attach any required supplemental documents to the Degree Application. For example, transfer students must attach a copy of their transfer evaluation to the application.
• Submit the Degree Application and the application fee of $75 to the ESC. You may bring the form in person, fax, email, or mail it:
  • In person: we are located in Britt Hall on the Ashland campus
  • Fax: (541) 552-6614
  • Email: ESC@sou.edu (note: to email, you must have access to a scanner to scan your application after it is filled out. The application form online is not a "fill in" form.)
  • Mail:
    Enrollment Services Center
    Southern Oregon University
    1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
    Ashland, OR 97520
  • IMPORTANT: If you do not provide payment at the time you submit your application, the application fee will be charged to your student account.
  • It is recommended that you keep a copy of your degree application for future reference.

The Degree Application Process

The processing time for degree applications may vary, but typically takes 6 to 8 weeks once processing of your application has begun. Following is how the process typically works:

1. Degree Application and application fee are received in the ESC.
2. Application is logged in and an email is sent to the student confirming receipt of the application.
3. Student transcript(s) and degree evaluation report will be reviewed for completion of all general education/University Studies and baccalaureate degree requirements.
4. Degree Application and evaluation form are sent to the major/minor/certificate departments for evaluation of the major/minor/certificate requirements.
5. Upon receipt of the evaluation form from the applicable departments, an email communication will be sent to the student regarding the status of the application as either:
   • Approved, pending successful completion of all remaining degree requirements.
   • Not approved, due to deficiencies in completion of degree requirements.
6. If not approved, the student must address the deficiencies and how they will be rectified. The student should do so by submitting a revised degree application to the ESC.

A few things to note about applying for graduation:

• All correspondence regarding your degree application will happen via your student email account. Please add ESC@sou.edu to your email address book or adjust the rules of your spam filter to ensure that you receive these important emails. Your student email account will be accessible for one year after your last term at SOU. It is your responsibility to make sure you have access to your student email account and are receiving emails. If you need assistance with your student email account, please contact the Student Help Desk at (541) 552-6969.
• It is highly recommended that you check your SOU email account regularly until you receive your diploma.
• The degree application process is not an advising process. You are responsible for being aware of your progress towards completion of degree requirements:
  • For General Education/University Studies requirements, see an advisor in Academic Support Programs, located in SU 134 or call (541) 552-6213.
  • For major/minor/certificate requirements, see your major/minor/certificate advisor(s).
• If you change the term in which you expect to graduate, or if you should have any changes that may affect your General Education/University Studies, major, minor or certificate requirements, please submit a revised Degree Application or email the Enrollment Services Center at ESC@sou.edu. Unapproved deviations from your plan may result in a delay in processing or the cancellation of your application.

Awarding of Degrees

After the end of the term in which the student applied to graduate, a final degree audit of the student's degree application will be performed. If the student has successfully completed all requirements, the degree will be awarded.

• Students receiving incomplete grades (e.g., "I" or "E" grades) or who have not completed all requirements based on their catalog will have the application canceled and will have to apply for the degree again in a subsequent term. Students who have “M” grades on their transcripts can still have their degrees awarded once it is verified that the course with the “M” grade is not required for graduation; however, once the degree is awarded, the “M” grade stands and cannot be changed. Therefore, it is highly recommended that students rectify any “M” grades during the degree application process.
• Degrees are conferred four times per year at the end of each term. Processing typically takes 4 to 6 weeks after the completion of the term for which you applied. Due to the large volume of spring term degree applicants, spring term degree awarding typically takes 8 weeks after the completion of spring term.
• Diplomas will be ordered and mailed approximately two weeks after being awarded. You will receive an email at your student account when the diploma is in the mail.
• Before ordering transcripts, please check your MySOU or SISWeb account to ensure your degree has been awarded. Or, when ordering transcripts, please select the option to have your transcript order processed after your degree has been awarded.
• Keep your Diploma Mailing address current by listing the address on the application and updating it if you move. You can update all of your addresses on your SISWeb account via the MySOU website. Your diploma will be mailed to the Diploma Mailing Address, NOT to any other address type.

Commencement

Please see the Commencement website for specific information on the ceremony: sou.edu/commencement.

Students who complete the required course work during a given academic year are invited to participate in the June Commencement ceremony of that year. For example, students whose requirements were completed in fall 2009, winter 2010, spring 2010 or WILL BE completed during summer 2010, may participate in the June 2010 ceremony. Students graduating in the summer term should apply for graduation prior to the end of winter term to ensure they are included in the Commencement program. Students who apply late are not guaranteed to be included in the program.

FAQs

When should I apply to graduate?

A student should apply ONLY if he/she has identified the term in which ALL degree requirements will have been completed. A student should apply two terms before the term in which he/she will have met ALL of the degree requirements. For example, a student graduating in spring term should not apply any earlier than the start of fall term and must apply no later than the last day of fall term.

The class schedule for the next term isn't available yet so I'm not sure exactly what classes I will be taking. How do I fill out the listing of classes on the application?

If you are not able to list the specific classes you will be taking, then describe them as accurately as possible when adding them to your proposed schedule on the degree application. For example, if you need to take an upper division Diversity and Global Awareness Integration Strand J course, then you can list "UD Diversity Strand J" for 3-4 credits. Another example for a Psychology major who needs to take an upper division major elective: "UD PSY Elective." The key is to describe, as specifically as possible, the type of course you need to take.

How do I find out what my catalog year is?

Talk to an advisor in Academic Support Programs or your major advisor. To earn a degree, you must be following the requirements associated with a particular catalog year during which you attended SOU. Your general education/University Studies, overall degree, and major/minor requirements will be evaluated based on your catalog year. Note that you must follow only one catalog year for all requirements. For example, you cannot complete general education under one catalog year and major requirements under a different catalog year.

If I transferred to SOU, how will you know what requirements may have been completed at my other institution(s)?

All transfer students MUST attach an updated General Education/University Studies Transfer Evaluation form to their degree application before submitting it. If you do not have a copy of your transfer evaluation form, please make an appointment with an SOU Academic Support Programs advisor in SU 134 or call (541) 552-6213. Degree applications for transfer students will not be processed until the transfer evaluation is received.

Can the degree evaluator tell me what classes I need to take to graduate?

No. The degree evaluator is not an advisor and is not able to advise you on what classes you need to graduate. If you need advising on general education/University Studies and overall degree requirements, please see an advisor in Academic Support Programs or consult the catalog. You can view all current catalogs on the SOU website: sou.edu/catalog. If you need advising on major/minor requirements, please see your major/minor advisor.

Can the application fee be waived?

No. The $75 fee to apply for the degree must be paid at the time the application is submitted. It can be paid immediately or charged to your student account. It is a one-time fee and will not be required should a student need to re-apply in a subsequent term.

How will I know that my degree application is being processed?

When processing begins on your application, you will receive an email. You will receive additional emails when your application status changes. You may also receive emails directly from the degree evaluator. All correspondence about the progress of your degree will happen via your SOU student email account. The SOU student email account will be accessible for one year after the last term of attendance at SOU. You can extend your SOU email account by submitting an Alumni Account Extension Request. You can obtain the form at this link: http://www.sou.edu/it/students/forms/alumni-acct-ext.pdf.

I submitted my degree application but I have not heard anything. What should I do?

First, check your SOU student email account for any correspondence initiated by staff in Enrollment Services. If it has been at least 6 six weeks since you received the email stating that your degree application was received in the Enrollment Services Center, then you may email the degree evaluator for status at ESC@sou.edu.

My degree application was approved, and I'm finishing up my last term and I just want to make sure that everything is okay for my graduation. What should I do?

First, review the copy of the degree application that you submitted and make sure that you completed everything you listed on the application. If you made any changes that could affect your General Education/University Studies or major/minor requirements, then please notify the degree evaluator to make sure it does not affect the approval of your degree application.
Second, check your SOU email to make sure that you didn't miss any emails from the ESC or the degree evaluator regarding your degree application.
Third, check your unofficial transcript at the end of the term to make sure grades were submitted for all of your classes. A degree cannot be awarded if there is still an "I" or an "E" grade on a student's transcript. It is also a good idea to look at your entire transcript to make sure that you don't have any "M" grades that were never resolved.

I have to re-apply for graduation. Do I have to pay the application fee again?

No. The application fee only needs to be paid once and will be applied to all subsequent applications for the same degree.

I applied to graduate for a particular term, but I had to take an incomplete in a course. What should I do and what will my graduation date be?

If your graduation is postponed while you complete an incomplete you need to alert the degree evaluator by submitting a revised degree application indicating when you will complete the course; alternatively, you can email the same information to ESC@sou.edu. Graduation is only official after all degree requirements have been completed and the degree has been awarded. Therefore, if a student applies to graduate in spring but completes their final requirement prior to the end of summer term, that student is a summer graduate and the graduation date will be reflected as such. This applies to any term in which a student applies to graduate. To graduate in a particular term, a student must have all requirements completed and grade changes submitted prior to the end of that term. Otherwise, the student will graduate in a future term.

I thought I completed all of my degree requirements, so why was my application canceled?

Degree applications can be canceled for various reasons, so if you are not sure why your application was canceled, please contact the degree evaluator by sending an email to ESC@sou.edu, calling (541) 552-6600, or coming in person to the Enrollment Services Center. Typically, degree applications are canceled when a student makes a change to their application or has other outstanding issues that affect its approval and does not notify the degree evaluator by the end of the term in which he/she applied to graduate.

My degree application was canceled, but I'm now finishing up my requirements. How do I re-instate my application?

Degree applications can be reinstated at any time once the student has identified how they will complete the outstanding requirements. The student should submit a revised application to the ESC showing how the requirements will be completed, and the degree application will be reinstated for the appropriate graduation term.

How do I know if my degree has been awarded?

Degree awarding begins after the final grade roll for the term in which the student applied to graduate and typically takes about 4 to 6 weeks for all degrees to be awarded. Degree awarding for spring term typically takes about 8 weeks. It is recommended that you check your unofficial transcript online through MySOU or SISWeb to verify that all of your grades have been submitted and that there are no "I" or "E" or "M" grades on your transcript. Once your degree has been awarded, you will be able to view it on your unofficial transcript through MySOU or SISWeb. If after 4 weeks you do not see that your degree has been awarded, please please check your SOU email and contact the ESC as that may indicate a problem with your final degree audit.

My degree has been awarded but I haven't received my diploma and when I try to order my official transcript I receive a message saying that I have holds on my account. What do I do?

Contact the ESC for information on your holds. Most of the time this happens because a student has an outstanding account balance with SOU. The account balance must be completely paid before the diploma can be released and the student can order official transcripts. Occasionally, there are other holds that may prevent a student from receiving the diploma or official transcript about which a student can receive information on by contacting the ESC.

I am a post-baccalaureate student completing a second degree at SOU. What do I need to do when applying for graduation?

First, students seeking second degrees should have been admitted as post-baccalaureate non-graduate students by Admissions. If you were never admitted as post-baccalaureate student, you will need to contact Admissions to apply. Second, you should complete a degree application following the instructions above and select the “2nd Bachelor’s Degree” option on the application. Although students seeking second bachelor’s degrees may be coming from other institutions, you do not need to obtain a transfer evaluation. This requirement is waived because students who received their first degrees from an accredited institution (as determined by SOU Admissions) do not need to complete the University Studies requirements for the second degree.

How do I know if I qualify for Honors?