1. First, you'll need to set up a graduation appointment with one of our advisers.
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3. At the earliest, an application to graduate can happen up to 3 quarters before you actually plan to graduate. At the latest, the last date a student can request an application to graduate is by 5:00 p.m. on the 3rd Friday of the quarter they plan to graduate in.

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5. Wondering what date the latest deadline to submit a grad app is? Use the UW academic calendar. For grad app deadlines, see the section on Application Deadlines > Applications for Baccalaureate Degrees and Certificates. If you miss a deadline, don't worry - you'll still be able to graduate the following quarter without having to take any additional classes.

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7. A graduation application is an online form that is completed by an academic adviser in collaboration with the student, and takes about 30 minutes. Take some time before your appointment to verify if your preferred graduation timeline syncs up with the amount of time you'll need to complete any remaining degree requirements for majors and minors - typically, students take an average of 3 classes/ 15 credits a quarter, but every situation is different. All being well, your adviser will submit the graduation application on your behalf.

Students are not required to complete their graduation advising appointment 3 quarters in advance, but there is one key benefit to completing this step early: once your grad app is processed, you'll receive graduating senior registration priority for your remaining quarters at UW.

HAS will send reminders to students about graduation appointments at the start of every quarter, and students can complete this process either by making a scheduled appointment or by coming to one of our drop-in advising sessions.

A graduation appointment is designed to help make sure students are fully informed on everything they can expect to happen during their final quarter(s) at UW. Advisers will talk about how the graduation application process works, what graduating senior priority is and how to use it, what remaining requirements will need to be completed before graduation is approved, and how to make the best possible transition from “student” to “graduate”. Your adviser will also answer any other questions you might have about what to expect.

Graduating Senior Priority (GSP) allows students to register for classes on the first day of Period I, which is in effect, the very front of the line. Students are eligible for a maximum of two (2) quarters of GSP, so by submitting a Graduation Application about 2 quarters in advance (e.g., during the autumn quarter for graduation in spring), students can receive up to two-quarters of GSP.

What does this mean? It means that tactically, we recommend submitting your spring grad app in early autumn rather than the earliest possible juncture in the summer before your final year starts - registration for autumn classes runs from May through September and is typically less pressurized. Saving your grad app for early autumn means you'll have GSP available for the more compressed winter and spring registration periods, which happen in November and February.

Students should ask a HAS adviser if unsure about GSP, and the UW’s Academic Calendar is regularly updated to help students know what date they can start registering for classes.

If you change your mind about graduation and have already used GSP for two quarters, that’s OK: students simply return to “regular” senior priority. That said, it is possible to retain graduating senior priority status by simply not using it and registering during regular senior registration. GSP does not need to be used all at once or in consecutive quarters.

UW requires students to complete at least 45 out of their final 60 credits while “in residence” as students at UW. If a student is completing courses remotely due to exceptional circumstances or is participating in a UW study abroad program, these credits are still considered to be “in residence” as long as the credits a student receives are UW credits. Any courses where credit needs to be “transferred in” are not considered in residence - this includes classes from UW Bothell or UW Tacoma.

For full details on what residence credit is and is not, please see this page.

UW International Student Services (ISS) offers info sessions for graduating international students as well as a great Final Quarter Checklist. Students can learn more about these final quarter info sessions here, but a particularly important thing to consider is application timing for OPT (Optional Practical Training) authorization for employment after graduation. This process can take 3-5 months to complete, so it should be started as soon as possible.

Through the final year checklist and info sessions, ISS will also cover regulations on final quarter credit loads, travel, on and off-campus employment, and inviting families to visit the U.S. for graduation.

In addition to the email, students receive from the Registrar’s office, students can check their degree audit (DARS) to see if a graduation date is listed. If a student is in the system as graduating, at the very top of their degree audit they’ll see field that says "Graduation Date". If a quarter/ year is listed (e.g. SPR/2024, WIN/2025, etc.), this represents a confirmation that your application to graduate has been processed.

If "not found" is listed in place of a quarter and date for this field, this means that you either need to refresh your degree audit, or that your application to graduate is still being processed.

Diplomas are sent to students by the UW Registrar’s office, not by a department - students are encouraged to check their permanent address listing in MyUW to make sure this important delivery goes to the correct address. Unfortunately, because a lot of details need to be checked and double-checked by the University, this process isn't quick: diplomas typically arrive by postal mail to a student's permanent home address approximately three months after the end their graduation quarter at UW.

Students may need proof that they have received their degree much earlier for employment purposes. Prospective employers, graduate schools, and others who require verification that a student has earned their degree can get this confirmation through the UW’s Degree Validation site.

Confirmation that a student has earned their degree will also appear on their transcript, starting about 2-3 weeks after the end of a student’s graduating quarter if all requirements are verified as being completed. At the very bottom of the transcript, the box that used to outline "Work in Progress" will disappear, and be replaced by a box that says "Degrees". This box will outline the degree that the University conferred on you, the date of conferral, and whether or not there were any honors attached to that degree.

Minors completed will be listed on a transcript, but not on the official diploma for your degree.

Typically, students have the option to participate in two different graduation ceremonies: UW Commencement (a large event that includes the graduating students from the entire university) and a smaller departmental graduation event. Students can check the UW’s Commencement website (under the section for "graduates") for information on tickets, the event program, graduation apparel, parking and transportation, eligibility, and photos. UW Commencement happens every year in June.

Students can graduate in any quarter, but eligibility to participate in a given year’s Commencement ceremony is tied to timing. In addition to spring graduates, students who completed their degree(s) in the autumn or winter quarters immediately preceding that year’s Commencement may also join in and participate. Students who will graduate in the summer quarter immediately following that year’s commencement ceremony may also participate “early”.

Departmental celebration events typically have their own rules and restrictions, and these events are considered entirely separate from UW Commencement. It’s important to note that registration for one event does not automatically register you for the other, and students must register for an event in order to participate. Each event will have its own deadlines for registration.

Regardless of which quarter a student is graduating, communications on graduation events are typically emailed to students around April/ May of each year. Each department may have its own web page for graduation events, so students are encouraged to check directly with departments for details. HAS does not host or manage graduation events on behalf of departments.

Students will be able to complete an academic apparel order form on this page once the link goes live - this usually happens in early May each year. You'll also be able to order other items as desired (souvenir tassels, extra degree tassels, mortarboards, honor cords, etc.). Bachelor’s degree regalia is available for purchase only.

Students in the Seattle area can pickup their orders at the University Book Store in late May/ early June - when you order, you'll be asked to select your pickup date. Students who are no longer in the Seattle area will be directed to specific pick up times closer to the date of the ceremony.

It depends on the event that you're attending - Commencement typically allows for more guests to attend than departmental events that may be hosted at smaller-capacity venues. For Commencement, you can find full details on tickets for guests starting around April each year. Departmental events will typically let students know how many guests they can bring during the RSVP process.

Both Commencement and departmental celebration events will ask students to complete a registration form as part of the process for attending. This typically allows students to order tickets for themselves and guests, order cap and gown, and purchase parking permits for on-campus graduation events, including Commencement.

Yes – helping students to prepare for the next chapter in their lives is an important part of the UW experience, and the HAS team have created a dedicated career development hub just for Humanities students. Students can make appointments to talk about career development or grad school planning at any stage of their time at UW, and we also strongly recommend students also engage early and often with career coaches at the UW Career & Internship Center.

If you’re looking to see what opportunities are out there and you have a strong understanding of your skills and experience, the UW’s handshake platform is a go-to resource for job and internship opportunities. Students can build skills in interviewing, networking, and application materials prep through career center resources, and HAS advisers are always happy to work with students to help them understand how this connects to their specific degree program or the Humanities in general.

If you’re thinking about continuing your education with a graduate degree, HAS advisers can talk about how to figure out which program will be right for you, how to build a competitive application, and what to know when it comes to funding and application timelines. This piece offers some great perspective on where to start when it comes to asking for letters of recommendation or references. HAS advisers can also help you to learn more about overseas experience programs that revolve around international exchange, teaching, volunteering, and aid work.

The more you use these resources, the better prepared you’ll be for what comes next.

Staying connected to the Humanities and to UW can involve as much or as little as the student is comfortable with. At a basic level, the UW alumni association is a network of over 50,000 huskies, with regional chapters in cities and countries across the world. Students can learn about alumni events, resources, and networking opportunities here. Full information on different alumni chapter locations is available here.

Another useful resource is the University of Washington’s LinkedIn page, which allows students and alumni to find each other through graduation years, locations, and degree programs. The best way for graduates to stay in the loop is to make sure their information is kept up to date: the UW alumni association offers a dedicated online portal to do that here.

Your UW NetID is yours for life, and your NetID/ passwords will remain unchanged - these can be used to sign into certain services. While alumni and former students are no longer eligible for a UW email service, once a student graduates, uw.edu email can be forwarded to a personal address. 

On the 10th day of the second quarter in which they are not registered as a student, graduating and departing students will receive an email notification that their computing services, including their email account, will expire in 14 days.  After the date of the email notification + 14 days, they will no longer have access to their email account, and all data will be deleted. We recommend migrating any personal files and email to a personal service if needed. You can find full information about alumni email on UW-IT's page here.