Convocation

Application for a Degree Form

To receive a degree, students complete an online degree application through cMore (cmore.uchicago.edu). The online application must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday of the first week of the quarter in which a student plans to graduate. Students should be sure their anticipated graduation date is correct in cMore before completing the degree application.

Doctoral students applying for a non-terminal master's degree MUST FIRST contact the Dean of Students office in order to access the degree application. The expected graduation date in cMore should be set to the date a doctoral student anticipates receiving the PhD. It should not be adjusted to the date a doctoral student expects to receive a non-terminal master's degree.

Students who cannot access cMore should contact the Dean of Students office PRIOR to the degree application deadline for assistance.

Fees

Doctoral students are assessed a one-time $55 fee to cover the cost of microfilming their dissertations. Students attending convocation will need to pay for the rental or purchase of a robe and cap.

Students can withdraw a previously submitted degree application without fee through 4:30 p.m. CST on Friday of week five of the quarter. Canceling a degree application after the fifth week deadline, regardless of reason, results in a $50 cancellation of degree application fee. The cancellation fee is assessed after the end of the quarter and is billed by the bursar.

Degree applications should be withdrawn through cMore through the end of the first week of the quarter. After week one, students wishing to cancel a degree application must contact the Dean of Students office.

A degree application is valid only for the quarter for which it is made. If the degree is not granted at the end of that quarter, for whatever reason, the student must submit a new degree application form before the first day of the next quarter in which a degree is expected.

Convocation Deadlines

Convocation deadlines are listed on the student calendar. These deadlines are distributed electronically to departments each quarter and paper copies are available in Walker 111. The deadlines are also available for download in the Divisional Resources Wiki.

Students are expected to settle all financial obligations to the University, including current quarter tuition and fees, by the end of the eighth week of Summer Quarters and by the end of ninth week of Autumn, Winter and Spring Quarters. Should the ninth week of Autumn quarter conclude with the two Thanksgiving holidays, this deadline shall be the day before Thanksgiving.

MA and MFA Graduates

Students with more than two incompletes should not apply to graduate. Departments must verify that a student has met all requirements to graduate with the MA or MFA by submitting an MA Degree Approval Form to the Dean of Students. These forms are due NO LATER than the end of the ninth week of Summer Quarter and by the end of tenth week of Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters. Students for whom a department has not submitted an MA Degree Approval Form will be removed from the convocation list and assessed a withdrawal fee.

Outstanding grades from past quarters are due to the registrar by the end of the eighth week of Summer Quarters and by the end of ninth week of Autumn, Winter and Spring Quarters. Should the ninth week of Autumn quarter conclude with the two Thanksgiving holidays, this deadline shall be the day before Thanksgiving.

Current quarter grades are due to the registrar by the end of the ninth week of Summer Quarters and by the end of tenth week of Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters. Students are responsible for notifying professors at the beginning of the quarter that they expect to graduate. If current quarter grades are necessary to fulfill MA or MFA course requirements, students must arrange with their professors to complete current quarter work sufficiently before the tenth-week deadline for grades to be submitted. Professors have the option to give a student a provisional grade pending a final evaluation of the work, if they certify that a portion of a course's requirements have been completed. Not all departments allow provisional grades to enable students to graduate. Final grades cannot be lower than provisional grades.

A student who has applied for a degree may not register for prior and/or current quarters after the eighth week of the quarter, neither may the student change current quarter courses after the third week. MA and MFA students do not register in their quarter of graduation if they have fulfilled all required course enrollments in previous quarters.

PhD Graduates

In addition to submitting the online degree application, doctoral candidates must register in the quarter in which they plan to graduate. This includes summer quarter. A student who has applied for a degree may not register for prior and/or current quarters after the eighth week of the quarter.

Students are assessed the one-time $55 Dissertation Fee in the first quarter in which they apply to receive their PhD degree. Students should consult the Dissertation Office early regarding the University-wide dissertation requirements and for dissertation submission deadlines. The Dissertation Office staff is willing to look at a draft of the dissertation. Having them do so avoids both the expense and headache of having to re-format the dissertation. They offer a schedule to help students plan for a smooth process to meet these deadlines.

Final copies of the dissertation, abstract, Departmental Approval Form, Pro Quest form, and Library form are due to the University's Dissertation Office no later than 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday of eighth week of the quarter in which a student is graduating. The defense should be held in sufficient advance of this deadline to allow revisions recommended by the student's dissertation committee.

Required forms are available for download from the Dissertation Office website. The Departmental Approval Form may only be signed by the department chair or another designated faculty member from the department.

Student Loan Exit Interviews

Students who borrowed under the federal Perkins or the federal Stafford loan programs must complete a loan exit counseling session at Student Loan Administration before graduating or discontinuing studies. This requirement must be met before the last week of the last quarter in which the student is registered at least half-time or the diploma and University transcript services will be withheld, and library and other privileges will be restricted.

International Students

International students receiving a terminal MA, MFA, or PhD degree should inform the Office of International Affairs. Of particular interest to graduating international students is employment through the optional practical training program.

Convocation Ceremony

Humanities graduates are presented with their diplomas individually. There is no hooding ceremony for PhD recipients. Information about each quarter's convocation ceremony is posted on the University's Convocation Web site. The registrar also sends a convocation mailing. Students wishing extra tickets for convocation (summer, autumn, and winter only) can request to be placed on the waiting list by contacting the Dean of Students office. Extra tickets are limited and are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Diploma Mailing

Students who will be receiving their degree in absentia should contact the Dean of Students office if they need to update the address to which a diploma will be mailed. They should not use cMore for this purpose.