Make sure to pay attention to degree candidate information on the Commencement page, emails sent to your Lamar email and/or preferred email, and our Students should pay attention to the following checklist.
Graduation - the date on which you have officially and successfully completed all of your graduation requirements and your degree is conferred
Commencement - often referred to as "graduation", the Commencement ceremony is just that, a ceremony. It is an end-of-semester celebration for students projected to successfully complete all of the graduation requirements. Here at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Commencement ceremonies are held at the end of each semester.
Verify all degree requirements have been met or in-progress to be met this term.
Undergraduates: if you are completing a minor, but have not declared it you must do so by September 3, 2024.
Graduates: if your Field of Study has changed from thesis to non-thesis or vice-versa, then the change must be finalized and submitted to Records by September 3, 2024.
Applications for fall graduation are available through your Self-Service Banner beginning August 22, 2024 through October 31, 2024.
The online application will ONLY be accessible after your department has notified the Graduation Department of your eligibility. Once notified,
If you do not receive an email, see “no curriculum” in Self-Service Banner and/or do not see a graduation block in your audit, the Records Department has not been notified, please contact your department immediately.
When applying, verify the following:
If you have already applied and any of the above information has changed please immediately contact:
Undergraduates: uggraduation@lamar.edu
Graduates: grgraduation@lamar.edu
Did you miss the graduation application deadline? You can still submit a paper application to your graduation coordinator. Fill out the graduation application and email it to your coordinator.
FERPA Information
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), if you withhold any of the following information your name will not be printed in the commencement program:
If you completed a Directory Hold form at any time while you are a student here at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, you will receive an email from the graduation coordinator requesting that you release the hold prior to graduating. You must complete the form and email it back October 31, 2024 to have your directory information shown in the commencement program.
If you elect to withhold your name from directory information you must complete the form no later than October 31, 2024 to have information withheld from the program.
Undergraduates: You may qualify for a $1000 Tuition Rebate.
Review the rebate requirements If you qualify, please complete the Tuition Rebate form. Send the completed form to uggraduation@lamar.edu for further review.
Graduation Coordinators will evaluate your degree audit for graduation. If you’re a candidate for graduation, the graduation status on your audit will show complete, pending final grades of the term.
If your audit needs further review, your audit will indicate further review is needed by your academic advisor.
If you are no longer a candidate for graduation, your audit status will state "Your graduation requirements for the term were not met" - Contact your department advisor.
Please make your payment through Self-Service Banner. Deadline to pay fee is October 31, 2024. Remember, you must apply for graduation and pay the graduation fee to receive your diploma.
Graduation Fee Policy (revised October 2024)
The graduation fee covers the cost of the diploma and tube, program expenses, mailing fees, and other expenses associate with graduation. All graduates are listed in the Commencement Program, if their name is submitted by the October 31, 2024 deadline, and all graduates must pay the fee, regardless of attendance at the ceremony.
Students are required to pay the graduation fee no later than one week before commencement. If a student has not paid their fee, their diploma and transcripts will be held for non-payment until their balance is 0. If the balance is paid after the term has ended, the student must notify the Graduation Department by email that their balance is paid in full to receive their diploma by mail or in person.
Graduation fees are non-refundable. However, if a student is eligible to graduate, completes the application and pays the fee, but does not graduate in the term in which the fee is paid, the student will be allowed to apply for graduation without paying an additional fee in subsequent terms - up to one year.
Example: Student applies in spring, doesn't graduate but pays the fee. Student is allowed to apply for summer and/or fall graduation and the fee will be waived. If the student doesn't graduate in summer or fall and has to reapply in spring the student will have to pay an additional graduation fee.
Congratulations on your accomplishment! Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Commencement for the Fall term is:
Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 2:00 pm:
Colleges of Arts and Sciences & Fine Arts and Communication
Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 5:00 pm - Virtual Commencement Ceremony
Friday, December 13, 2024 at 2:00 pm:
Colleges of Business & Engineering
Friday, December 13, 2024 at 5:00 pm:
College of Education and Human Development
Please note that you must have applied for graduation to participate in the ceremony.
Benefits of attending:
*Upon submission of your Application for Degree, if you are enrolled in courses at an institution other than Â鶹ÊÓƵ, you must submit any transcripts to luadmtran@lamar.edu within 4 weeks of graduation to remain a degree candidate for the semester.
**All outstanding balances must be paid in full prior to the release of diplomas.
After you are cleared for graduation, with no remaining requirements or with your final courses in progress – and successful completion of those courses – your degree will be conferred (i.e., program completion will be indicated in your records, including your official transcript) at the end of the term, and a diploma will be provided to you. Generally, diplomas will be available for pick-up at the Wimberly building room 112. All diplomas remaining after the pick-up timeframe will be mailed to the address listed on the graduation application.
Please remember that participation in the commencement ceremony does not constitute official graduation from Â鶹ÊÓƵ; your degree must be conferred before you are considered a graduate of Â鶹ÊÓƵ.
Please refer to graduation emails sent by your graduation coordinators for official timelines for diploma pick-ups.