Graduation
Commencement for fall 2022 graduates will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. CST. For more details, please visit the Commencement page.
The fall 2022 graduation application will open on August 22 and close on September 30. For help applying to graduate, please visit the graduation application guide.
The Difference Between Participating in Commencement and Graduating
“Graduating [receiving a diploma]” and “participating [walking across the stage]” in the commencement ceremony are two distinctly different things.
Graduating
(receiving a diploma)
Candidates will be considered “graduated” when they have officially met all of the following:
- have applied for graduation online by the posted semester deadline
- have had their application approved by their respective Advising Center or The Graduate College
- have completed all degree requirements
- have had final semester grades posted to their Texas State transcript
- have paid any outstanding fees owed to the University
- the Dean of the respective College, or Graduate College Dean, has certified candidates as graduates
Participating
(walking the stage)
- Participating in the ceremony does not mean that a candidate has completed the requirements for graduation.
- “Walking/participating” at a commencement ceremony is not synonymous with “graduation;” yet the act of obtaining public recognition may provide a false impression that a candidate has met all requirements and has therefore “graduated” with a diploma in hand.
Ultimately, the final awarding of degrees, honors, and mailing of the diplomas is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the appropriate requirements by each candidate and the Dean’s final certification.
Graduating with Honors
To be eligible for graduation with honors, a student seeking a bachelor's degree must have completed at least 48 semester credit hours at Texas State University preceding graduation. Calculation of the GPA to determine honors status is based on all Texas State work applied to the first bachelor's degree, including work completed in the final semester.
Hours earned through Texas State correspondence courses and extension courses count toward GPA and honors eligibility. Hours earned through Texas State credit-by-examination, work/life experience, and other courses that offer only “CR” (pass/fail) grades also count toward honors eligibility, but they do not count towards GPA. Remedial courses with a “CR” grade and graduate courses do not count toward honors eligibility or GPA.
Transfer students who have earned at least 48 semester hours at Texas State are eligible to graduate with honors if their Texas State GPAs meet the above criteria. Students earning second bachelor's degrees are eligible for graduation with honors if they complete 48 or more hours at Texas State in pursuit of their second degrees.
Cum Laude
Texas State GPA of 3.40-3.59
Magna Cum Laude
Texas State GPA of 3.60-3.79
Summa Cum Laude
Texas State GPA of 3.80-4.00