Apply for Graduation

Apply in SIS Submit your Graduation Packet Post-Submission Details Graduate Students - Apply for Graduation

In your final semesters at Tufts, there are several steps to complete in order to prepare for graduation. The information found here details the timeline and steps required for undergraduate students to complete their degree as well as additional helpful information.

Timeline

Your application in SIS and the completed graduation packet are submitted during the fall semester for all graduation cycles. Adhering to these deadlines allows the Registrar’s office ample time to review your packet and follow up with you regarding any required actions (example: adding an additional course).

October 1: Apply for Graduation in SIS
October 15: Graduation Packet Submission due for February 2025 degree candidates
October 20: Senior Honors Thesis Candidate Declaration Forms due
November 30: Graduation Packet Submission due for May and August 2025 degree candidates

Apply in SIS

Apply for your Anticipated Graduation Date in SIS

Go to the Academics drop down in SIS
Choose Apply for Graduation
Review your degree, major, and minor. If they are not correct, follow the steps below.
- If you plan to earn a BS degree but your program currently shows as BA, or vice versa, you must first request the degree change by completing the Update Your Primary Major form. After this change has been updated in SIS, you can then submit your Application for Graduation. These forms are typically processed within 3 business days.
- If you are missing a major or minor, please submit the applicable declaration form.
- If you are no longer pursuing a major or minor that is still showing, submit the drop form.
After confirming they are correct, click Apply for Graduation
Choose the correct term (Fall Term for February, Spring Term for May, Summer Term for August) and select Continue
Read the instructions on the following screen and select Submit Application

Review your Student Degree Audit and Unofficial Transcript

You may use this form to request corrections to where and how courses are listed on your Student Degree Audit. Changes will only be made to correct an error and not for a preference of courses used as the audit will place courses in one of many possible ways to satisfy requirements while also enforcing general policies. Students requesting approval for courses to satisfy any foundation or distribution requirements that are not currently listed as satisfying in the SIS course catalog will still need to go through the applicable petition process. There is a delay between when petition approvals are submitted to Student Services and when you will see the exception noted on your Student Degree Audit.

Learn how to run your Student Degree Audit

If your advisor has approved a substitution for your major or minor requirements, they need to submit the Undergrad Major/Minor Substitutions form. Your advisor or the Department Chair can find this form under Faculty Forms in SIS.

Submit your Graduation Packet

Your graduation packet is comprised of your student degree audit and any major and minor checklists. The completed packet you submit is what the Registrar’s office will use to certify that you have completed or plan to complete all degree requirements to earn your degree.

The documents required for your graduation packet will vary by degree. You can review requirements below as well as instructions on how to run your student degree audit and where to find major and minor checklists.

You should always try to submit your graduation packet by the deadline even if you are currently taking a course to fulfill a requirement, waiting to learn the status of a petition, or waiting for pre-matriculation or transfer credit to be posted to your record.

Parts of your Graduation Packet

Student Degree Audit: Students can access their Student Degree Audit through SIS, under the Academics dropdown. The Student Degree Audit is submitted as part of the graduation packet for all undergraduate students, but is used to verify different requirements based on program. For Arts & Sciences students, the audit is used to verify general degree degree requirements, including foundation and distribution requirements. For Engineering students, the audit is used to verify all School of Engineering and major requirements. For BFA students, the audit is used to verify all distribution and studio requirements.

Major and Minor Checklists: Major and minor checklists can typically be found on departmental websites. These checklists need to be completed by the student, signed by the required signatures as noted on the checklist, and then returned to the student for submission. Students need to be aware of any internal deadlines set by individual departments, in addition to the submission deadlines as noted above.

Requirements by Program

Arts & Sciences (BA/BS)

Student Degree Audit signed by the student (May and August candidates should run their audit after registering for Spring courses)
Primary major checklist signed by all prompted signatories (typically, student, major advisor, and department chair)
Additional major and minor checklists (if applicable) signed by all prompted signatories

Engineering

Student Degree Audit signed by the student, major advisor, and ABET coordinator (if applicable) (May and August candidates should run their audit after registering for Spring courses)
Additional major and minor checklists (if applicable) signed by all prompted signatories

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)

Student Degree Audit signed by the student and advisor/dean (May and August candidates should run their audit after registering for Spring courses)
Minor checklist (if applicable) signed by all prompted signatories

SMFA Combined Degree (BFA & BA/BS)

BFA Student Degree Audit signed by the student and advisor/dean (May and August candidates should run their audit after registering for Spring courses)
A&S Student Degree Audit signed by the student (May and August candidates should run their audit after registering for Spring courses)
Primary major checklist signed by all prompted signatories (typically, student, major advisor, and department chair)
Additional major and minor checklists (if applicable) signed by all prompted signatories

How to Submit your Graduation Materials

To submit your graduation materials, you must first apply for graduation in SIS. The submission portal will not allow you to submit unless you have applied for graduation at least 24 hours prior. If you try to access the submission portal and receive an error message, first check in SIS to make sure you applied for graduation, then wait at least 24 hours to try again, and contact Student Services if the issue persists.

Go to go.tufts.edu/gradpacketsubmission
Log in using your Tufts UTLN and password.
Confirm that the information on the form is correct.
- If the expected graduation term is not correct, confirm in SIS that you applied for the correct term. Contact Student Services if you need to change your expected graduation term.
- If the major(s) and minor(s) are not correct, confirm in SIS that your majors and minors are declared correctly. Submit the necessary forms to update your majors/minors or contact Student Services for further help. Please allow 2-3 business days for the forms to be processed before accessing the submission form again.
Upload the required materials.
All documents must be completed and signed before they are uploaded to the form.
Submit!

Graduation Packet Submission Portal

Post-Submission Details

Senior Honors Thesis

If you are participating in the Senior Thesis Honors Program, you must fill out a candidate form by October 20

Reserve Courses for Graduate Study

If you are reserving courses towards graduate school, you must fill out the applicable forms. Review each form for specific deadlines.

Substitutions and Petitions

You can submit a petition to count a course towards a foundation or distribution requirement for which it is not already listed. Petitions may be approved or denied so plan to have a back-up course if your petition is denied.

Engineering students must submit any petitions for approval to substitute courses for requirements. Note: These must be submitted before the Graduation Packet to ensure your Student Degree Audit is up to date.

Residency Requirement

The use of Pre-matriculation/Summer School semester(s) does not advance class standing. Earned semesters of residency include all full-time semesters as well as in-progress full-time semesters. Students who attended full-time during the Fall 2020 semester need only complete six full-time semesters of enrollment - this waiver will not be reflected in the residency requirement on the audit.

What happens...

…when you submit your packet?

You will receive a confirmation email if your submission is successful. Please review the information on the email for additional information. If you do not receive the confirmation email, reach out to Student Services for confirmation of your submission.

…if you change your course schedule?

Check if the change impacts your degree requirements. If it does, email your Records Coordinator, as noted on the confirmation email you received. If it does not, great! If you want to double check, feel free to email your Records Coordinator or Student Services.

…if you want to check your graduation status?

You can return to the Apply for Graduation screen in SIS at any time to check this status. After you submit your packet and it has been received, your status will show as "In Review". This status will remain until after you have graduated. An "In Review" status means that we have your materials and we will reach out to you with any questions.

…if you don't hear anything after you submit?

No news is good news! If your graduation status says "In Review" and you have not heard anything since submitting your packet, that means that you are on track to graduate, pending successful completion of your remaining courses.