Browse frequently asked questions
Applying to graduate
Your application to graduate will be reviewed by your faculty in October for the fall ceremony and in April for the spring ceremony. The final approval will be noted on your graduation application in Workday about a week prior to the congregation ceremony.
In your graduation application, between applying and your graduation day, you will notice changes in your application. Below is a list of terms you may notice on your application and what they mean:
| Application term | Description |
|---|---|
| Applied for Graduation | Your application has been received. Applications will be reviewed once the graduation application closes. Please ensure that all requirements are met by the deadline for graduation. |
| Pending | Your application will remain pending until all final grades are in, and your file has been approved by the Dean of your faculty. |
| Graduation Not Approved | Your application for graduation has not been approved by your faculty or school. Contact your faculty or school if you believe that you have met graduation requirements and should be eligible to graduate. Otherwise, you will need to reapply for graduation in a subsequent session when you become eligible to graduate. |
| Withdrawn Application | Your application has been withdrawn and will not be evaluated for graduation. You must reapply for a subsequent session. |
| Approved | Your application has been approved by your faculty. Your credential will not appear on your transcript until Senate meets to approve all graduates and confer their degrees. |
| Conferred | Your degree has been conferred (awarded) by Senate and your credentials will appear on your transcript. Senate usually confers degrees during its regular monthly meeting about a week before graduation ceremonies. |
Contact your program or faculty advising office to request a letter of completion.
Please contact your faculty or departmental advising office.
Graduation and your degree specialization
Contact your faculty or departmental advising office.
If you are a student completing a double major, you will be assigned to the ceremony for the major that is listed first on your student record (e.g., a double major in French and Economics will be assigned to French). To check your student record, log into Workday and select “Academic history” under Academics.
Contact your faculty or departmental advising office if this needs to be changed before the application deadline.
To apply for graduation and process transfer credit from another institution, you must follow the steps below:
- Please arrange for an official transcript from the other institution that includes your final course grade to be sent directly to Enrolment Services at UBC, via email to final.grades@ubc.ca including your student number or to:
UBC Enrolment Services
ATTN: Transfer Credit
1874 East Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Canada - Before you started taking courses at the other institution, you should have received a Letter of Permission (LOP) from your faculty. Please send your LOP to Enrolment Services at academicrecord.support@ubc.ca including your student number. Alternatively, you can ask your faculty to send the LOP directly to Enrolment Services via campus mail.
The approximate processing time is 6 to 8 weeks.
Graduate students who are award recipients will have their award prorated to the end of the month in which they complete their degree requirements, including submission of their thesis to the UBC Library. Students will be required to return any amounts issued to them for the time period after their effective completion date. Please contact Enrolment Services with any additional questions.
Graduation ceremony
The fall schedule is available in October and the spring schedule is available in March on the UBC Graduation website.
Yes, you are required to apply for graduation regardless of whether you are able to attend the ceremony. If you do not apply, you will not graduate.
If you do not complete your degree requirements by December, you will not meet the fall congregation deadline. You must apply to graduate in the spring ceremony following the completion of your degree requirements. If you will not meet degree requirements by the deadline for spring graduation, you must apply for the following fall graduation.
Your parchment (diploma)
Your parchment is also known as your diploma. Read about options to change the name on your parchment. There is a deadline to submit preferred name change and legal name change requests for graduation.
Yes. If you would like someone to pick up your parchment, formerly known as a diploma, on your behalf, download and complete the Third-Party Document Pick Up Form (pdf), then give it to the person who will be picking up your parchment for you. Make sure you have filled out the form correctly and that the person picking the parchment up can present the identification specified in the form. Alternatively, you can assign third-party authorization via your Workday account.
You can purchase a UBC parchment frame during the graduation ceremonies outside near the Chan Centre. You can also purchase one online through Alumni Affairs or in person at the UBC Bookstore.
Yes, a portion of the frame purchase is donated to UBC Alumni Affairs.
If you’re not graduating
Some degree or diploma and certificate programs do not have year levels so the system cannot determine when you’ll be completing your program. For some programs, students may take from 8 months to 5 years to graduate. We want to make sure that those who are eligible to graduate know they should apply.
Before the application deadline, you can withdraw your graduation application by sending in a written request to graduation@ubc.ca. Please include your UBC student number. When you are ready to graduate, please remember to apply again.
After the application deadline, you can withdraw your graduation application by sending in a written request to your faculty or departmental advising office.
Please include your full name and UBC student number. When you are ready to graduate, please remember to apply again.