Graduation Requirements

Graduate and Professional Graduation Checklist

All graduating students must review and complete the checklist below regardless of their participation in SPH Commencement.

Has the GPAS for each of your programs (degree and minors) been submitted and approved?

Instructions for how to view and submit your GPAS are available on this One Stop Student Services page. To check if your GPAS has been submitted and approved

Navigate to the Student Center (MyU → Academics → Student Center (at the bottom of the page).
Click on the GPAS link in the upper left of the page.
Verify that your GPAS has Program and College approval. If you have a minor or other program, verify that you have Program and College approval for each plan.

Have you checked your GPAS to verify that all degree requirements are complete?

Review your GPAS report to verify that you have completed all requirements for your degree. If you have questions, please contact your program coordinator. Students who enrolled pre-Fall 2018 should submit their Graduate Degree Plan (GDP) to their program coordinator as they do not have access to GPAS.

Have you submitted your application for degree?

In order to graduate, you must complete an application for a degree via MyU to be considered as a candidate for your graduate degree or certificate. You can find graduation steps through OneStop.

Graduate students apply for a month to graduate instead of a term, so you may have a very specific timeline for which to apply for graduation. Refer to the next steps to determine the appropriate timing to submit your application for degree.

Have you applied to graduate for the correct month?

Be advised that when you apply to graduate that you will not be able to choose the month that you intend to graduate. Instead, the University assumes when you are prepared to graduate based on the timing of your submitted application. Refer to OneStop to see the dates and the timing of when to submit the application for degree.

Most SPH students will graduate in May (the end of the Spring semester) or December (the end of the Fall semester). If you fall into one of these categories, please see below for the dates on when to apply for graduation:

May – apply April 2nd through May 1st.
December – apply November 2nd through December 1st.

The earliest you are able to graduate is the month of the year you have completed all degree requirements and final grades have been submitted. You must be enrolled during the term during which you plan to graduate. If you have completed coursework and are completing other requirements, enroll in a course in one of the special registration categories. To verify your grades have been submitted, navigate to MyU → Academics → Grades.

Do you need to change the month and/or term of your degree application?

If you are an MS or PhD student:

To request a month before your original application, view the process on the Change degree award date page.
To request a month after your original application, contact GSSP at gssp@umn.edu

If you are an MHA, MPH, or certificate student:

To request a month before your original application, complete the Request to Change Degree Award Date (SPH MPH/MHA/Certificate Students) form.
To request a month after your original application, contact GSSP at gssp@umn.edu.

Have you completed the Graduation Outcomes Survey?

Completing and submitting the online SPH Graduation Outcomes Survey is required. This survey is not required for students enrolled in certificate programs. Contact sphcareers@umn.edu if you have any questions.

Have you registered for SPH Commencement (optional)?

Celebrate your accomplishment by participating in the SPH Commencement ceremony. Visit the SPH Commencement page for details.

Undergraduate Graduation Checklist

In order to graduate, you must complete an application for a degree via MyU to be considered as a candidate for your degree. You can find graduation steps through OneStop.

Do you need to change the month and/or term of your degree application?

If you need to change the month/term of your degree application please contact your academic advisor at sph-ugrad@umn.edu.

Have you completed the Graduation Outcomes Survey?

Completing and submitting the online SPH Graduation Outcomes Survey is required. Contact sphcareers@umn.edu if you have any questions about the survey.

Have you registered for SPH Commencement (optional)?

Celebrate your accomplishment by participating in the SPH Commencement ceremony. Visit the SPH Commencement page for details.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will my degree be awarded?

SPH staff review all student records of students who have applied to graduate. That review is complete no later than mid-month of the month after your application. Once the review is complete, you will receive an email from SPH Registrar Services to notify you that your degree has been cleared.

Pending successful review, your student record is queued in the Office of the Registrar for your degree to be conferred. Depending on the time of year, this queue can take up to three weeks. Upon conferral, your degree is posted to your transcript, and the process of creating your diploma begins. The date of conferral that will be listed on your transcript can be found in the Monthly Degree Dates section of this site. The Office of the Registrar will notify you via email upon degree conferral.

In summary, an updated transcript reflecting your degree is typically available about one month after your degree month.

How and when do I need to transition my UMN email and Google Drive content?

The University of Minnesota has changed the timeline for discontinuing your email and Google Drive content. Please review the technology help page Google Workspace: Transition from UMN Gmail to a Personal Google Email Account for information and transition ideas.

Note that instructions are different for Health Care Component accounts. To verify whether your account is categorized as a Health Care Component. Navigate to https://my-account.umn.edu/self-service. Directly below Email, there is a field labeled BAA. If you have a Health Care Component account, that field will have BAA in that field. If you have an account that is not a Health Care Component, you will have non-BAA in that field.

When will I get my diploma?

Review the information in the Your Diploma section of OneStop for instructions about the diploma mailing address and name printed on your diploma.

Graduate and Professional students

You will have access to your digital diploma 1-2 weeks after your degree is awarded, and your printed diploma will be mailed 4-6 weeks after your degree is awarded.

If you have not received your diploma within this timeframe, please contact sphregistrar@umn.edu.

Undergraduate students

You will have access to your digital diploma 1-2 weeks after your degree is awarded, and your printed diploma will be mailed 6-8 weeks after your degree is awarded.

How can I access my transcript?

Check out the ways you can provide degree verification and/or access transcripts on the Transcripts page of OneStop.

I need to obtain degree verification for myself or an SPH graduate — how can I do that?

Students and third party organizations can follow the steps outlined on the University’s enrollment verification website. If using the National Clearinghouse to verify a degree from the School of Public Health, the organization should use the associated code for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.