Graduation FAQs

Review your unofficial transcripts on GWeb or the top of your DegreeMAP audit to see if your degree/certificate shows as "Awarded". If not, check to see if your DegreeMAP (through GWeb) shows completion of requirements at 100% and contact your advisor or your College/School advising office to check on the status of your clearance. If all of your grades are not posted, please check with your instructor(s). To be recommended by the faculty for graduation, a student must meet all degree requirements, as outlined in the University Bulletin, and file an Application for Graduation by the published deadlines. Enrollment is required for the semester or summer session in which your degree is to be conferred. All degree requirements must be completed by the last day of final examinations for that semester or summer session.

It can take several weeks for each college/school to finish clearing students for graduation after grades have been submitted. Once your degree is conferred, Graduation Services will order your diploma, which can take an additional 6-8 weeks for delivery.

If you have not received your diploma/certificate by the described timeline, check your GWU email to see if you’ve received a message from [email protected] requesting additional information. You should also check GWeb for any holds that need to be resolved. A diploma will not be mailed if there is a financial hold on your account.

If you have no holds, have confirmed that your degree/certificate was awarded, and have not received the document by the timeline described above, you must notify the Office of the Registrar - Graduation Services at [email protected] within 6 months of the order date. If you have made a documented effort to notify us about the missing diploma or certificate, and it has neither arrived nor been returned to us after six (6) months, we will cover the cost of a second paper diploma. A new valid shipping address will need to be provided. If you do not contact us within that time period, you will need to order a replacement at a cost of $50.

After your degree/certificate has been awarded, you can get official verification of completion through a Transcript or Certification request. If your degree/certificate is still pending, you can request certification of anticipated graduation, but it will not be posted on your transcript until awarding.

Employers or other third-parties can request verification through the National Student Clearinghouse. 

Alumni who wish to obtain a replacement or duplicate copy of their diploma or certificate must submit the Diploma Replacement form with appropriate payment. Please note that the Office of the Registrar does not keep copies of diplomas/certificates on file, so there is a 4-6 week turnaround for replacements to be mailed from the printing company.

Please check the Commencement website for questions related to ceremony logistics, or check with your school’s advising or Dean’s Office. Graduation Services deals primarily with academic clearance and diplomas and does not manage information regarding event details.

If your preferred diploma/certificate name format differs from the Banner name of record, or if your name changes after you apply for graduation, you must submit a Biographical Update form prior to the posted deadlines to avoid fees for replacements, making sure to indicate you have Applied for Graduation. A "name change" may refer to a formal legal name change, or updating the existing name of record to include a middle name or initial, capitalization, adding an accent or punctuation, etc. 

If you only wish to spell out a middle name or change a middle name to an initial an email to [email protected] is sufficient as long as the middle name or initial is on record.

Name changes can be made after the posted deadlines, however, additional fees and processing time will apply for replacement diplomas/certificates. 

If you applied online, the diploma/certificate will be mailed to the address you provided through the online application. You can review that address through the "View Graduation Application" link in GWeb. If you submitted a Late Graduation Application or Certificate Completion Form the diploma/certificate will be mailed to the "diploma" or "permanent" address listed in the "Personal Information Menu" in GWeb.

If your diploma mailing address changes after you apply for graduation, you can update your address using the Biographical Update form.  You should also notify the Office of the Registrar - Graduation Services at [email protected] prior to order. Please note that the USPS will not forward diplomas/certificates to a new address, so you will need to notify Graduation Services directly.

If your diploma is mailed to the address of record and the diploma is returned there will be a fee of $25 for re-mailing or if lost, $50 for replacement (additional fees may apply for international mailing).

A CeCredential (also known as a CeDiploma or CeCertificate) is a portable, sharable, verifiable digital copy of your paper diploma or certificate. They are most often provided to employers for degree/certificate validation, but can be shared as you’d like for a lifetime. Please see our CeCredentials website for additional information.

George Washington University offers Certified Electronic Credentials (CeDiplomas/CeCertificates), beginning with students graduating in Spring 2019.

After your degree/certificate has been awarded in the system, you will see a "Certified Electronic Diplomas/Certificates" link on the "Student Records & Registration Menu" tab in GWeb. It will allow you to register to be notified when your CeCredential is available. Registration is required for lifetime access once you’ve purchased your CeCredential, but pre-registration is not required to make the initial purchase.

Please note: CeCredentials will be available for purchase when the printed copy is mailed (allowing for slightly advanced access while you await receipt of the paper copy), however, the timeline of availability is subject to the typical graduation clearance process described here. Please see the CeCredential FAQs for additional details regarding this service.

At this time CeCredentials are only available to students graduating in Spring 2019 and beyond. We do recognize that this may be a valuable service for students in prior classes and we are considering strategies for expanding this offering. Please check back to our website for updates. In the mean time, if you would like to order a paper replacement, please see our Diploma Replacement Form for details.