Graduation and Commencement

• Apply for graduation by the graduation deadline.
  • Please make sure to review the instructions How to Apply for Graduation. (If the application will not go through, please contact the Technology Service Desk at 940-898-3971.) 
• Review the Student Graduation Checklist to make sure you graduate on time.
• Undergraduate students need to submit their Undergraduate Degree Plan Verification form to the Registrar's Office one year prior to the expected date of graduation.
• Graduate Students, please review the Graduate School Graduation Deadlines page.
• Review honors requirements to determine if you are eligible for honors recognition.
• Purchase commencement regalia (cap, gown, etc.) through the Bookstore.
• Students should consult with their advisors to ensure all degree requirements are met, and all incomplete grades have been updated to a standard grade. No student may graduate with a grade of Incomplete, even if the “I” is in a course unrelated to the degree plan. 

Student Graduation Checklist

Commencement ceremonies take place in May and December. Commencement is optional and diplomas are not issued during the ceremonies.

*TWU does not hold commencement ceremonies in August.  Therefore, August graduates who wish to participate in the May commencement must apply by the January deadline.  Those who want to participate in the December commencement must apply during the Summer graduation application period. 

Denton/Dallas ceremony information for December 2024 will take place December 13th and 14th, 2024.

The Houston ceremony will take place on Sunday, December 15th, 2024. 

*Students who require specific accommodations (sign language interpreters, escorts, accessible seating, etc.) for the ceremony, please indicate this when you apply for graduation. Should you need to update this information, please contact Disability Services for students at 940-898-3835 or dss@twu.edu at least one week before commencement.

*Guests with Disabilities: We have floor seating appropriate for individuals with disabilities, and staff at each entrance to the arena will be available to assist these guests with seating accommodations. Guests with disabilities may enter the North entrance to Pioneer Hall.

Learn more about what to expect during your ceremony.

Cap and Gown Purchase

Academic regalia must be worn by all degree candidates choosing to participate in the commencement ceremony. 

Commencement regalia (cap, gown, etc.) is available for purchase through the Bookstore.  If you are picking up your regalia the day of your Denton campus ceremony, it will be available in the Pioneer Prep Room in Pioneer Hall, room 202. 

Final preparations: Pioneer Prep Room at the Denton ceremonies

For any graduating student, Commuter Services has arranged for a Pioneer Prep Room in Pioneer Hall to finalize preparations before participation in the commencement ceremonies.  

The Pioneer Prep Room will be available both Friday and Saturday of Denton commencement ceremonies, also in Pioneer Hall 202. 

Especially helpful for students who are picking up their cap and gown on the day of commencement, courtesy steamers will be available to remove wrinkles from new gowns, as will full-length mirrors so graduates can make sure they look picture perfect before their ceremonies. 

Requirements for Graduating with Honors 

Seniors (those receiving a baccalaureate degree) whose cumulative grade point average (GPA) reflects excellent scholastic achievement are awarded their degree cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude. They are also eligible to wear a special honors stole, which can be purchased through the bookstore, and are denoted in the official TWU Commencement Program.

Graduation honors recognition at the commencement ceremony is based on the cumulative GPA (includes all course work taken throughout a student’s college career) at the end of the semester prior to the final semester. The cumulative GPA requirement ranges for graduation honors designations are listed below. Additionally, a minimum of 30 semester credit hours must be earned at TWU before the final semester to qualify for this recognition. *If you do not meet these requirements for honors recognition at the ceremony, but your final grades at the end of your graduating term qualify you, your honors designation will be posted on your official transcript and reflect on your diploma.

4.0 to 3.9: Summa cum Laude

3.89 to 3.7: Magna cum Laude

3.69 to 3.5: Cum Laude

• Please note that all other honors stoles or cords for which you may be eligible should be obtained through that organization of which you are a member.

Texas Woman's University Honors Scholar and Touchstone graduates

Students who complete the requirements of the Honors Scholar Program graduate in a separate category from the other undergraduates at Texas Woman's University. Graduating as a TWU Honors Scholar is the highest distinction an undergraduate can achieve at the University.

Your Honors Scholar Program accomplishment is acknowledged at commencement with the presentation of a medallion. 

Your Touchstone Honors Program accomplishment is acknowledged at commencement with the presentation of a crystal memento.

Degrees are awarded based on final grades, not on participation in commencement which is optional. Grades are posted within a week of the end of the term. Degrees are posted to the official transcript approximately 2-3 weeks following graduation. 

• Participation in commencement is optional.
• Students should consult with their advisors to ensure all grades of Incomplete (I) have been updated to a standard grade.
• All transfer work or credits-by-exam required for degree completion must be completed by the end of the graduating term. Transcripts or exam scores for these credits must be received by TWU within four weeks of the end of the term for which you have applied to graduate.
  • Transfer work not received by this deadline, or failure to apply to have the graduation application forwarded to a future term by the rollover deadline listed on the academic calendar, will require you to reapply to graduate the following term. *Note: The graduation application fee will be assessed.  More information on changing the graduation term can be found on the Application for Graduation page. 

• Diplomas are mailed to students approximately 4-6 weeks after degrees are awarded.
• Diplomas will not be issued until all financial and administrative obligations to the University have been cleared.
  • If you have cleared holds that were preventing the release of your diploma, please notify the Registrar's office via an email to registrar@twu.edu. Your email should include your student ID number, the year and term in which you graduated, and a statement regarding the hold that has been cleared.
• If your diploma mailing address changes after you submit your application for graduation, this may be updated as follows:
  • Undergraduates, please submit your new address on the Undergraduate Graduation Application Revision form to Registrar@twu.edu from your TWU email address.
  • Graduate students, please submit your new address on the Graduate Student Graduation Application Revision to Registrar@twu.edu from your TWU email address.
  • Changes received up to the Friday of commencement week will be updated for that term's diploma mailing.
• Diploma covers are presented at commencement. If you do not attend, you may pick one up from the Registrar’s Office during normal lobby hours. *It is not our policy to mail diploma covers.
• If you seek a second copy of your diploma or a replacement diploma, you may order one using our Diploma Order form.
• Diplomas not received within one year from a student's conferral date can be resent at no cost. After one year, students must purchase a diploma by completing the Diploma Order form.
• Diplomas are 11"x14"

Students who have applied for graduation that determine they will not meet their degree requirements will be required to change their graduation term. 

• Undergraduates who have applied for graduation that determined they will not meet their degree requirements may change their graduation date by submitting the Request to Change Graduating Term form to the Registrar’s office. Students must submit their requests by the rollover deadline, which is on the academic calendar. Undergraduates can rollover their graduation application no more than twice without paying an additional application fee.
• After the rollover deadline, undergraduate students who determine they will not meet their degree requirements must submit a Graduation Application Withdrawal Request to the Registrar’s Office. A new graduation application is mandatory for the new term which the student plans to complete.  Payment for the new graduation application will be required.
• Graduate students who find they will not graduate in the term they applied to complete may change their graduation date by submitting a Graduation Rollover Application [PDF] to the Graduate School. The rollover application must be submitted by the rollover deadline, which is on the academic calendar. Graduate students can rollover their graduation application twice without having to pay any additional application fees. Please review the Graduation Deadlines page on the Graduate School website and the graduate catalog for more information.