Graduation Information

Nearing completion of your degree? This page provides essential information to ensure a seamless graduation experience, including how to apply, key deadlines, commencement details and FAQs.

If you have a question that is not addressed in the information provided below, in your student portal or on our FAQ page, please email your name, question and UNT student ID number to graduation@unt.edu.

Graduation Deadlines

Application Deadlines

Final Submission Deadlines

Are you ready to graduate?

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Graduation Requirements

Students are encouraged to double check their progress against the Milestones for Graduate Students. In order to meet graduation requirements, students need the following:

• An approved, official degree plan must be on file. Your degree plan should be filed with your department immediately after completion of the first term/semester of graduate study. If you are unsure if you have one on file, please contact your major department/professor for assistance.
• Continuous enrollment: You must be continuously enrolled in a minimum of 3 credit hours of thesis/dissertation every Fall and Spring until the document is filed. Registration in 3 semester hours of thesis or dissertation in at least one summer session/term is required to graduate in August.

Ineligibility & Program Changes

Students may be ineligible for graduation if they are currently enrolled at another institution within the current semester. Students may also be ineligible if they are not admitted to the program. If you do not have an option to select the program you are completing (for example, if you are completing an MS in Psychology but only have the option to select the PhD program you are in), please contact Graduate Admissions to complete the necessary application. You may then submit your application for graduation after the new program appears in your portal.

Apply to Graduate

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Application Process

Graduation applications are now completed through the MyUNT student portal. All students must apply for graduation by the posted semester deadline listed. If you are pursuing more than one degree, you will need to submit a separate graduation application for each degree.

Click Here to View Graduation Application Instructions (PDF)

Exiting Student Surveys

In addition to completion of the Graduation Application, we ask that you complete the following survey(s):

• UNT Graduating Student Survey- This survey is an opportunity to tell us about your experience as a UNT graduate student. Once you have been approved for graduation, you will see a Graduating Student section within the Student Center Page of your MYUNT student portal. Your feedback is very important to us, so please take the time to complete the survey. 
• Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)-  The National Science Foundation's SED is an annual census of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from accredited U.S. institutions. Survey data is used to track the number of graduates in various fields, their educational paths, their movement into the labor market and similar information. Additional information is available on the SED website. 

Alumni

Stay in touch with your fellow UNT graduates! The UNT Alumni Association offers a range of benefits and a number of ways to stay connected. To learn more, visit the Alumni Association website.

Graduation Fees

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Master’s Degree without Thesis: No fees
Master’s Degree & Thesis: $20 archiving fee
Doctoral Degree & Dissertation:$20 archiving fee

If you are writing a paper, appropriate fees will be added to your account when your final, defended paper is submitted to the Graduate School. An email from graduation@unt.edu will alert you of fee processing, and Student Accounting will notify you when the fee is ready for payment.

Students who wish to take advantage of additional ProQuest services (such as ProQuest's "Open Access" publishing option) will need to pay any additional fees directly to ProQuest.

Commencement, Regalia & Diplomas

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Graduation vs. Commencement

Graduation is the official process of being awarded the degree after all academic requirements are met. Commencement refers to the ceremonies where students are publicly recognized. Diplomas are NOT awarded at commencement, and participation does not guarantee degree completion.

Participating in Commencement

During semesters in which there is a university-sanctioned event, information regarding the relevant ceremony will be mailed and/or emailed by the Registrar’s Office approximately 3 weeks prior to commencement. You can review and update your mailing address online at my.unt.edu. Find Doctoral and Master’s Commencement Ceremony dates and other important information. 

Please note that July graduates are invited to attend the December Commencement Ceremony, unless substantial and exceptional circumstances warranting ceremony participation prior to degree completion have been approved. 

Regalia

Graduates will wear official approved regalia for all formal commencement events. All arrangements for regalia approved by the university should be made with the official provider, Barnes and Noble at UNT, located inside the University Union, 1155 Union Cir, Denton, TX, 76203 (940-565-2592).

For help with your regalia hood, watch our tutorial.

Degree Posting and Diplomas

To officially graduate from UNT, the student's degree audit/plan must show the student satisfied all university, college, and department requirements for the specific degree after receipt of final grades. Refer to the timeline below to approximate when your degree will be posted and diploma will be shipped: 

• Degree Posted: 2-3 weeks after your final term, the degree is posted to your transcript and becomes official. 2-3 weeks after your final term, the degree is posted to your transcript and becomes official.
• Diplomas Mailed: 10-12 weeks after the degree is conferred (the day after the last day of the semester). Ensure your mailing address is correct in MyUNT.

Still Have Questions?

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If you've reviewed the information above, visited our  FAQ page page, and checked your student portal for information about the status of your application, please contact us by emailing graduation@unt.edu. Please be sure to include your full name and student ID# in all correspondence. We respond to emails in a timely manner.