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Undergraduate Academic Advising Advising
  1. Undergraduate Academic Advising
  2. Students
  3. Degree Requirements
  4. Graduation

Graduation and Commencement

Graduation and commencement are different!

For an overview, review this 3-minute video from the Student Success Coaching Program.

 

Commencement

The ceremonies celebrating graduates are part of commencement. These happen only once per year, in June. Visit commencement.ucsd.edu to learn more and RSVP for commencement.

students celebrating graduation

 

Graduation

When you have completed all of your degree requirements, you must submit a Degree and Diploma Application for the last term you are enrolled (Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer).

File your Degree and Diploma Application (DDA) at degree.ucsd.edu by Friday of Finals Week of your graduating quarter. Filing a DDA does not guarantee graduation. It is subject to the review and approval by your major department(s), the College, and the Registrar's Office. See below for full steps.

Student Checklist

Check your Degree Audit

Review your degree audit regularly to verify the current status of your courses. A red “X” indicates that a requirement has not been fully satisfied. Blue dots indicate that a requirement is in-progress, and a green check-mark indicates that a requirement has been met.

Once you have enrolled in courses for your final quarter, run your degree audit to ensure that it says all requirements are complete using in-progress courses.

Read more about Degree Audits.

Submit your Degree & Diploma Application (DDA)

Submit your Degree and Diploma Application (DDA) once you have enrolled for your final quarter. Your quarter of graduation is the quarter in which all requirements for graduation have been met and all coursework has been completed.

Filing a DDA does not guarantee graduation. After final grades are posted, your DDA will be reviewed and approved by your major(s) department, your College, and the Office of the Registrar.

DEADLINE: File your Degree and Diploma Application (DDA) at degree.ucsd.edu by Friday of Finals Week of your graduating quarter.

If you miss the deadline, contact your College advisors via the VAC to request to file a retroactive DDA.

Update your Permanent Address

Ensure that your permanent address is up-to-date on TritonLink, since this is where your diploma will be mailed.

To update your address on TritonLink:

  • Log into TritonLink
  • Under "Toolbox" --> "Personal Tools", click "Addresses"
  • Click the "Mailing Address" tab
  • Click the Change button for the Current Address or Permanent Address

Confirm Name for Diploma

Your lived name, as it appears on TritonLink, will be printed on your diploma. If you have not entered a lived name, your legal name will be used. Students can update their lived name via the Social Identities Tool on TritonLink. For more information about lived names, please see Lived Name for Students.

Degree Conferral Timeline

It takes up to 10 weeks after grades are posted before your degree will be officially conferred (due to the multiple stages of manual review by the major(s), College, and Registrar's Office). At that time, your transcript will show the degree has been awarded.

Then, your diploma will be mailed to the permanent address listed on TritonLink. Diplomas can take 3-6 months (90-180 days) to be mailed after the degree is conferred. The Office of the Registrar manages all diplomas. Read more About Diplomas.

For Summer Graduates: All summer graduates will be processed at the conclusion of Summer Session II.

Completing coursework outside of UC San Diego in your final quarter (including Study Abroad): If you are completing coursework at another institution in your final quarter, you must request a copy of your official transcript be sent to UC San Diego Admissions upon course completion. It can take 6-8 weeks for transfer coursework to be posted to your Academic History once the transcript is received by Admissions. Delays in the receipt or posting of transcripts can delay the processing of your degree.

Priority posting is available for students who need their degrees posted to their academic records sooner due to graduate school admission (e.g., medical, law, pharmacy, dental, etc.), employment, military service, or participation in a specialized program upon graduation from the university (e.g.,Teach for America, Peace Corps, etc.). Contact your College advisors via the VAC for information about their priority posting process.