Applying to graduate
Do I have to apply to graduate?
Yes. Finishing your requirements does not award the degree automatically; the graduation application tells the Registrar to run a final audit, order your diploma and add you to the commencement list (applying to graduate).
When should I apply?
In MyPorter, in the term before your final term — two terms ahead is safest for a spring finish. Miss the deadline and your degree is conferred the following term.
Is there a fee?
A small one-time fee that covers the diploma, its permanent record and, for bachelor’s candidates, the cap, gown and tassel.
What happens after I apply?
The Registrar runs a formal degree audit, and your adviser and department sign off. Anything short — a missing elective, a substitution that was never recorded — surfaces while there is still time to fix it (commencement).
How many credits do I need?
Most bachelor’s degrees take about 120 credits, and at least 30 of your final credits must be earned at Porter. Your degree audit is the authority for your program.
Ceremonies
When is spring commencement?
Saturday, May 15, 2027 in Ironclad Fieldhouse. Undergraduate degrees are conferred in two sittings by college; check MyPorter for your sitting’s time (spring commencement).
Is there a December ceremony?
Yes. December ceremonies are held in Ironclad Fieldhouse after fall finals; in December 2025, Porter conferred 694 degrees in two sittings. December graduates are also invited to walk in May (December commencement 2026).
When is the graduate hooding ceremony?
Friday, May 14, 2027, the evening before commencement, in Heritage Auditorium. Master’s and doctoral graduates are hooded by their advisers (graduate hooding).
Can I walk before I finish?
Students within about one term of completion — often a summer course or a final internship — may request to participate in the spring ceremony. Your name is in the program and the diploma is mailed once the last grade posts and the audit clears.
Do guests need tickets?
No. Guest seating is general admission and opens 90 minutes before the ceremony, with an overflow viewing room and a livestream.
When do graduates arrive?
Line up 75 minutes early in the fieldhouse annex, regalia on and nothing to carry. A reader takes a phonetic card at check-in so your name is said the way you say it.
How long is the ceremony?
About two hours: procession, one address, the reading of names, the turning of the tassel and the recession.
Regalia, honors and your diploma
How do I get a cap and gown?
Order at least six weeks before commencement and pick it up at the Campus Store the week of the ceremony. Bachelor’s regalia is included in the graduation application fee; graduate hoods are priced separately (commencement regalia).
Where do honor cords and stoles come from?
From the sponsoring program, honor society or office — not the Campus Store.
How do Latin honors work?
Cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude are based on your final cumulative GPA against thresholds set by your college, roughly 3.5, 3.7 and 3.9. They appear on the transcript and diploma and are read at commencement (Dean’s List and honors).
When will I get my diploma?
It is mailed after final grades post and the degree audit clears, usually within eight weeks. Keep your diploma name and mailing address current in MyPorter.
An employer needs proof before my diploma arrives. What do I do?
Request a letter of completion — or of expected completion — from the Registrar.
How do I replace a lost diploma?
Order a replacement through the Registrar for a flat fee; it arrives in 6–8 weeks and can be issued in your current legal name with documentation (replacement diploma).
Guests and the day itself
Can family watch online?
Yes. Every December and May ceremony is livestreamed free with no login, and the archive is posted within 24 hours, searchable by graduate name (commencement livestream).
What accessibility services are available?
Accessible seating with companion spaces, wheelchair loan, assistive listening, ASL interpretation and CART captioning. Request interpretation and reserved seating at least two weeks ahead.
Where do guests park?
Free in all campus lots on ceremony day, with an expanded Porter Loop route from the perimeter lots to the fieldhouse doors.
Are there smaller celebrations?
Yes. Departments and colleges host their own receptions before or after the ceremony, which is where most of the actual goodbyes happen; your department will email the details.
What is the Ring of Iron?
A senior tradition: graduating students gather at dusk around the 1912 cornerstone. See traditions.
Before you leave
Do I need to do loan exit counseling?
Yes, if you borrowed federal loans: once, online, about 30 minutes, when you graduate or drop below half time (exit counseling).
Can a hold stop my diploma?
Yes. A financial hold blocks diploma release and official transcripts, so clear any balance before you go (holds).
What happens to my laptop, email and software?
Laptop options vary by program; your mailbox closes after a grace period, replaced by a lifetime alumni forwarding address; and student software licenses deactivate. See the technology FAQ.
Where do I order a class ring?
Through the Campus Store, separately from regalia. Rings are not included in the graduation application fee.
What should I do in the first months after graduating?
Pick a loan repayment plan, set up loan autopay, and keep using Career Services — Career for Life coaching and the alumni network stay yours. See the first 90 days after graduation.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. These ceremonies, dates, fees and diploma rules are invented for a fictional university; no degree is conferred here and no diploma will arrive in the mail.