Ohio Wesleyan University confers degrees on four dates within the year: May, June, August, and December. A Commencement Ceremony is held once a year in the month of May (traditionally on the Saturday preceding Mothers' Day).
To be considered for a degree, a student must fill out the online Application for Graduation (Notification of Intent to Graduate) [a .pdf version is also available here] no later than the start of their next-to-last semester. This application affirms that the student has carefully reviewed their Degree Audit with their Faculty Advisor to identify requirements remaining for graduation and to develop a plan for how to complete all general education, major, and minor requirements by the anticipated graduation date. Approval of the Graduation Application does not guarantee that the student will graduate by the requested term, as the student must still satisfy all requirements published in the Catalog and tracked in Degree Audit in order to graduate.
All intended majors and minors must be requested and approved online before an application can be turned in. This can be done with our Major/Minor Request system. Any change to a student's major and minor after the submission of the application for graduation must be made via petition. Faculty advisors and the Office of the Registrar are available to offer some assistance to students with questions in regards to their majors and minors, but the ultimate responsibility of meeting all requirements for the degree rests entirely with the individual student.
Students are responsible for reviewing the catalog and knowing their degree requirements. It is up to students to review their progress after each semester to ensure they are staying on track to graduate. Degree audits can be reviewed by students and advisors at degreeaudit.owu.edu. The audit will show which courses are needed to complete a specific major and what courses have been completed or are in progress. It is in a student's best interest to review their audit and make sure it looks correct. If corrections are needed please reach out to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@owu.edu. Course substitutions within a major require the approval of a department chair in order for the Office of the Registrar to make the change to a student's degree audit.
(dependent on catalog year)
Requirements for all degrees and programs can be found here.
Students who have at least 32 total completed and in-progress units toward graduation at the Spring semester withdrawal deadline will be eligible to participate in the Commencement Ceremony in May. Students declare their intention to participate in Commencement via the Graduation Application (Notification of Intent to Graduate) which must submitted no later than the start of their next-to-last semester.
While Ohio Wesleyan University's annual Commencement Ceremony honors and celebrates the accomplishments of the graduating class, it is important to distinguish between Commencement and Graduation. Although closely related, the two are not synonymous. Graduation refers to the formal completion of all degree requirements as verified by the Office of the Registrar resulting in the conferral of the academic degree. Commencement is a ceremonial event that acknowledges students' anticipated achievements.
Participation in the Commencement Ceremony does not guarantee graduation as some anticipated summer graduates may ultimately need additional time to fulfill remaining requirements. Conversely, a student may complete all degree requirements and graduate without attending the Commencement Ceremony.