Commencement Dates and Degree Conferral
VPSO-13
About This Policy
- Effective Date:
- 06-25-1998
- Date of Last Review/Update:
- 06-26-2025
- Responsible University Office:
- Academic Leadership Council Executive Committee
- Responsible University Administrator:
- Office of the Vice President for Strategic Operations
- Policy Contact:
Associate Vice President for University Enrollment Services
- Policy Feedback:
- If you have comments or questions about this policy, let us know with the policy feedback form.
Scope
All campuses of Indiana University; Registrar offices; academic units; and students.
A foundational principle of Indiana University is its enduring partnership across its units, including faculty, to collectively advance the institution's mission. The establishment, revision, and retirement of academic policies will occur with consultation and input from the University Faculty Council.
Policy Statement
The following points will serve as guidelines for the degree conferral dates that all campuses will use:
- If there is a commencement ceremony, degrees will be conferred effective the date of the ceremony.
- If there is no commencement ceremony, degrees will be conferred effective the last day of the term.
- Graduate degrees may be awarded the last day each month or on the last day of the term ending in that month.
| Undergraduate Degrees | Graduate & Professional Degrees |
| May (Commencement Date) | May (Commencement Date) |
| June 30 | June 30 |
| July (Last Day of Summer Term, if it falls in July; otherwise no July conferral date) | Last Day of Summer Term, if it falls in July; otherwise July 31 |
| August (Last Day of Summer Term, if it falls in August; otherwise no August conferral date) | Last Day of Summer Term, if it falls in August; otherwise August 31 |
| September 30 | |
| October 31 | |
| November 30 | |
| December (BL Commencement Date) (Others – Last Day of Term) | December (BL Commencement Date) (Others – Last Day of Term) |
| January 31 | |
| February 28; February 29 in leap years | |
| March 31 | |
| April 30 |
Reason for Policy
This policy minimizes the time from the end of a term to the date when a degree is conferred, which allows students to obtain official transcripts or be officially certified in a timely manner.
Procedures
The Offices of the Registrar use standard dates across all campuses as the degree conferral date that is recorded on student transcripts for each term. These dates are maintained in IU’s Student Information System (SIS).
Definitions
Term: A Term is equivalent to a semester; individual Sessions are associated with Terms; an academic year consists of three sixteen-week terms (Fall, Spring, Summer); some programs utilize four twelve-week terms (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer).
Commencement: Commencement is a university ceremony where the University President, Trustees, academic officers, faculty, graduating students, and their families and guests, assemble for the purpose of conferring degrees upon the newly certified graduates. The conferral of degrees is performed by the President with the approval of the Board of Trustees upon recommendation of the faculty.
History
This policy was established in 2013. Previous documentation of this information was published by the Office of the Registrar in 1982 and revised in 1998. This policy was reviewed in 2019 and no substantive updates were needed.
On June 20, 2023, this policy was renumbered from USSS-13 to VPSS-13.
On August 7, 2023, the policy contact information was updated.