Graduation

Graduation and the Commencement Ceremony are two different activities. Graduation from the university takes place every semester. The Commencement Ceremony takes place once per year, in the spring. 

  • You must apply to graduate for the semester you will finish all degree requirements.
  • Summer & Fall graduates may participate in the spring Commencement Ceremony prior or following your graduation term.
  • See additional information about Graduation & Commencement below. 
Congrats banner!

Graduation

View the Graduation Checklist for Undergraduate Students. 

Use your Academic Requirements Report (ARR) to run a graduation check! 

MyCSULB Student Center
  • Once you are in MyCSULB select "Academic Requirements" from the drop-down menu, and click the arrows to load. It may take a few minutes to load. 
Screenshot of degree planner

 

  • Once the report loads, scroll down and click collapse all. If you are on track to graduate, you will only see green checkmarks and yellow diamonds which means all requirements are complete or in progress. If you see red squares, then you are missing requirements. 

You can apply to graduate on your MyCSULB. 

MyCSULB Student Center
  • Once you are in MyCSULB select "Apply for Graduation" from the drop-down menu, and click the arrows to load. It may take a few minutes to load. If you do not see the "Apply for Graduation" choice, you are not eligible based on completed units yet. If you are graduating please come to drop-in advising so an advisor can assist you with eligibility to apply.  
Screenshot of degree planner apply for graduation feature
  • There will be a series of steps in the application. Please make sure you go through all the steps and click "Submit Application" at the end. You will get to a confirmation page at the end that says you have successfully submitted your application. 

    • Make sure to return to MyCSULB to submit your application after you pay the graduation fee! You will still have a few more steps after paying that need to be completed before getting to the "Submit Application" page. 

Graduation Term 

Application Deadline 

Spring or Summer Sessions 

October 15th 

Fall or Winter Sessions 

March 1st 
  • Your graduation term will be the semester you finish ALL your requirements. If you are finishing courses in summer, you apply for summer graduation. If you want to participate in the ceremony in spring, you will still apply for summer graduation. 

If you already applied to graduate through your student center and you need to change your graduation term now, please complete the Graduation Term Update Form. It will take 7-10 business days to process. 

Commencement

Yes! The university only offers a commencement ceremony in spring semesters, so all students who want to participate in the ceremony can do so in spring. If you are finishing courses in summer or fall, do not apply for spring graduation. You must apply for graduation for the semester you are finishing all your courses, not the semester in which you want to participate. If you apply for spring graduation, you are telling the university that you are done with your courses in spring, and you will not receive a registration date for summer or fall.

For more information regarding commencement, please refer to CSULB's Commencement page.