Commencement Eligibility

Degree Application

The first step to graduation is submitting a degree application to the Registrar's Office.

• Undergraduates earning a bachelor’s degree: follow instructions in link above.
• Graduate students earning a master’s or doctoral degree: Be sure that your master’s degree application or doctoral degree application e-sign form is submitted and approved. Be sure to check this website for specific deadlines: Degree Completion | Graduate School | Western Washington University (wwu.edu)

Once your degree application has been processed and you are “pending to graduate”, you will be added to the list of graduates contacted for reserving a seat at commencement.

Commencement Reservation

A reservation is required to attend commencement. 

• Eligible students will receive a link to make their reservation via their student email (about two months prior to the event date).
• There is no charge to make a reservation.
• Edits can be made to the reservation up until the reservation deadline. If you are having trouble making edits, you must clear your browser history or use a different internet browser to revert the form to an editable format.

Note: The reservation system does not instantly reflect daily updates. Students who become newly eligible will receive invitations the week after being updated to pending status.

IMPORTANT: Students attending the event must wear graduation regalia appropriate to their degree.

Other Commencement Information

Double Degrees and Double Majors

Students earning two degrees can choose which college they walk with for commencement.

Students earning two majors in different colleges can choose which college they walk with for commencement. 

*No diplomas are handed out at commencement.*

Participation in Commencement does not guarantee that you have completed your degree and truly graduated. Only when all program requirements are satisfactorily completed is your degree awarded and your diploma issued. 

Visit our Diploma page for more information.