Graduation Requirements

In addition to completing all of the courses required for your degree, you must meet the following requirements:

Unit requirement:
You must have credit for a minimum of 180 quarter units.

GPA requirements:
You must have a 2.0 GPA overall AND a 2.0 GPA in your major.

Senior Residency:
At least 36 of the final 45 units completed by a student for the bachelor’s degree must be earned in residence at the UCI campus (including UC programs, like UCEAP, UCDC)

Time to Degree Policy

Students who enter UCI directly from high school are expected to complete all degree requirements within 5 years (15 quarters, not including summers). This includes completion of any minors or additional (double or triple) majors. A maximum of 216 units is permitted after their 12th quarter of study at UCI. 

Students who enter UCI as junior transfers from other institutions are expected to complete all degree requirements within 3 years (9 quarters, not including summers). This includes completion of any minors or additional (double or triple) majors.

Students attending UCI on a part time basis should consult with an academic advisor regarding a course plan to complete the degree on time.

Application for Graduation

Graduation is NOT automatic. You must file an Application for Graduation online in Student Access by the deadline stated for the quarter in which you expect to graduate. You are able to submit an application when you have at least 120 units of cumulative credit.

After your application has been reviewed, its status will change from “PENDING” to “RECEIVED”. To ensure that you are on track for the quarter of your expected graduation, you are encouraged to schedule an appointment with a full-time advisor.

Deadlines:
The deadline to apply for fall graduation is Friday, November 27, 2020; winter and spring graduation is Friday, February 12, 2021. The deadline to apply for summer graduation is Friday, March 12, 2021. 

If you miss the application deadline, you may not be able to reserve commencement tickets for your guests and your name will not appear in the commencement program. If you need to make any changes to your graduation application, please contact our office at socsci@uci.edu. 

If you are a double/triple major:

Double/triple majors must apply to graduate for all majors in the same quarter. Students planning to graduate in only one major and continue with the second (or third) major should consult with their academic advisor about a possible Second Baccalaureate prior to the end of the expected quarter of graduation. The School of Social Sciences does not allow Second Baccalaureates for our majors.

Reminders:

If you are pursuing a minor, be sure to notify a School of Social Sciences academic advisor to add the minor to your online Degreeworks prior to submitting your Application for Graduation.

If you expect to complete all graduation requirements by the end of Spring quarter, then you may apply for Spring graduation; if you expect to complete all graduation requirements by the end of Summer Session I or Summer Session II, then you would apply for Summer graduation.  Summer graduates are eligible to participate in the June ceremony.

If you have completed course work at community college that is needed for your degree, please be sure you have requested the official transcript(s) be submitted directly to:

The School of Social Sciences Undergraduate Student Affairs Office, 1201 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, CA  92697-5100.

 

Commencement Ceremonies

Students graduating in Fall, Winter or Spring may participate in the Commencement Ceremonies for Spring of the academic year in which they graduate. Students graduating in Summer may choose to participate in the previous year’s ceremony or wait until the following year (note that any honors will appear in the Commencement program for the year you actually graduate).

Deadline:
To be eligible to participate in the Commencement Ceremony, you must submit an Application for Graduation by the stated deadlines.  If you miss this deadline, you may not be able to reserve Commencement tickets for your guests and your name will not appear in the Commencement Program.

Ceremony & Tickets:
Tickets are required to attend Commencement. Ticket information is available on the Commencement website at http://www.commencement.uci.edu. Note: The ticket limit for the School of Social Sciences is 5 tickets per graduate.

Academic Regalia:
For cap & gown orders, go to the http://www.alumni.uci.edu/.

Order of Merit:

Since 1983, the Order of Merit has been given annually to the top 2% of the Social Sciences undergraduate students who best exemplify commitment to academic distinction, leadership, and service to the School, campus, and community. An awards recognition ceremony is held the morning of the commencement ceremonies.

Transcript and Diploma Information

Transcripts:
Degrees are noted on official transcripts approximately six to seven weeks after the end of the quarter in which they are awarded. Academic transcripts may be ordered from the Registrar's Office in advance, indicating that they be held until the degree is noted on the transcript. For more information, please refer to http://www.reg.uci.edu/services/transcripts/.

Diplomas:
Diplomas will be available approximately two to four months after the quarter in which the degree was awarded. The Registrar’s Office will notify you via email when your diploma is available.  More information about this process is available at http://www.reg.uci.edu/services/diplomas.html.

Upon graduation, academic records are final (may not be changed).  It is your responsibility to check the accuracy of your academic record before you graduate. (Note that an NR becomes an F or NP after one quarter of subsequent enrollment or at the end of the quarter immediately preceding award of the degree, whichever comes first. Contact the instructor of the class about the possibility of removing the NR or replacing it with a grade.)