Graduation Requirements
Graduate and Professional Graduation Checklist
All graduating students must review and complete the checklist below regardless of their participation in SPH Commencement.
Instructions for how to view and submit your GPAS are available on this One Stop Student Services page. To check if your GPAS has been submitted and approved
- Navigate to the Student Center (MyU → Academics → Student Center (at the bottom of the page).
- Click on the GPAS link in the upper left of the page.
- Verify that your GPAS has Program and College approval. If you have a minor or other program, verify that you have Program and College approval for each plan.
Review your GPAS report to verify that you have completed all requirements for your degree. If you have questions, please contact your program coordinator. Students who enrolled pre-Fall 2018 should submit their Graduate Degree Plan (GDP) to their program coordinator as they do not have access to GPAS.
In order to graduate, you must complete an application for a degree via MyU to be considered as a candidate for your graduate degree or certificate. You can find graduation steps through OneStop.
Graduate students apply for a month to graduate instead of a term, so you may have a very specific timeline for which to apply for graduation. Refer to the next steps to determine the appropriate timing to submit your application for degree.
Be advised that when you apply to graduate that you will not be able to choose the month that you intend to graduate. Instead, the University assumes when you are prepared to graduate based on the timing of your submitted application. Refer to OneStop to see the dates and the timing of when to submit the application for degree.
Most SPH students will graduate in May (the end of the Spring semester) or December (the end of the Fall semester). If you fall into one of these categories, please see below for the dates on when to apply for graduation:
- May – apply April 2nd through May 1st.
- December – apply November 2nd through December 1st.
The earliest you are able to graduate is the month of the year you have completed all degree requirements and final grades have been submitted. You must be enrolled during the term during which you plan to graduate. If you have completed coursework and are completing other requirements, enroll in a course in one of the special registration categories. To verify your grades have been submitted, navigate to MyU → Academics → Grades.
If you are an MS or PhD student:
- To request a month before your original application, view the process on the Change degree award date page.
- To request a month after your original application, contact GSSP at gssp@umn.edu
If you are an MHA, MPH, or certificate student:
- To request a month before your original application, complete the Request to Change Degree Award Date (SPH MPH/MHA/Certificate Students) form.
- To request a month after your original application, contact GSSP at gssp@umn.edu.
Completing and submitting the online SPH Graduation Outcomes Survey is required. This survey is not required for students enrolled in certificate programs. Contact sphcareers@umn.edu if you have any questions.
Celebrate your accomplishment by participating in the SPH Commencement ceremony. Visit the SPH Commencement page for details.
If you need to change the month/term of your degree application please contact your academic advisor at sph-ugrad@umn.edu.
Completing and submitting the online SPH Graduation Outcomes Survey is required. Contact sphcareers@umn.edu if you have any questions about the survey.
Celebrate your accomplishment by participating in the SPH Commencement ceremony. Visit the SPH Commencement page for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
The University of Minnesota has changed the timeline for discontinuing your email and Google Drive content. Please review the technology help page Google Workspace: Transition from UMN Gmail to a Personal Google Email Account for information and transition ideas.
Note that instructions are different for Health Care Component accounts. To verify whether your account is categorized as a Health Care Component. Navigate to https://my-account.umn.edu/self-service. Directly below Email, there is a field labeled BAA. If you have a Health Care Component account, that field will have BAA in that field. If you have an account that is not a Health Care Component, you will have non-BAA in that field.
Review the information in the Your Diploma section of OneStop for instructions about the diploma mailing address and name printed on your diploma.
Graduate and Professional students
You will have access to your digital diploma 1-2 weeks after your degree is awarded, and your printed diploma will be mailed 4-6 weeks after your degree is awarded.
If you have not received your diploma within this timeframe, please contact sphregistrar@umn.edu.
Undergraduate students
You will have access to your digital diploma 1-2 weeks after your degree is awarded, and your printed diploma will be mailed 6-8 weeks after your degree is awarded.
Check out the ways you can provide degree verification and/or access transcripts on the Transcripts page of OneStop.
Students and third party organizations can follow the steps outlined on the University’s enrollment verification website. If using the National Clearinghouse to verify a degree from the School of Public Health, the organization should use the associated code for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.
