Washington University in St. Louis confers degrees three times a year, in August, December and May.

The Commencement Ceremony

The university Commencement ceremony is held each spring in the Brookings Quadrangle on the Danforth Campus. The university invites all students who have been conferred degrees during the academic year (August, December, May) to attend Commencement in May.


Intent to Graduate

All Washington University students are required to file an Intent to Graduate in order to graduate or to participate in Commencement exercises. Deadlines for filing an Intent are established by the schools and posted at WebSTAC with the online Intent form.


Diplomas and Transcripts

May degrees are posted as of the official date of conferral and students graduating in May receive their diplomas after degrees are conferred, ordered and shipped. August and December degrees are posted retroactively in early September and early February, respectively, and diplomas for those degree recipients are issued at that time (although August and December degrees are posted after the fact, the date of the degree on the diploma and student’s transcript will reflect the official conferral date).

All degrees conferred by Washington University appear on the student’s transcript, in English, with the conferral date and any associated Latin Honors.

Students should contact the the student services area in their school to obtain official verification of degree or program completion if needed before the degree appears on the transcript.