All students must complete and submit an application to graduate. Applications to graduate must be submitted at least six months before the desired graduation date. Failure to submit an application at least six months early may delay graduation and prevent the student's name from being entered in the graduation ceremony program.

Master's degree students receive their degrees from the School of Public Health-Bloomington, and must therefore apply for graduation at https://sph.indiana.edu/forms/student/graduation-application/application.html.

Ph.D. degree students receive their degrees from the University Graduate School, and must therefore visit https://graduate.indiana.edu/academics-research/graduation.shtml, and scroll down to the section "Ph.D. Students" to view instructions regarding completion steps for the degree, including the application to participate in the Commencement Ceremony.

Master's degrees are conferred in May, June, July, and December. Ph.D. degrees are conferred every month. Graduation commencement ceremonies take place in May and December. Students graduating between January and August may attend the May ceremony. Students graduating between September and December may attend the December ceremony.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question: How do I make sure my name will appear in the University’s graduation commencement program?
Answer: To make sure your name appears in the University’s graduation commencement program, you should complete and submit the application for graduation at least six months before your desired graduation date. The university creates the program for each graduation commencement ceremony. For the May graduation commencement program, February 25 is the last day on which a student's name may be added to the commencement program. For the December graduation commencement program, May 1 is the last day on which a student's name may be added to the commencement program. 

Question: I am a graduate student planning to complete the requirements for my degree in the near future, but not planning to attend the graduation commencement ceremony. Do I still need to apply to graduate?
Answer: Yes. All graduate degree-seeking students must apply for graduation, whether or not they are planning to attend the university’s Commencement Ceremony. The graduation application is the only means of letting the graduate recorder know the student plans to complete the degree. This cues the recorder to audit a student's progress toward satisfaction of all degree requirements for a specific degree certification date. If you do not tell the recorder when you want to graduate, nothing happens.