Tickets are not required for either ceremony.

The Spring 2013 Graduate ceremony speaker is Stephen L. Hajduk, Professor and Department Head, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The Spring 2013 Undergraduate ceremony speaker is to be determined.

Assembly for the undergraduate academic processional will begin at 6 p.m. Assembly for the graduate ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. Please be prompt.

All candidates for the undergraduate ceremony will assemble in the stands at the west end of Sanford Stadium.  Please enter through Gate 10 (Lumpkin Street side of the stadium). This entrance is for graduating candidates only.  Guests should enter via Gates 4 and 6.

Graduate candidates and hooding professors will assemble in the Women’s Basketball Gym on the second floor of the Coliseum Training Facility. Entry via door closest to Carlton Street Parking Deck.

Appropriate academic regalia must be worn to participate in the Commencement Ceremony.  Caps, gowns and hoods may be purchased at the UGA Bookstore.  Contact the University of Georgia Bookstore at 706-542-3171 or via email at http://uga.bkstr.com for purchasing information.  Order your announcements online at Jostens.com.

Candidates should wear their tassels over the right eye until the degree is awarded and over the left eye afterward.  The mortarboard on the cap should be parallel to the ground.

With the exception of the honors tassels, the color of tassels as well as the color of the velvet on the hoods worn by master and doctorate candidates are indicative of the academic subject area.  The colors associated with these subjects areas are as follows:

Please note:  If you order your academic regalia from someone other than the UGA Bookstore, the UGA Bookstore will not be able to assist you with missing or replacement items.

Criteria for graduation with honors are determined by the Educational Affairs Committee of the University Council and are described in the undergraduate bulletin.

Final honors designations for Summa, Magna, and Cum Laude as noted on the diploma and transcript will be based on the overall averages of 3.90, 3.70, and 3.50 respectively.  Overall averages include grades at UGA as well as grades received at all previous academic institutions.  To allow for current term grades, calculations for honors tassels and the commencement program only are based upon a current overall GPA of 3.85 for Summa Cum Laude, 3.65 for Magna Cum Laude, and 3.45 for Cum Laude. 

 Anticipated undergraduate students graduating with honors wear an honors tassel:

First Honor Graduates

Each student completing a baccalaureate degree with an overall grade point average of 4.0 will be designated a First Honor Graduate. The overall grade point average or all-college average includes all work attempted at the University of Georgia as well as all college-level transfer work attempted prior to or subsequent to matriculation at the University.

First Honors Candidates wear a fourragère (braided cord) on their left shoulder as part of their graduation academic regalia.

Please note: Because grades for the current semester are not available during the time that commencement programs are being produced and on the day of Commencement, honors designations (including First Honor Graduates) are based on the grade point average earned through the previous academic term. To allow for changes in honors designations due to current term grades, the respective standards are lowered five hundredths (0.05) of a grade point for the purposes of the program and assignment of honors tassels only. Final academic honor graduates for each semester are selected after grades have been submitted. Final, official honor designations will be included on diplomas and transcripts.

Recognition of Candidates

Candidates will rise as a group when their degree is conferred.

Conclusion of Ceremony

Following the singing of the Alma Mater the platform party will recess after which the ceremony officially concludes.

Two versions of the commencement program are printed.  The longer version includes the names of all candidates.  Two copies of this program will be placed in the seats for each of the candidates.  Visitors will receive an abbreviated program containing information about the ceremony. Please do not disrupt the ceremony by taking copies of the longer version from unoccupied seats during the ceremony.

Candidates for graduation should receive an email with instructions to log in to a website to confirm their diploma information approximately 1 – 2 weeks after the midpoint of their graduation term. This website is used to verify or correct the name printed on the diploma and the diploma mailing address.

It is the student’s responsibility to make certain the correct address is on file with the Office of the Registrar. Diplomas are normally mailed within 6 to 8 weeks after the official graduation date.

Once final grades for the semester are received, each individual school and college reviews the records of each candidate for graduation to verify that all requirements have been met.  The Office of the Registrar is notified when this process is complete and authorizes the printing of the diplomas.  Diplomas are mailed to graduates at their permanent or diploma addresses approximately six weeks after commencement.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the Office of the Registrar has the correct mailing address.

The information printed on diplomas is summarized below:

Undergraduates with one major:

• Your degree, major, University honors, and graduation date will be reflected on the diploma.

Undergraduates with multiple majors:

• If you complete the requirements for multiple majors, with the same degree, simultaneously, you will receive one diploma reflecting the degree, multiple majors, University honors, and graduation date.
• If you complete the requirements for multiple majors with different degrees, simultaneously, you will receive two diplomas.  Each diploma will reflect the respective degree, major, University honors, and graduation date.
• If you complete the requirements for multiple majors during different semesters, you will receive a diploma for each.  The individual diplomas will reflect the degree, major, University honors, and the graduation date corresponding to the major.

Graduate Students

• Only your degree and graduation date will be reflected on the diploma.
• If you complete the requirements for multiple degrees within the same term, you will receive a diploma for each.

*Please note: if you have an outstanding debt with the University, we will not be able to mail your diploma. Please contact our office once your debt has been paid.

Apostille and the Great Seal

Official documents issued in one country and intended to be used in another country must be authenticated in order to be recognized as valid in the foreign country. If the foreign country is a member of The Hague Convention, an Apostille (pronounced “uh-pos-till”) is required. If the foreign country is not a member of The Hague Convention, the Great Seal is normally required.

Countries that are members of The Hague Convention can be found at this web site. 

If you have accepted employment in a foreign country or if you are returning home to a foreign country, you may need to have your official transcript and/or your diploma legalized by either an Apostille or the Great Seal. Most foreign countries require the diploma versus your transcript, but be sure to find out which is required. Also, please be sure to obtain the required documentation prior to leaving Georgia.   The process will be more cumbersome if you are not physically in Georgia or do not have a relative or friend in Georgia who can assist with the process. If someone will be assisting with this process, be sure you provide them with a signed letter from you authorizing them to do so.

For either an Apostille or a Great Seal, you will first need to request a replacement diploma. The signed, stamped, and notarized diploma will be mailed to you or you can pick it up in our office. Be sure to bring your photo ID.

If you need an Apostille (the intended foreign country is a member of the Hague Convention), you will then obtain this from the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Please carefully review the information on their web site and follow their instructions. http://www.gsccca.org/projects/apost.asp

If you need the Great Seal, you will then obtain this from the Elections Division of the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. Please carefully review the information on their web site and follow their instructions.

Diploma Replacement

The University of Georgia issues only one diploma for each degree as described in the Diploma section. A replacement diploma may be requested only if the original diploma has been lost or damaged. If damaged, the damaged diploma must be returned along with the Request for Replacement Diploma Form.

Requests for a replacement diploma must be submitted online via the Replacement Diploma Ordering System. By placing a request through this ordering site, you verify that your original diploma has been lost, damaged, or destroyed.

Please note: If you have an outstanding debt with the University, we cannot issue a diploma replacement.

The UGA Undergraduate Commencement ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, May 10, 2013, will be held in Sanford Stadium rain or shine. Only in case of severe weather will the Undergraduate ceremony be rescheduled for Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 10 a.m.

Severe weather is defined as rain accompanied by high wind, thunder and lightning.

If it is raining on the morning of May 10, but not declared severe weather, the ceremony will be held as planned in Sanford Stadium. The degree candidates will not process onto the field, but will report directly to their assigned seats on the field. Each student will be provided with a poncho to wear.

The decision whether to hold the Undergraduate exercices outside or move to the severe weather plan will be made by 10 a.m. on Friday, May 10, and the information will be placed on the UGA home page by 10:30 a.m.

Major local radio stations will be provided the information, but please be aware that many rely on computerized programming and are not able to make special announcements.

For guests who do not wish to attend if it is raining, the ceremony will be televised on University and Charter cable channel 15 and streamed on the UGA web page here.  Also, visitors to campus may view the ceremony in the Tate Student Center Theater.

For Sanford Stadium:

First aid care is available for candidates and visitors at the first aid station located behind Section 119 in Sanford Stadium. This care is provided by staff of the University Health Center. Local ambulance services provide emergency care if required.

For Stegeman Coliseum:

First aid care is available for candidates and visitors at the first aid station located behind Section N in Stegeman Coliseum. This care is provided by staff of the University Health Center. Local ambulance services provide emergency care if required.

For items believed lost in the coliseum or stadium, please email lostandfound@sports.uga.edu or call 706-542-7944. For other lost and found inquiries, please contact detectives@police.uga.edu.

• Check OASIS to verify that you have an anticipated graduation date of Spring 2013.
• Wear comfortable shoes. You will be walking and standing for long periods of time. High-heeled shoes are discouraged, especially stiletto heels. High heels can break through the plastic flooring placed in the seating area and damage the floor.
• Leave purses, coats, and other belongings with your family members.  It doesn’t present a professional image to carry these items during the processional.
• During the processional, remain in a single line and avoid gaps in the line.
• As you enter the coliseum or stadium, be sure to follow the person in front of you so that you don’t end up in the wrong line and thus sitting with another college.
• As you are directed into your row of seats, please be sure to fill all seats.  Vacant seats in a row could mean that some students will not have a place to sit.
• Remain standing in front of your seat during the entire processional.  Do not stand in the aisles.
• Pick a place to meet your family and friends once the ceremony is completed.
• As you celebrate this exciting day, please be respectful of those around you and the fact that this is a formal academic ceremony.  Beach balls, air horns, and other similar distractions are inappropriate and may be confiscated.
• Alcoholic beverages are not permitted in Stegeman Coliseum or Sanford Stadium.

*Times and locations are subject to change.