Graduation Information

Congratulations on nearing completion of your Master’s or Doctoral degree at UNT! To ensure a seamless graduation experience, here you will find information on how to apply for graduation, important graduation deadlines, commencement and regalia information, and other frequently asked questions.

Graduation Deadlines

Apply to Graduate

Graduation applications are now done through the MyUNT student portal. Please see the graduation application instructions link below. All students must apply for graduation by the posted semester deadline listed below. If you are pursuing more than one degree, you will need to submit a separate graduation application for each degree.

Click Here to View Graduation Application Instructions (PDF)

In addition to completion of the Graduation Application, we ask that you complete the following survey(s):

UNT Graduating Student Survey- All graduating Master’s and Doctoral students should complete this survey.  Log in to your MyUNT student portal and navigate to your Student Center Page.  Once you have been approved for graduation, you will see a Graduating Student section which will take you to the Graduating Student Survey.  Your feedback is very important to us, so please take the time to complete the survey. 

Survey of Earned Doctorates All Doctoral students are asked to complete the National Science Foundation's Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) before graduation. This is an annual census conducted by six federal agencies of all individuals receiving a research doctorate from accredited U.S. institutions. Survey data is used to track the number of graduates in various fields; the educational paths of scientists, engineers, and humanists; movement of graduates into the labor market; and similar information. Additional information is available on the Survey of Earned Doctorates page.

As a special gift from the UNT Alumni Association, your first year of membership is FREE.  Please go to https://untalumni.com/graditudes

Graduation Requirements

All students must have an approved, official degree plan on file with the Toulouse Graduate School. Your degree plan should be filed with your major department immediately after completion of the first term/semester of graduate study. If you are unsure if you have an approved, official degree plan on file, or need to file a degree plan, please contact your major department/major professor for assistance. Students who do not have an approved, official degree plan on file will not be eligible for graduation.

A student completing a thesis or dissertation must maintain continuous enrollment in a minimum of 3 semester hours of thesis or dissertation during each fall and spring term/semester, including the term/semester the thesis or dissertation is accepted by the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School. Registration in 3 semester hours of thesis or dissertation in at least one summer session/term is required to graduate in August.

Enrollment at a Second Institution: If you are currently enrolled at another institution, you may not be eligible to graduate from UNT in the current semester.

You must be admitted to the program in order to graduate. If you do not have an option to select the program you are completing (for example, if you are completing an MS in Psychology but only have the option to select the PhD program you are in), please contact Toulouse Graduate School Admissions (graduateschool@unt.edu) to complete the necessary application. You may then submit your application for graduation after the new program appears in your portal.

Graduation Fees

Master’s Degree: No fees
Master’s Degree & Thesis: $20 archiving fee
Doctoral Degree & Dissertation: $20 archiving fee

If you are writing a paper, appropriate fees will be added to your account when your final, defended paper is submitted to the Graduate School. An email from graduation@unt.edu will alert you that payment is due.

Students who wish to take advantage of additional ProQuest services (such as ProQuest's "Open Access" publishing option) will need to pay any additional fees directly to ProQuest.

Commencement, Regalia, Announcements & Diplomas

Important Distinction between Graduating and Participating in Commencement Events Commencement events are the congratulatory ceremonies hosted by university officials in which students are publically and formally recognized. Graduation is the process of being awarded a degree after completion of credit hours and other degree requirements. Actual diplomas are not awarded at commencement ceremonies and participation in the ceremonies is not a guarantee of degree completion. Diplomas are mailed approximately 8 to 10 weeks after graduation to the mailing address on file with UNT. You can review and update your mailing address online at my.unt.edu.

To officially graduate from UNT, a student must apply for graduation by the posted deadline. After receipt of final grades, the student's degree audit or degree plan must show the student satisfied all university, college and departmental requirements for the specific degree. A degree becomes official when it is posted to a student's transcript -- typically two to three weeks after the completion of their final term - not by their participation in commencement exercises.

During semesters in which there is a University sanctioned event, information regarding the relevant ceremony will be mailed and/or emailed by the Registrar’s Office approximately 3 weeks prior to commencement. You can review and update your mailing address online at my.unt.edu.

Doctoral and Master’s Commencement Ceremony dates and other important information can be found at http://commencement.unt.edu/ Please note that July graduates are invited to attend the December Commencement Ceremony, unless substantial and exceptional circumstances warranting ceremony participation prior to degree completion have been approved. 

Graduates will wear official approved regalia for all formal commencement events. All arrangements for regalia approved by the university should be made with the official provider, Barnes and Noble at UNT, located inside the University Union, 1155 Union Cir, Denton, TX, 76203 (940-565-2592).

Still Have Questions?

Please be sure to check our FAQ page for more information.
If you've checked your student portal for information about the status of your application and still have questions, please contact us by emailing graduation@unt.edu. Please be sure to include your full name and student ID# in all correspondence. We respond to all emails in a timely manner.