Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor to review credits and graduation requirements. You can also look at DegreeWorks for a quick glance. 

UGA holds commencement ceremonies in May and December. The exact dates vary each year. Visit the Commencement website for the official dates each semester. 

Additionally, many Schools and Colleges also hold their own convocation ceremonies. Graduates may choose to participate in these events in addition to Commencement. More information can be found here. 

Information about undergraduate commencement can be found at https://commencement.uga.edu/undergraduate/. 

There are a few key items you will need to complete to participate in UGA’s commencement ceremony, some of which have hard deadlines. 

• Apply to graduate on Athena. More information and detailed instructions on how to do so can be found here. Your academic advisor can also provide you with additional guidance on this process. 
• Purchase your regalia (a cap and gown). Keep in mind that the deadline to place your order in time for graduation is typically the end of March. 
• Register for your undergraduate commencement ticket. This is your ticket to sit on the field for graduation. Your guests do not need tickets to attend. 

Graduation regalia, or academic regalia, is the formal attire worn by graduates and faculty during the official graduation ceremony. Students will need to purchase the official university cap and gown, typically available through the UGA Bookstore or Jostens. Students must pre-order and you will need your height measurements. Students will also order a graduation tassel. The color of the graduation tassel is indicative of the academic subject area. For example, students earning a degree in Education have light blue tassels. 

UGA also recognizes students who earn Latin honors can wear an additional honors tassel: 

• Summa Cum Laude (overall GPA of 3.90-4.00) – red, silver, and black tassel
• Magna Cum Laude (overall GPA of 3.75-3.89) – red and silver tassel 
• Cum Laude (overall GPA of 3.60-3.74) – red and black tassel 

Students who earn a 4.0 overall GPA are designated as First Honor graduates and wear a fourragère (braided cord) on their left shoulder. 

For the purposes of the commencement program, Latin honors recognition is based on the student’s overall undergraduate GPA going into the student’s last semester. Final Latin honors will be determined following the conclusion of the student’s last semester. 

Honor cords and stoles are typically purchased by the student. An official UGA stole is also available for students to purchase when they order their regalia. It is sold separately from the UGA Bachelor Package. 

Additionally, many student organizations, honor societies, and other groups issue cords and stoles to their members. These processes are all managed by the respective organizations and not the university. 

Students will be issued a printed diploma that will be mailed to the student’s provided address as well as a Certified Electronic Diploma, or CeDiploma, to their UGA email account. Both the printed diploma and CeDiploma will be issued approximately 8-10 weeks following the official graduation date. The printed diploma will be shipped via the USPS and should arrive at the provided address within 4-6 weeks of mailing if delivered within the U.S. and up to ten weeks for international shipments. More information is available through the Office of the Registrar.