To graduate (earn a bachelor's degree) from UCSB, you must
- Satisfy all degree requirements (see Graduation Requirements).
- Notify the Office of the Registrar of your intention to graduate by declaring your candidacy.
Your degree can be posted after any regular quarter or summer session, but commencement (the graduation ceremony) is held only once a year, in June.
Declaration of Candidacy
- You must declare candidacy for graduation by using GOLD. (Non-current students who have not registered at UCSB for more than a year will be referred by GOLD to the Office of the Registrar for instructions on a paper process.)
- You become an official degree candidate only after you have declared your candidacy in the manner described above.
- The deadline to declare candidacy is published in the Schedule of Classes each quarter and in the summer bulletin. It normally falls at the end of the second week of instruction.
- Late declarations of candidacy will not be accepted.
- Once the declaration is recorded, a final degree evaluation will be performed using the criteria detailed in the UCSB General Catalog.
Commencement
- You may reserve space in commencement using GOLD. Consult the Schedule of Classes for information about deadlines.
- Participation in commencement is not mandatory.
- Although there are four possible dates for graduation each year (December, March, June and September), commencement ceremonies are held only once annually, in June. Consult the UCSB General Catalog for details.
- If you plan to graduate during the summer, you must declare candidacy by the second week of the spring quarter if you wish to have your name printed in the commencement program.
- Students are eligible to participate in commencement if they have completed at least 164 units with work in progress. The unit threshold is subject to change each year.
- Questions about which ceremony you may attend should be addressed to the Office of Student Life.
