Graduation Requirements

Students must apply for graduation through the online Graduation Application available through their Banner account during the period announced in the University calendar. 

The graduation application should be submitted for the term in which the student intends to complete their degree requirements, which may or may not be the same term as the once yearly Commencement ceremony. Whereas the Commencement ceremony is a symbolic rite of scholarly accomplishment, graduation is the official date on which the students’ degree is conferred and a student is only eligible for graduation after both successfully applying for graduation and fulfilling the following requirements.

Graduation requirements include general requirements, all Core requirements, and all requirements for the major. Successful completion of at least 120 semester credit hours, with a quality-point average of at least 2.0, is required for graduation. This minimum average must be met in all the majors, all minors, and overall. In addition, the Boler College of Business requires a 2.0 average in the business courses. Student academic records are sealed at the time the degree is conferred. 

After the degree conferral date, changes—with the exception of errors or omissions—cannot be made to the student record.

Graduation Honors

The quality-point system is used to determine graduation honors. To qualify for graduation honors, a student must complete at least 60 credit hours in graded courses on the undergraduate level, all taken at John Carroll. To merit the distinction cum laude, candidates must attain a quality-point average of 3.50; magna cum laude, 3.70; summa cum laude, 3.90. These honors are inscribed on the diploma. Quality points are computed to two decimal places and are truncated, not rounded.