Requirements for Graduation
ALL DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS MUST APPLY FOR GRADUATION. If you do not apply by the stated deadline published in the Academic Calendar and the online Schedule of Classes, you may apply with a late fee through the end of the semester when the application is due. Once the graduation semester has begun, students must PETITION to the Admissions and Credits Committee for permission to submit a late application to graduate (a late fee applies as well).
Students who have already graduated in the previous August or December, and all those who are “cleared for graduation” in the current May semester, are expected to participate in the May Commencement ceremony. (Clearing can only be done after all grades have been submitted and processed.)
Most of the common graduation requirements for the bachelor’s degree are included in the checklist below. Check the catalog you are following for specific requirements.
- 120 minimum earned credit hours
- 2.0 minimum Overall Grade Point Average
- 2.0 minimum Institutional (Shepherd University) Grade Point Average
- 2.0 minimum Grade Point Average in courses presented to fulfill the Major (some programs may require a higher GPA*)
- 2.0 minimum Grade Point Average in courses presented to fulfill the Minor
- 42 minimum upper division (300 or above) credit hours
- Has satisfactorily completed all course requirements for Major or Teaching Specialization
- Has satisfactorily completed all course requirements for Minor
- Has satisfactorily completed all Core Curriculum requirements
- No outstanding incomplete grades
- No more than 72 transfer credits from 2-year colleges used toward graduation
- Completed at least 30 earned hours at Shepherd University
- Completed the last 12 credits of the degree at Shepherd University
- Fulfilled all other non-course requirements of your degree program (out-of-class, portfolio, etc.)*
*Read the catalog you are following for specific and additional requirements in your major/program.
Students must complete within seven years the graduation requirements of the Catalog they choose. They may choose the Catalog in effect at their initial admission to the University or a subsequent Catalog. Students may not split requirements between Catalogs.