Senior year is a very busy time for most students, and is filled with deadlines, dates, tasks, requirements, and appointments. It can be very easy for students to become overwhelmed or to possibly miss deadlines. Seniors should read through this section very carefully to ensure that they have filled out all the necessary paperwork, completed all the necessary registrations, and met all the deadlines in a timely manner.
Graduation Information
- Your review for graduation and certification by your major(s)/minor(s) departments is determined by the year and month you have declared within the senior database and must be updated as necessary.
- You can find your declared year and month here.
- You will be asked to verify your graduation date on record in the fall and spring semesters. It is up to you to monitor this information and to change it as necessary. Keep in mind that there are deadlines to changing your graduation date.
- Your graduation date should be firmly declared by the end of the semester before you plan to graduate.
- Changes can be made online at myGradDate.
Communication
- All students with a declared senior year graduation date are automatically subscribed to the Senior Class Sakai site. Adjust your Sakai preferences to include this site as an easily accessible tab on your Sakai home page. Also, make sure that Sakai has your current and most-used email address so that when messages and information are emailed to the list, you receive them.
- Announcements are posted to the Sakai site regularly for important information, deadlines, procedures, etc.
- You can also find several resources and website links in the Sakai site to help you transition from undergraduate life to graduate school, employment, and life “beyond Rutgers.”
It is highly encouraged that as a graduating senior you consider adding your email to the C.J. Announcements email list to receive email notifications when there are updates to the website regarding job postings, career information, internship postings, etc. It is also a great way to keep in touch with the department as well.
Senior Advising
- Seniors should be sure to seek advising from various sources. All seniors should check in at the beginning of the fall semester, and at the very least the beginning of the spring semester preceding commencement with the following individuals:
- A general academic advisor to ensure that you are on track with CORE’s and general S.A.S. requirements.
- The department academic advisor or Undergraduate Director for your major(s) to ensure that you have or will have completed all major requirements.
- The department academic advisor or Undergraduate Director for your minor(s) to ensure that you have or will have completed all minor requirements.
- Students should seek information only from authorized individuals. General academic advisors can be found at any of the SAS Advising Centers located on each campus.
- Always get everything in writing, especially if something is out of the ordinary, such as a substituted course or a transfer course, etc. It’s also a good idea to write down the name and contact information of anyone who provides you with academic advising information.
- When in doubt, double-check!
At any time during your senior year you are welcome--and, in fact, encouraged--to check in with the C.J. office to find out where you stand with your C.J. major progress. In order to schedule an advising appointment to find out your major progress, please contact the
Degree Navigator
- All students have access to Degree Navigator and should check it out regularly with the understanding that Degree Navigator is not absolute and is not the basis for your senior certification nor does it substitute speaking to an academic advisor.
- Degree Navigator has to be manually told what to do with transfer courses, courses taken at Newark or Camden, and courses approved as exceptions, and this is something that only an academic advisor can do.
- All academic advisers in the SAS Office of Academic Services can answer general questions about your academic status and help you develop an academic plan to graduate. However, if you have a specific issue regarding missing degree credits, incomplete term registration, ineligibility to declare your intended major, planning to register elsewhere in your final term, or other mitigating circumstances that affect tracking your graduation you should speak to Dean Spear, Dean Brill, or Dean Bruning in the SAS Office for Seniors. You can schedule an appointment by calling 848-445-8888.
- If you have general questions, you can contact the Senior Office at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The staff members are:- Betty Spear, Assistant Dean and Director
- Tamar Kieval Brill, Assistant Dean
- Adrian Bruning, Assistant Dean
- Rosalie Green, Senior Administrative Assistant
Degree and Diploma
- Traditional students must maintain full-time status and register for a minimum of 12 credits per semester and a maximum of 20.5 credits per semester. If you require less than 12 credits to complete your degree in your final semester, you may be eligible to apply for an exception to the minimum credit load. Click here for more information.
- Degree requires a minimum of 120 credits completed.
- Students must complete one major and one minor. Students completing a “credit intensive” major are excused from completing a minor. Additionally, students completing 2 or more majors are excused from completing a minor. Students who do not complete their second major in time for graduation may drop the major to a minor as long as the department offers a minor. Click here for a list of all majors and minors.
- Students must complete all Rutgers Core Curriculum requirements. You may use Degree Navigator or talk with a general S.A.S. academic advisor to verify your progress.
Course Credits
- Students may not receive credit for a course that goes backwards in a sequence. For example, a student who has received AP credit for Calculus may not subsequently earn credit at Rutgers for pre-Calculus.
- Students may receive credits only one time per course. For example, if you repeat a course where you have received a grade of “F” in order to improve your grade, you only earn credits for that repeated course once (and not twice). See the policy on repeating courses. It is your responsibility to keep an eye on your transcript and make sure the actual credits earned total 120.
- Courses with an “E” prefix do not count towards graduation credits. These include but are not limited to: Algebra and other remedial math courses, pre-Calculus I and II workshops, writing center (01:355:099), and courses taken while enrolled that satisfy outstanding admissions conditions.
Satisfactory Academic Standing
- Students must have a 2.0 or higher cumulative GPA for graduation.
- Students need to check to make sure they have earned the minimum GPA for their major(s) and minor(s).
- Seniors must have a 2.0 cumulative GPA at the end of the spring semester (even if they are not completing their degree in May) in order to avoid being academically dismissed.
Senior Year Residency Requirement
- 30 of the final 42 credits earned must be taken on the New Brunswick campus at Rutgers. Courses that carry New Brunswick course numbers—even if offered off-site—are included in the senior year residency. Students who transfer from outside Rutgers or from Newark or Camden must complete their final 30 credits in New Brunswick as a member of one of the New Brunswick degree-granting units.
Diploma Information
- Students earn 1 degree and 1 diploma regardless of the number of undergraduate majors or credits completed.
- Most programs of study lead to a B.A. degree. B.S. degrees are granted to majors in Accounting, Evolutionary Anthropology, Astrophysics, Exercise Science, Finance, Geological Sciences, Management, Marine Sciences, Marketing, Microbiology, and Public Health. Both B.A. and B.S. options exist in Computer Science, Physics, and some of the acceptable SEBS majors.
- If a student is pursuing two majors that offer different degrees (one major offers a B.A. and one major offers a B.S.), the degree and diploma will reflect the conditions of the first major.
- The diploma lists the degree granting school and the degree earned (either B.A. or B.S.), but does not list major(s). College honors are noted on the diploma, but major(s) honors are not.
- Diplomas are withheld from students who have financial or personal obligations to the university. Similarly, diplomas and official transcripts are withheld from all students whose financial accounts and debts (including tuition, housing, parking, and library) are not cleared.
- Students must provide diploma information in their final semester to the Registrar’s Online Diploma System according to the final schedule:
- January candidates: October 1st – January 15th
- May candidates: February 1st – May 15th
- October candidates: June 1st – September 15th
- Your final transcript with the degree posted on there is the official documentation of your graduation. In extenuating circumstances when a student needs immediate proof of graduation, you may contact the Office for Seniors and they will provide one verification letter, which will be mailed or emailed directly to the third party.
Diploma Distribution
- NO DIPLOMAS ARE DISTRIBUTED AT COMMENCEMENT. All diplomas are mailed to graduates approximately two months after graduation to the permanent address listed in the Rutgers database as of June 1st (the system where students file for their diploma). If your address changes after commencement, please be sure to update it at: https://personalinfo.rutgers.edu. This is the student’s responsibility, and the University is not responsible for any loss or damage that may occur in transit via U.S. Postal Service for mailed diplomas.
- All graduates MUST complete the Diploma Mailing Request Form in order to receive their diploma. Fill out the form and then either mail or fax it before June 1st. The fax number is (732-445-4328) and the address is Undergraduate Registrar’s Office; ASB, Room 200B; 65 Davidson Road; Busch Campus; Piscataway, NJ 08854.
- All graduates who prefer to pick up their diploma in person may do so by checking off “pick-up” on the above Diploma Mailing Request Form to avoid having the diploma mailed. Diplomas can be picked up directly at the Registrar’s Office on Busch campus.
- Please direct all diploma questions to the Office of the New Brunswick Undergraduate Registrar to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Please be sure to include your RU ID, your school/college affiliation, and your intended graduation month/year. N.B. This is for New Brunswick undergraduate students only.
Degrees are processed according to the approximate dates below:
| January Degree | May Degree | October Degree | |
| Graduation status determined by: | January 20 | June 1 | October 1 |
| Degree posted on transcript by: | February 15 | June 30 | October 15 |
| Diploma distributed by: | March 31 | August 1 | December 15 |
