Choice of Catalog to Satisfy Graduation Requirements
It is NSHE’s policy (NSHE Handbook Title 4, Chapter 16, Section 16) to allow students options in selecting the catalog under which to graduate in order to assist students in graduating without excess credits or undue delay. A student enrolled at the University may elect to graduate under the catalog of the year of enrollment in a baccalaureate-level program or the year of graduation. A student who changes their major must choose the catalog of the year of the latest change of major or the year of graduation. In addition, an NSHE transfer student may elect to graduate under the catalog of the year in which the transfer student initially enrolled at the two-year institution. No catalog used for graduation purposes may be more than 10 years old at the time of graduation.
Periodic revisions of degree requirements are made because of advances in knowledge, changes in occupational or professional qualifications, or the expectations of accrediting authorities. If such revisions have occurred, the college dean may require a reasonable adherence to the college and department requirements of a recent or current catalog. Institutional catalogs do not constitute contractual agreements or commitments. A student should consult with the appropriate academic advisor, licensing board, or college/school administrators prior to selecting the catalog under which to graduate. It is the responsibility of a student to keep in touch with their major department in order to learn of such requirements and to plan ahead for their completion. The university does not guarantee the awarding of a degree based on the unchanged requirements of a particular catalog.
Resident Credit
Resident credit means any course that is satisfactorily completed at the University, except credit earned by special examination. Credit by special examination or enrollment in another institution within NSHE does not constitute an interruption of resident credit. However, under no circumstances will the University confer a baccalaureate degree to students who have earned fewer than 30 University credits.
A candidate for the baccalaureate degree must complete the last 30 University semester credits in uninterrupted resident credit as a declared major in the degree-granting college. A student must declare a major prior to enrolling in their last 30 University resident credits. Authorized exceptions to this regulation for the baccalaureate degree are:
- A pre-medical, pre-law, or medical technology student who has completed three (3) years of approved resident credit may complete the last 30 credits by satisfactory work in a professional school or university-approved hospital. Students who elect this option should confer with their dean and with their academic advisor well in advance of the expected transfer date and obtain prior written permission.
- A student who has earned a minimum of three-fourths of the total degree credits in resident instruction may earn a maximum of eight acceptable transfer credits during their senior year to apply toward the degree.
- Students in the Study Abroad Program sponsored by the Office of International Programs who have earned three-fourths of the credits at the University may earn a maximum of 15 acceptable transfer credits.
In addition to the last 30 credits in residence, a student must have at least 30 upper-division credits in residence taken at any point of the academic history at the University in order to graduate.
A waiver of either of the resident credit requirements is rarely granted, unless there are extenuating circumstances involving UNLV responsibility. A petition for an exception should be submitted two (2) semesters in advance of the expected date of graduation. No waiver will be granted unless the petition is approved by their academic advisor, department chair, dean, and the Faculty Senate Academic Standards Committee.
Minimum Credits for Graduation
The minimum number of semester credits required for a baccalaureate degree is 120. At least 30 credits total must be earned in UNLV coursework, and at least 30 credits must be earned in upper-division coursework in residence at UNLV. Credits earned in courses numbered less than 100 will not count towards the baccalaureate degree.
In keeping with NSHE Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 16, Section 38, specific credit requirements for each degree are published in this catalog in the Programs section.
Minimum Grade Point Average for Graduation
In order to graduate, an undergraduate student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 for the total of all college-level credit attempted at the University. College and department GPA requirements must also be met.
Academic Distinction
Graduation degree designations for students not participating in University or Research/Creative Honors programs are Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Summa Cum Laude. To be eligible to receive one of these designations, students must complete a minimum of 60 credits at the University toward a baccalaureate degree and attain the calculated GPA level for their individual college (see Criteria for Academic Distinction below). In no case will a person be eligible for summa cum laude with a GPA of less than 3.70. Students who have a combination of earned and in progress credits equaling 60, along with the appropriate GPA at the time that the commencement program goes to print, will be eligible to have their name listed with honors in the program, and their name read with honors at the commencement ceremony.
A student’s cumulative GPA at the time of conferral will be used to make final determination of Academic Distinction. However, for purposes of the commencement ceremony, a student must satisfy the minimum GPAs at the end of the summer semester prior to participating in the fall ceremony or the end of the fall semester prior to participating in the spring ceremony in order for the Academic Distinction to be announced during the ceremony. Students granted academic renewal may not graduate with Academic Distinction.
Criteria for Academic Distinction
The GPA ranges for graduation degree designations for each college will be established for the next academic year from the reports from the previous two years. Thus, at the end of each academic year (defined as summer, fall, and spring), the Office of the Registrar will prepare a rank-order list of the top 10 percent (1 percent = Summa, 4 percent = Magna, and 5 percent = Cum) of the students graduating from each college (excluding the Graduate College) for the Latin Honors. Students’ GPAs will not be rounded up. These ranges will be applied to August, December, and May graduations. Students whose GPAs fall on or above the set ranking will be awarded the higher designation. More information can be found at: https://www.unlv.edu/registrar/graduation/undergraduate-honors.
In the event that no student attains the GPA level required for the Summa Cum Laude designation in a college, the student with the highest GPA in the college at the end of the year will be awarded the designation, provided that his or her GPA is 3.70 or higher.
Academic Distinction in the Honors College
Students who successfully complete an Honors College program graduate with honors if they:
- Complete the requirements for the University Honors and/or the Research and Creative Honors program or the Service Learning Honors program, the requirements for their major, and applicable University graduation requirements.
- Graduate with a final GPA of at least 3.30
- Graduate with a final Honors College GPA of at least 3.00, and
- Graduate with at least 60 credits earned at the University.
The Latin Honors designations (Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Summa Cum Laude), which appear on final transcripts and diplomas, are awarded by the Honors College to college graduates as follows:
Students graduating from the University Honors Program:
- Cum Laude if their final GPAs are 3.50 - 3.69;
- Magna cum Laude if their final GPAs are 3.70 or higher; or
- Summa cum Laude is not awarded for this program.
Students graduating from the Research and Creative Honors Program:
- Cum Laude if their final GPAs are 3.30 - 3.49;
- Magna cum Laude if their final GPAs are 3.50 - 3.69; or
- Summa cum Laude if their final GPAs are 3.70 or higher and they receive a grade of “A” in HON 499.
Students graduating from the Service Learning Honors Program:
- Cum Laude if their final GPAs are 3.60-3.69;
- Magna Cum Laude if their final GPAs are 3.70 or higher; or
- Summa cum Laude is not awarded for this program
Application for Graduation
Each undergraduate student must apply for graduation in MyUNLV at the beginning of the semester of graduation. Students must have senior standing (earned credits equal to 90 or more) at the time of application. Application deadlines appear on the academic calendar. One application will be submitted for all current degrees; each degree will incur a nonrefundable graduation fee. See Student Accounts for additional information regarding the graduation application fee. Students can refer to the Office of the Registrar’s website for additional graduation and commencement information.
Degree Completion
All course requirements must be completed by the last day of final examinations of the student’s final semester. All grades, including incompletes, as well as all transcripts of work attempted at other institutions must be on file in the Office of the Registrar by the date that final semester grades are due. No degree, diploma, or certificate will be granted to a student unless all NSHE, general core, college, and department requirements have been fulfilled. If awarded in error or upon fraudulent claims that are discovered later, the degree, diploma, or certificate will be revoked.
Commencement Ceremony
The University has commencement ceremonies each year in May and December. Spring graduates are recognized in May. Summer and Fall graduates are recognized in December. Participation in a commencement ceremony does not guarantee degree conferral.
Under certain circumstances, students may be allowed to participate in commencement even if they are not scheduled to finish their degree programs by the date of that commencement ceremony. Students should contact the Office of the Registrar for information.
Degree Conferral
Degrees are conferred only when all NSHE, University, college, and department requirements have been met and final grades for the student’s final semester have been computed. Degrees are conferred during a ten-week period following the end of each semester. Diplomas will be mailed after the conferral period.
Diplomas
Diplomas are conferred only for completion of all academic requirements of degree programs. Diplomas are not conferred for completion of minors or concentrations. Minors and concentrations will be listed on official transcripts.
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