Commencement

You will receive a Degree Audit from the Registrar’s Office that will detail the exact coursework you have left to complete and/or confirmation that you are currently enrolled in your final courses. You will also be added to the graduation information email distribution list and will receive monthly emails containing information and reminders. Please read each of these emails carefully and refer back to them if you need information about the ceremony.

Graduates may elect to come to the Registrar’s Office to pick up their diploma. Otherwise, all diplomas are mailed to the diploma mailing address provided to the Registrar’s Office. Graduates are asked in a monthly commencement update email to provide an address or pick up plan. When submitting an address or pick up plan, graduates should take into consideration that the Registrar’s Office begins sending diplomas eight weeks after the ceremony. If you do not provide a valid diploma mailing address, your permanent mailing address will be used.

Degrees are conferred and diplomas are printed when the Registrar’s Office confirms a graduate’s successful completion of all course requirements. Diplomas are mailed beginning eight weeks after the commencement ceremony. Graduates should contact the Registrar’s Office at 865-251-2230 regarding a missing diploma if it has not been received 12 weeks after the ceremony. Graduates who submitted a Petition to Walk Form will receive their diploma once all course requirements are satisfied, regardless of when they participate in a commencement ceremony. Please note: while diplomas come later, an official transcript showing your graduation date is available just one week after the ceremony.

Graduate and doctoral diplomas may take longer to process and be mailed, depending on the graduate’s thesis/dissertation completion status. Please contact your program director for details on completing all requirements.

Your name will appear on your diploma as you entered it on your Intent to Graduate. Please note that your diploma name must match the legal name(s) we have on file for you. No nicknames may be printed on the diploma. Newly married students, and others who wish to change their name, must complete a Change of Name form and submit it, along with two proofs of legal name change, to the Registrar’s Office no later than two months prior to commencement. Once this process is complete your name will be updated.

There are a few reasons you may not have received your diploma. These include a hold on your account or an inaccurate diploma mailing address, or there may be a problem with your graduation status.

You can check for holds by logging into My.Johnsonu.edu. Select the Academics tab, then click “Registration & Add/Drop Courses.” You may view any holds on your account via the add/drop courses function and click on the plus (+) icon to view information on how to resolve this hold.

If you provided the Registrar’s Office with an inaccurate mailing address, you will be required to pay the $40 Diploma replacement fee for another to be issued.

If there is a problem with your graduation status (i.e. you did not pass a required class, your GPA did not meet graduation requirements, or you have any outstanding program requirements), please contact the Registrar’s Office.

Please contact the Registrar’s Office at 865-251-2230 if none of the above apply to you and you still have not received your diploma within 12 weeks after graduation.

The standard expectation is all requirements must be met before walking at a commencement ceremony. However, an exception may be made if a student only has 7 hours remaining that will be completed in 2 terms and completes a Petition to Walk Form that is approved by the dean of his or her school.

Ph.D. students must have their dissertation defended and approved 1 week before commencement.

You will need to re-file an Intent to Graduate with the updated graduation date of when your degree requirements will be met. The graduation fee will be removed and re-added under the semester you intend to finish.

Yes. All students are required to pay the graduation fee regardless of their intentions to participate in the ceremony. No diplomas or official transcripts will be released until the graduation fee is paid. The fee will be added to your student account for the final semester you enroll in classes or walk at commencement, whichever is earlier. The fee may be paid through your student account.

Doctoral students have additional regalia-related fees that will be added to your account. Please contact your program director for more information.

Yes. Requests must be made in writing using the Diploma Replacement Request Form. The form can be submitted to: [email protected] or faxed to 865-251-2147. Diploma replacements are processed as soon as possible and may take 6-8 weeks for processing and delivery. All replacement diplomas cost $40, which must be paid before the diploma will be printed.

University Latin Honors are only awarded at the undergraduate level. The Latin honors read at the graduation ceremony are based on the current GPA of a student and will not include any in-progress coursework (i.e. students enrolled in their final courses in the spring will have honors based on their current GPA, as spring course grades are not submitted until after the ceremony). However, a student’s final transcript will reflect their final Latin honors once all final grades are submitted.

Associate and Bachelor diplomas are 8-1/2” x 11.” Masters level diplomas are 9” x 12.” Doctoral diplomas are 11” x 14.”

Yes, undergraduate students who earn honors will receive an honors stamp to place on the undergraduate diploma.

No. Johnson University only prints the degree that you earned, not what you majored in. The major is printed on your official transcript.

No. Johnson University only prints the degree that you earned, not what you minored in. The minor is printed on your official transcript.

For students who complete three majors (Bible & Theology, Professional Major 1, and Professional Major 2), but earn fewer than the required number of credit hours: only one degree is granted with a triple major. Students who complete three majors (Bible & Theology, Professional Major 1, and Professional Major 2) and earn the required number of credit hours: two degrees are granted, the first with majors in Bible & Theology + Professional Major 1 and the second with Professional Major 2. Students should consult the catalog they are under and the Registrar’s Office to know the number of hours needed.

Please log into My.JohnsonU.edu and view the graduation information page or watch for an updated “News and Events” page for Commencement on the Johnson University website in May and December.