Graduation Requirements and Procedures
Application for graduation must be made two semesters before the expected graduation date. Application forms are available in the Residential Academic Services office and at http://wildcat.indwes.edu/Registrar/Forms/. The application form must be completed and signed by all academic advisors. A student may complete his/her requirements at midyear, in the spring, or in the summer. Commencement exercises are held in December, April, and August and conferral of degrees happens only on these commencement dates. Only those completing all requirements by August and December are eligible to participate in the August and December commencements, respectively. Undergraduate CAS students whose graduation is conditional upon May or summer school attendance may be granted the right to special participation in the spring commencement exercises before all graduation requirements have been met. In this case, the degree will be awarded in August, after all degree requirements have been completed.
Total Credits Needed for Graduation (124 semester hours)
- Completion of 124 semester hours; however, some majors may result in the student earning greater than 124 credit hours by graduation.
- Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher
- Completion of the designated semester hours in the major area with a GPA of 2.25 or higher as required by the major. Additional requirements as prescribed by each department must also be met.
- Completion of all general education requirements
Attendance at graduation exercises is required. Petitions for the “in absentia” granting of degrees must be approved by the university registrar.
Academic Honors - CAS and Pre-licensure Undergraduate Candidates
Graduation Honors are a recognition given to baccalaureate students at commencement to acknowledge outstanding grade point averages earned. No Honors are awarded at the associate or the master's degree level. Eligibility for Honors is determined as follows:
- A minimum of 80 graded hours from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting body or the Association for Biblical Higher Education (formerly the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges).
- A minimum of 40 graded hours must be from Indiana Wesleyan University.
- All graded qualified coursework transferred and transcripted are used solely in the calculation of the Honors GPA.
- For students with transfer work, the Indiana Wesleyan University GPA will appear on the transcript and in the shaded portion of the Grade Report; the Honors GPA, which will include grades from transferred courses, will appear below the shaded portion on the Grade Report.
Baccalaureate degree candidates will be awarded Honors as follows:
- GPA of 3.5 or higher - “cum laude” (with honors)
- GPA of 3.7 or higher - “magna cum laude” (with high honors)
- GPA of 3.9 or higher - “summa cum laude” (with highest honors)
Diplomas - CAS, SON Pre-licensure Nursing, and School of Health Sciences
Diplomas are mailed after the conferral of degrees. The university confers degrees three times a year in the spring, fall and winter (April, August and December). Diplomas indicate degree earned, date of degree, major, and honors. A student’s financial account must be settled to receive a diploma or transcript.
