Graduation

The University awards degrees and certificates in May, August and December. A Commencement ceremony is held once a year in May. Students must complete all degree requirements and apply for graduation by the published due date. All graduating students for the academic year (August, December and May) are invited to participate in the May ceremony.

Graduation Requirements

A student must meet all the requirements for a degree in their Catalog. A student is assigned their Catalog (by year) corresponding to their acceptance to the University. All undergraduate degrees at NDMU require a minimum of 120 credits.  A student who withdraws, or is withdrawn from the institution (either voluntary or by compulsion) is assigned a new Catalog (by year) upon readmission to the University. A student may elect to change their Program of Study/Major at any time during their academic tenure (with the exception of thier final semester); their Catalog (by year) will not change. Students may not change their Major, Minor, Concentration, or Option in the term of their graduation. Students may not graduate in the term they are accepted.

There are several requirements which must be completed by all students prior to graduation.

The student must:

1. Complete all academic requirements for a degree based on their Catalog. This includes the General Education requirements, Other requirements, and Major or Minor requirements of the particular Program of Study in which the student is enrolled;
2. Attain a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.0 (note: some Programs of Study require a higher minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average or a minimum Grade Point Average for the Major requirements);
3. Ascertain, through the College of the Major, that her/his academic record is accurate and complete. This should be done not later than one semester prior to graduation;
4. Submit an application to the Registrar's Office by the published deadline. The student will be required to make this formal application and state the exact name to appear on the diploma;
5. Pay the graduation application fee. A student who has previously paid a diploma fee, but who failed to graduate at the time expected, must re-apply and pay the diploma fee again;*
6. Satisfy all assessment requirements associated with the student's Program of Study;
7. Satisfy all financial indebtedness to the University cleared prior to graduation; and
8. Complete an exit interview for Financial Aid, if applicable.

*on occassion a graduation application maybe moved to the next semester for graduation and the previoulsy paid fee is advanced and credited toward graduation fee.

A student who does not follow and complete the above requirements and procedures will not be allowed to graduate.

Graduation - Application

All students must file a Graduation Application with the Registrar's Office to initiate the graduation process. This application is required irrespective of the student's intent to participate in the Commencement Ceremony. Filing a Graduation Application will initiate a formal review of credits and requirements by the both the School and Registrar's Office staff. Students earning a certificate must also file a Certificate Completion Application with the registrar's office to initiate the formal review of earned credits. Both forms are available on the website.

The deadlines for submitting this Application are as follows:

Failure to submit the Application by the above published deadline will result in postponement of the conferring of the degree until the next graduation period.

The NDMU Commencement Ceremony is held each May. All August and December graduates are invited to participate in May Commencement Ceremony.

A Grade Point Average of 2.0 on a 4-point scale is required for graduates. Diplomas are withheld until the graduate's account is paid in full. Graduates may purchase tams, gowns and hoods at the campus bookstore.

A student with an outstanding financial obligation to the University will not receive their diploma or an official transcript until all obligations have been met.

Graduation - Honors

Degrees with Latin Honors are conferred to undergraduate students who achieve the following Grade Point Average based on work at Notre Dame of Maryland University:

To earn Honors at graduation, students must earn a minimum of 60 credits in graded coursework at NDMU. This excludes credits earned in Pass/Fail courses (including standardized testing, petitioning for credit and transfer).

Because Latin Honors are not conferred until degrees are earned, those honors identified in the Commencement Program for May graduates are anticipated based on the student's last term prior to the term of their graduation.

Graduation - Commencement Ceremony Participation Policy

Undergraduate students within two courses of completing their requirements toward their degree may ask permission to participate in Commencement. Requesting students must be in Academic Good Standing. They must also demonstrate their remaining coursework can be completed at NDMU in time to fulfill requirements for August graduation. Students seeking credit through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Excelsior College Examinations, NDMU challenge exams or petitioning for any other credit must provide documentation of successful completion of these credits before the end of the spring semester preceding Commencement. Students may not participate in Commencement with CLEP, Excelsior, challenge exam or petitioned credits pending.

Students requesting permission to participate in the Commencement Ceremony before completing graduation requirements must submit their request, along with the Graduation Application, no later than February 15 to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.  The Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs will consider the request and deny or approve it.  No appeal is permitted.  For students granted the right to participate, announcement of their names in the Commencement Program will be followed by an asterisk indicating an anticipated, later graduation date. Since Latin Honors are not conferred until degrees are earned, there will be no Latin Honors noted in the Program for students participating in Commencement before degree completion.

Graduation Requirements - Earning two degrees simultaneously at NDMU

Students who wish to earn two baccalaureate degrees at NDMU simultaneously may do so, provided the Majors have different degree designations (e.g., Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, etc.) and they:

1. Complete all requirements for both degrees;
2. Meet all quality point average and grade requirements applicable to both degrees;
3. Develop degree plans with both colleges if the two degrees being sought are in different Colleges;
4. Meet the requirement for each degree Major (typically, the last 30 or 25% of the earned credit hours must be taken at NDMU – students should check with their College for specific requirements); and
5. Students cannot declare a Minor in the area in which the other baccalaureate is being earned.

Graduation Requirements - Residency

For all undergraduate students, the last 30 credits must be taken at NDMU. A transfer student or a student who enters with advanced standing from another university and becomes a candidate for a bachelor's degree at NDMU must fulfill a minimum requirement of two semesters (Fall, Spring or Summer) at NDMU and must earn at least 30 credit hours required for the degree through instruction offered by the University. A minimum of 50% of the courses included in the Major requirements in a NDMU Program of Study must be taken at Notre Dame University Maryland. No credit earned at a community or junior college may be used for credit at the 300 or 400 course level unless the course is specificaly designed as part of an Official Articulation or Memorandum of Understanding between institutions. Additional restrictions may apply.

Graduation Requirements - Substitutions and Waivers of Degree Requirements

A substitution is defined as a course that is outside of the prescribed curricula that is used to substitute for a course that is within the prescribed curricula. At NDMU, no more than five (5) courses may be substituted at the Major level within a prescribed curriculum.

A waiver is defined as an exception to a required Program of Study component. In addition, some Programs of Study require external benchmarks such as meeting a minimum score on a required test and/or other courses or series of courses to satisfy a particular Learning Objective.  Students are encouraged to discuss any deviation of prescribed coursework with their advisor. Waivers of degree requirements must be approved by the Academic Advisor, the Dean of the College, and the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.  A Waiver does not waive credit hour requirements toward total credits required for Graduation (e.g., 120). Waiver and Course Substitition Forms are available on the University Registrar's Website.

Honor Societies

Membership in the following honor societies is open to students whose academic performance in the subject area is outstanding.

• Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Honor Society.
• Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society (Alpha Xi Chapter).
• Delta Mu Delta National Honor Society in Business Administration (Epsilon Rho Chapter).
• Eta Sigma Phi National Classical Honor Society (Beta Kappa Chapter).
• Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education (Phi Xi Chapter).
• Kappa Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society.
• Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society (Nu Pi Chapter).
• Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society (Epsilon Iota Chapter) for promoting international understanding.
• Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society (Alpha Delta Nu Chapter).
• Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Honor Society (Epsilon Zeta Chapter).
• Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology.
• Sigma Tau Delta National Honor Society in English.
• Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society in Nursing (Mu Eta Chapter).
• Theta Alpha Kappa National Honor Society for Theology and Religious Studies.
• Theta Sigma Pi Association for Women in Communications, Inc.

Membership in two national Catholic honor societies is open to Notre Dame students, one for juniors and one for seniors. Only those students with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible for nomination. Membership is determined by faculty vote. These societies are:

• Delta Epsilon Sigma National Scholastic Honor Society (Alpha Delta Chapter) and Kappa Gamma Pi National Honor Society for Graduates of Catholic Schools.

Membership in Alpha Sigma Lambda (Delta Chi Chapter), a national honor society for continuing higher education students, is open to the top 20 percent of adult matriculants who have completed a minimum of 30 course credits at Notre Dame. At least 12 of these credits must be in the liberal arts/sciences and outside the student's major field. Students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher.