This page offers information for undergraduates who will complete their degree requirements at the end of a fall term. Students must submit the Yale College Petition for Fall Degree Conferral. For more information on that process, please review the subsection Completion of the Degree Requirements in the Yale College Programs of Study.
If a student’s last term of enrollment is a fall term then their Yale Health coverage will end on January 31. See Yale Health Coverage Start Dates and End Dates.
After degree conferral, contact the Yale Alumni Association to confirm your class affiliation for purposes of reunions and alumni relations.
All students with a fall degree conferral can have their diploma mailed to them or can arrange to pick them up at the University Registrar’s Office. Use Yale Hub to enter a diploma mailing address. Diplomas are usually mailed at the beginning of March. Questions can be directed to diplomas@yale.edu.
You may participate in Commencement exercises in the May ceremony prior to or after receiving your degree, unless you have already “walked” at the prior year’s Commencement, in which case you may not participate in the ceremony again. Be sure to communicate your intentions to your residential college dean.
See Special Academic Arrangements - Completion of Degree Requirements at the End of the Fall Term in the Yale College Programs of Study.
To complete your degree requirements at the end of a fall term you must submit the Yale College Petition for Fall Degree Conferral by September 15. Students who submit this form after that deadline will be charged a fine of $20.
If you meet all degree requirements and have no pending final grades by January 31, your degree will be conferred accordingly. Please note that degree clearance can take several weeks. Check your unofficial transcript on Yale Hub to confirm that your degree has been awarded before ordering official transcripts. Distinction in the Major and General Honors, based on the previous class’s cutoffs, will be awarded at conferral. Your degree can be verified by providing an official transcript. If further verification is needed, please visit the University Registrar’s Office Verifications website.
If you do not meet all requirements or have pending final grades by January 31, you will not have your degree conferred with the fall degree conferral date. Please work with your Residential College Dean’s Office and your Director of Undergraduate Studies to create a degree completion plan.
If you complete your degree requirements at the end of a fall semester, you are not eligible to enroll in the spring semester as a regular student or to receive financial aid. Your ID card will be deactivated, and you will lose access to Yale buildings and borrowing privileges at Yale Library. Please see the account deactivation timeline on this website and information on Graduating Students on the Student Technology website.
If you complete your degree requirements at the end of a fall term and you are a loan borrower, the last date of the fall term begins the typical six-month grace period before your loan goes into repayment. If it is an interest-bearing loan, you have an opportunity to pay off any accrued interest during this time to avoid capitalization. (Private loans and federal loans are subject to varying terms.) If you have additional questions and would like to speak with a financial aid counselor, schedule an appointment.
You must be enrolled as a full-time student to be in F-1 status. If you complete your degree requirements at the end of a fall semester, you are not eligible to enroll in the spring semester. For this reason, international Yale College students in F-1 status who complete their degree requirements at the end of a fall semester will have an I-20 (immigration document) with a program end date that corresponds to the last day of exams of that fall semester. If you intend to complete your degree requirements at the end of a fall semester and if your current I-20 end date does not correspond to the last day of exams in that fall semester, please contact your designated OISS adviser.
If you wish to remain in the U.S. and gain practical experience post-graduation beyond the fall semester, you should apply for Post-Completion Optional Practical Training (OPT). You can start working in the U.S. using OPT in the Spring semester preceding the completion of your degree requirements. More information about OPT can be found on the OISS website.
Since you are no longer an active student, you are no longer eligible for a student job. You can work as a temporary employee by viewing open positions at Work at Yale.
No, once a student has completed their degree, they are no longer eligible for on-campus housing in the residential colleges or other on-campus housing.
Yes, students who have completed their degree during a fall term must remove all their belongings from their rooms and check out of their on-campus housing via the housing portal.
No, students who have completed their degree during a fall term may not store belongings in their residential college or other on-campus facilities.