Graduation & Commencement

Students alone possess the responsibility for completing all degree requirements. Faculty advisors, the Registrar, and other administrators are available to counsel students in their progress towards degree completion.

Application for Graduation
By the end of the seventh week of the semester prior to the expected graduation, a student anticipating degree completion must submit to the Office of the Registrar a completed graduation application. A student is not eligible to graduate unless the application is submitted. The application is specific to the semester of graduation; failure to complete coursework in that semester requires reapplication.

Graduation Requirements
Upon recommendation of the faculty and with the approval of the Board of Trustees, the degree of Bachelor of Arts is conferred upon students who have met the following requirements for graduation:

• Satisfactorily completed the minimum total semester hours required for the selected major.
• Satisfactorily completed all general education requirements of the core curriculum.
• Satisfactorily completed all upper division credit hours.
• Maintained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher overall.
• Maintained a 2.5 GPA in the major. No grade in the major may be lower than a "C-".
• Earned a minimum of a "C-" on a one-credit Directed Research and Writing or practicum project dedicated to an integration essay that combines faith and learning (completed during the senior year).
• Earned a passing grade in all hours required for graduation.
• Settled all financial and disciplinary obligations, and returned all equipment and library materials to the College.

Students may graduate at the end of any term in which they complete the degree requirements. The minimum time to complete the degree is three years.

Commencement Ceremony
The Commencement ceremony is held each May. Eligibility to participate in Commencement is limited to those who have completed all degree requirements or have six or less total outstanding credits in the following categories: 1) foreign language*; 2) external internships; and/or 3) credit failed in the final semester. Courses with the grade of ‘Incomplete’ or courses taken at other institutions where transcripts have not been received by May 1 are considered outstanding credits. Graduation (i.e., conferral of degree) occurs only upon fulfillment of all degree requirements and is dated at the end of the term in which the final degree requirement is completed.

*Beginning with students under the degree requirements of the 2009-2010 Catalog where no foreign language credits are specifically designated, satisfactory fulfillment of the degree program's foreign language proficiency requirement is necessary in order to participate in Commencment.

Graduation Honors
Patrick Henry College recognizes two forms of Academic Honors during the Commencement ceremony: Latin Honors and Major Honors.

Patrick Henry College graduates will be honored for high cumulative academic achievement:

High academic achievement in the major field of study will also be honored: