Academic Requirements

Students are required to follow the Commencement Participation Policy and submit a Notice of Candidacy Form.

Commencement Participation Policy

In order to participate in the May Commencement ceremony, students must:

1. Submit a completed Notice of Candidacy to Graduate (NoC) form to the Office of the Registrar by the deadline (Rindge Campus students: October 1; Online and Graduate students: February 1). The Registrar's office must approve all submitted NoCs. Late NoCs will be accepted, but one’s ceremony eligibility will not be guaranteed.
2. Not have participated in any previous Franklin Pierce University Commencement Ceremony for this degree.
3. Fall under any of the following:
   1. Have already graduated between the previous summer and April prior to Commencement.
   2. Complete all requirements in Rindge Spring, Graduate Student Teach 4, Undergraduate Term 4, or Graduate Term 3 in order to graduate in May.
   3. Be pre-registered for, or have submitted a plan with the NoC to complete all necessary courses in Undergraduate Summer 1 or 2, Graduate Term 4, or transfer in outstanding credits in order to graduate by August, and have nine or fewer credits remaining, as listed on the approved NoC.

Exceptions

Undergraduate Education majors who have completed all curricular requirements other than student teaching, who will be student teaching during the subsequent Fall semester, are eligible to participate in the May Ceremony. Students in the M.Ed. program who meet all other conditions of requirement 3c), above, who will be student teaching during the subsequent Graduate Student Teach Term 1 and/or have credits totaling 12 or fewer remaining, are eligible to participate in the May Ceremony.

Latin Honors

Undergraduate students will be awarded Latin honors upon conferral of the Bachelor degree if they have completed a minimum of 60 semester hours at Franklin Pierce and meet all other criteria (see catalog for complete details). For students who complete graduation requirements in Rindge Spring semester or Undergraduate Term 4, Latin honors listed in the program at the May Commencement ceremony will be determined by CGPA at the end of Rindge Fall semester or Undergraduate Term 3. Final Latin honors for all undergraduates will be determined by credits and CGPA earned when the student completes all requirements, and will be recorded on the student’s diploma and final transcript.

Please note

There is a distinction between applying to graduate and participating in the Commencement ceremony. The student is graduated only after the Registrar’s office has certified successful completion of all degree and graduation requirements. Participating in the Commencement ceremony is simply the act of honoring and celebrating academic achievement. The Commencement ceremony is held once a year in May at the University’s traditional campus in Rindge, New Hampshire. Students will be graduated at the end of the semester or term in which all degree and graduation requirements have been met.

Submit a Notice of Candidacy Form