Graduate Information

For students requiring additional accommodations for the Commencement ceremonies, please contact:

• Undergraduate students (associate or baccalaureate) - Registrar's Office at 785-628-4222 or registrar@fhsu.edu
• Graduate students (master's, Ed.S., and doctoral) - The Graduate School at 785-628-4236 or gradschool@fhsu.edu 

Sign Language interpreters

• Arrangements for sign language interpreters must be made by sending a request to the Registrar's Office by November 11, 2024.

Close Captioning

• Closed Captioning will be available on the jumbo screen in Gross Memorial Coliseum during each ceremony.

Undergraduate and graduate students must file an apply for program completion form (formerly Intent to Graduate form) in Workday for the last semester in which the degree is being sought.  Directions to Apply for Program Completion (APC).

To be included in the Fall 2024 commencement program and recognized in the ceremony, students will need to submit any changes to their Program Completion (APC) form by the deadline of: October 14, 2024.

No additional degree completion fee is charged to undergraduate or graduate candidates.  This policy is effective Fall 2023.

Graduates will receive their diplomas in the mail approximately four to six weeks after the end of the semester.  Your diploma will be mailed to your primary address or diploma mailing address within Workday.  If your primary address is incorrect, refer to the "My Primary Address Changes" job aid.  Note: if you are a student employee at FHSU, changing your primary address could have withholding and tax implications.

Associate's and Bachelor's degree candidates should contact their degree analyst in the Registrar's Office at 785-628-4222 or registrar@fhsu.edu with questions to change to their diploma address.

Master's, Ed.S. and DNP degree candidates should contact the Graduate School at 785-628-4236 or gradschool@fhsu.edu with questions to change their diploma address.

Your diploma will be mailed to your primary Address unless you create or designate a different Diploma Mailing Address.

To create or designate a different Diploma Mailing Address, log into Workday, go to your Student Profile and access your Contacts to edit.  Specific directions to either designate or create a different Diploma Mailing Address can be found in the Student Records section. 

FHSU will use the city, state, and country (NOT street address or zip code) in the primary mailing address as your hometown. This hometown will appear next to your name in the Commencement Program that friends, family, and other graduates receive at the graduation ceremonies.

To create or designate a different Hometown Address, log into Workday, go to your Student Profile and access your Contacts to edit. Specific directions for either designating or creating a different hometown address can be found in the Student Records section.

Candidates completing all degree requirements (associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degrees) during the Summer or Fall semesters are eligible to participate in fall commencement. Candidates completing all degree requirements during the Spring semester are eligible to participate in spring commencement.

Students with reasonable expectation to finish a degree during the summer term may participate in the spring commencement prior to completion. Summer graduates also have the option to attend the following fall commencement. However, all graduates are allowed only one opportunity to participate in commencement. Names will appear in the program for the ceremony in which the graduates are scheduled to participate. Undergraduate students present requests to the Registrar; graduate students present requests to the Dean of the Graduate School.

Bachelor's degree candidates who are earning graduation honors from Fort Hays State University wear a black-and-gold honor cord as part of their commencement gown. Honors are awarded based on the candidate’s grade point average (GPA) for both cumulative and Fort Hays State University coursework. Eligible students must have attended Fort Hays State University for one of the last two years.

• Cum Laude - Achievement of 3.60 to 3.79 GPA.
• Magna Cum Laude - Achievement of 3.80 to 3.89 GPA.
• Summa Cum Laude - Achievement of 3.90 or above GPA.

While honors will be listed in the commencement program for those who may reasonably anticipate them, the listing on the program is not a guarantee of receiving honors. The listing and reading of honors for degree candidates are based on the grade indexes achieved at the beginning of the student's final semester. The official honor awarded based on final grade indexes will be noted on the student's diploma and transcript.

There are no honors distinctions for Master's, Ed.S., or Doctoral degrees.

The diploma name must match the legal first and last name on file with Fort Hays State University.

To change a legal first and/or last name, on the diploma, see the “Change My Legal Name” job aid. FHSU requires you to upload a valid driver’s license, Social Security card, or passport with your new legal name to change it in the FHSU record system. Please submit any legal name updates as soon as possible.

Once a diploma is issued, any changes/updates to the name will require the purchase of another copy of the diploma.

The Registrar’s Office or Graduate School will email students if the diploma name submitted does not meet the standard outlined above. Any diploma name that does not match the legal first and last name will revert back to the legal name on file with the University before the degree is awarded and diplomas are issued.

Please note:

• Middle names may be added, removed, abbreviated or expanded as necessary until the designated APC deadline.
• Suffixes are permissible after the last name. (ex : Smith III)
• Periods are placed after all middle initials. If you do not want a period after your middle initial, please email registrar@fhsu.edu or gradschool@fhsu.edu with this request.
• To insert a special diacritical mark or accent, please copy and paste the character from Microsoft Word.
• Names in all capital letters will be changed to mixed case (only the first letter of each name is capitalized).
• The commencement programs and diplomas have hard print deadlines. Please submit changes by TBD. We cannot make any changes submitted after these deadlines.

Diploma names for international students must match the exact name as it appears on their passport, visa, insurance and other official documents. Various international governments and verification agencies accept a student’s diploma as official only if it is issued under the name listed on the official university record.

Please direct any questions you have to the Registrar’s Office at registrar@fhsu.edu or gradschool@fhsu.edu.

Ordering Your Regalia (cap and gown)

Regalia is provided to all graduates at no cost. 

If you are on-campus, you can pick up your regalia by:

• Calling (785.628.4417) and setting up a time with Victor E. Apparel and Gift Co. to pick it up in the store in the Memorial Union after GradFest.

If you are off-campus, you can pick up your regalia by:

• Arranging pick up before your ceremony by December 12, 2024 by 4:00 pm (CT) at the Victor E. Apparel and Gift Co. located in the Memorial Union. 
• Having Victor E. Apparel and Gift Co. ship your regalia to you.
  • NOTE: If you have your regalia shipped and you plan to attend the in-person ceremony, please allow plenty of time for your cap and gown to arrive. The deadline to submit your order is December 2, 2024 to have your regalia shipped prior to the Commencement ceremonies.

• Undergraduate candidates (associate and baccalaureate degrees) and Graduate candidates (master's, Ed.S. and Doctor of Nursing) - RSVP your attendance by contacting the Registrar's Office or the Graduate School after the December 2 deadline.

The pre-recorded Virtual Ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday, December 14 at 2:00 pm (CT) for the graduate degrees and at 4:00 pm (CT) for the undergraduate degrees.

Graduates unable to physically come to campus for the ceremonies, are recognized in a virtual ceremony on the Tiger Media Network on Saturday, December 14. The undergraduate and graduate ceremonies will feature formal remarks from the President, Provost, Kansas Board of Regents member and deans. All graduates (including those attending the on-campus ceremonies) will have their name and degree appear on a slide on the screen as it is read by the Reader of Names.  All names are read alphabetically by last name within the college.  The order of the colleges are identical to the on-campus schedule.  Names are not read by types of degrees.