Conferral of Degrees and Transcripts

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Conferral of Degrees

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill confers degrees three times a year, each May, August, and December, to students who have completed all degree requirements. Students must apply to graduate on a degree award date through ConnectCarolina no later than the last day of classes of that term.

A degree cannot be awarded to a student who does not meet requirements by the conferral deadline, such as:

  • Has any temporary grade on their academic record; this includes but is not limited to non-permanent grades: AB, IN, NG, NR, SP.
  • Has pending credits to be approved and posted to their academic record (even if not required for graduation); this includes but is not limited to:
    • Credit earned while studying abroad
    • Transfer credit
    • Interinstitutional credit
    • Robertson Scholars credit
    • UNC Online credit

Students with temporary grades or pending credits not resolved within 60 days of the degree award date must request a subsequent graduation. The degree is conferred following completion of requirements at a later date. A degree will not be awarded retroactively.

Adjustments may be made to a transcript only for one year following the date of graduation. For instance, grade appeals can be initiated after graduation. However, graduation with distinction or highest distinction is based only on the grade point average at the time that the degree is conferred. In such indications of a second major or minor can be added to the transcript within one year after the degree conferral date for students who neglected to declare a second major or a minor prior to graduation, provided that all requirements were completed at the time of graduation.

Transcripts of Record

A statement of official academic record includes all significant recorded information concerning the student’s admission, classification, and scholarship. No partial or incomplete scholastic record will be given.

The student’s transcript notes his or her academic eligibility status. A statement of honorable dismissal will not be granted to students whose conduct and character would not entitle them to remain enrolled at the University or whose transcripts contain a notation of any probation, suspension, or other temporary restriction imposed for unsatisfactory conduct and still in force when the statement is made.

The University does not release an official transcript unless tuition, fees, and other obligations due the University have been paid. Students may order a transcript electronically through the link in their ConnectCarolina Student Center. This process provides an electronic authorization that allows the Office of the University Registrar to release the transcript at the student’s request. Students may inspect their academic records at the Office of the University Registrar, Student and Academic Services Building North. For more information on how to request a transcript, please visit the Office of the University Registrar's website.

Policy on Awarding of Undergraduate Degrees and Transcript Notations

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will award only one bachelor’s degree to a student, regardless of a possible second-major declaration, and will not award a degree to a student who has already earned a bachelor’s degree through another school of the University or at another college. Undergraduates in professional schools may earn a second major (not a second degree) in the College of Arts and Sciences or another professional school, but the first major must be in the professional school. Exception: After receiving a bachelor’s degree a student may be admitted to and earn a second bachelor’s degree in from one of the health profession schools at the University. Under no circumstances can a second undergraduate degree be awarded after one has been earned in one of the health professions.

Students pursuing two major fields of study for the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree earn only one degree and receive only one diploma. Both the diploma and the official transcript will indicate the degree and the two majors.

Students completing the requirements for both a bachelor of science degree and a bachelor of arts degree earn only the bachelor of science degree and receive only that diploma. Students completing the requirements for both a bachelor of arts degree and a bachelor of fine arts or bachelor of music degree earn only the bachelor of fine arts or bachelor of music degree and receive only that diploma. Note that these students must complete General Education requirements pertinent to the bachelor of arts as well as all requirements for the bachelor of fine arts or bachelor of music degree. Both the diploma and the official transcript will indicate the degree (with its major) and the second major.

Related Policies

Under no circumstances can a second undergraduate degree be awarded in Academic Affairs after one has been earned in Health Affairs. In the rare instance that an undergraduate student completes the requirements for an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree at the same time, the two degrees cannot be awarded at the same graduation. The undergraduate degree must be awarded first, and the graduate degree awarded at a subsequent degree award date.

Students who apply to graduate on a given degree award date, but who must complete requirements (such as courses with grades of IN or AB) after that degree award date, must reapply to graduate on a degree award date that follows the actual completion of requirements. Coursework taken after the degree award date cannot be used to change a degree already awarded, or to complete retroactively a degree, or to add retroactively an additional major or minor.

Adjustments may be made to a transcript only for one year following the date of graduation. Grade appeals, for instance, can be initiated after graduation. Courses with temporary grades not affecting graduation (AB or IN) can be completed after the date of graduation and the grade point average changed accordingly; however, the student’s status at the time of graduation is not affected. Graduation with distinction or highest distinction is based only on the grade point average at the time that the degree is officially conferred and posted on the academic transcript, and may not be awarded retroactively. Students who neglect to declare a second major or a minor at the time of graduation may request that the dean’s office verify that the requirements had been satisfied at the time of graduation. In such cases, indication of the second major or minor can be added to the transcript within one year after the graduation date.