Graduation Requirements

Students are eligible for awarding of a bachelor’s degree when they fulfill the following requirements.

Credits

• A minimum of 180 quarter credits is required for a baccalaureate degree; students should note, however, that some bachelor’s degrees have requirements in excess of 180 credits. Central allows a maximum of 135 quarter (90 semester) credits to transfer from regionally accredited four-year institutions, including no more than 105 quarter (70 semester) credits of lower division (100-200 level) coursework from a regionally accredited community or technical college. Additional coursework that exceeds this amount may be used to meet specific requirements, but additional credits will not be allowed to count toward the 180 credit requirement for graduation.
• A minimum of 60 credits of upper-division study is required. Upper-division courses are numbered 300 and 400. Credits earned in study at the lower division (courses numbered 100- 299) will not be allowed toward meeting this requirement.
• Students must study on the university campus, through CWU online course, or at an established university center at least three quarters and earn a minimum of 45 credits. Credits earned through industrial experience, military experience, or through credit by examination may not be used to meet residency requirements.
• Up to 45 credits may be counted from course challenge or other prior learning assessments.
• Transfer students must earn a minimum of 10 credits in the major and, if a minor is declared, 10 credits in the minor from CWU.
• Cooperative education courses will apply toward graduation requirements, but in no case will a student be allowed to count more than 10 credits at the 290 level nor more than 20 total credits toward graduation requirements. No more than 10 credits are accepted in transfer. No more than eight credits may be applied to a graduate degree. Cooperative education courses may be repeated if field experience learning objectives and activities are distinctly different from previous work or field experience.
• Students who have accumulated 210 or more credits and intend to complete a double major or double degree, and have not yet completed either program, must meet with both department advisors and submit one graduation plan signed by both department chairs and both major advisors to Office of the Registrar. This also applies to double majors in different colleges. If one major has been completed, only the advisor and the department chair for the uncompleted major need to review and sign the petition.
• Students who have accumulated 210 or more credits and intend to include one or more minors in their academic plan are required to obtain the approvals of their major and minor advisor.

Degree Components

• The general education program must be completed as defined in the university catalog.
• Students transferring from Washington State community colleges holding the appropriate academic direct transfer associate degree will have met the general education program requirements.
• Completion of all requirements for a major as specified by the appropriate department, as defined in the university catalog, is required.
• Completion of a minor is required when the major is less than 60 credits. In that case the total credits of the major and minor must total a minimum of 60 credits.
• All professional education programs require completion of professional education courses in addition to completion of the major requirements.
• A student may be awarded more than one baccalaureate degree (BA, BAEd, BFA, BMUS, BS) at the same time provided that requirements of both the degree programs have been completed. Double majors within the same baccalaureate program do not constitute separate baccalaureate degrees. In disciplines offering multiple baccalaureate degrees with identical or similar names, e.g., BA or BS in Biology, only one degree will be awarded. Exceptions to this policy require approval by the department chair and the appropriate dean.
• Successful demonstration of writing and computational skills is required for graduation.
• Students who enter Central Washington University with 45 or fewer credits must complete UNIV 101 Student Success Seminar. Students must enroll in UNIV 101 during their first quarter at CWU.
• University General Education Policy requires that students have completed either two years of the same foreign language, Native American language, or American Sign Language in high school, or one year of college-level foreign language. If this requirement was completed prior to enrollment at the University, the student must submit official transcripts to the Office of Admissions. If foreign language has not been satisfied prior to enrollment, then the student must take one year of foreign language before graduating from the university.

Scholastic Requirements

• Graduation and graduation with honors are based on credits and grade point averages (GPA) earned at the time the degree is awarded. For more information regarding graduation with honors, please review the Graduation with Distinction section of the catalog. When a degree is awarded the academic record is frozen and no grade changes may be performed. Final responsibility for meeting graduation requirements resides with the student.
• In order to graduate, students must have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.0 (C) in courses taken at CWU.
• Students must also have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.25 in the major and 2.0 in the minor field of study. All courses fulfilling the major and minor requirements, including courses accepted in transfer, are used in computing the major and minor GPA.
• Specific degree and professional certification programs may have more stringent degree requirements than those specified above.
• Transfer students must earn from CWU a minimum of 10 credits in the major and, if a minor is declared, 10 credits in the minor.

Teacher Certification Program

• Cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 for the last 45 graded credits, OR an overall (all colleges attended) cumulative grade point average of 3.0.
• Grade point average of at least 2.5 for major, minor and professional education sequence.
• No grade lower than a C in major or minor, and foundation coursework, will be accepted for certification.

Application for Degree

Degrees are not automatically awarded when requirements are completed. It is the responsibility of the student to apply for the degree in Office of the Registrar. Application for the bachelor’s degree must be submitted by the second Friday of the quarter preceding the quarter in which the degree is to be completed. Students who apply for graduation after the deadline may incur late fees. Complete instructions and deadlines are available in Office of the Registrar and through university center offices. Step-by-step instructions may be found at https://www.cwu.edu/registrar/graduation.

Final responsibility for meeting graduation requirements and deadline dates resides with the student.

Exceptions to university graduation requirements must be petitioned to the registrar. An exception approval may be obtained from the general education committee, department, or program chair and college dean where appropriate. Exceptions to majors or minors and Teacher Certification Programs must be approved by the appropriate department chair and college dean or designee.

Commencement Participation

Students who have met graduation requirements during the current academic year, summer through winter quarters, and those expecting to meet the requirements during the current spring may register to participate in the spring graduation ceremony. Registration must be completed by the commencement ceremony deadline.

Candidates for summer graduation who wish to participate in the spring commencement ceremony prior to issuance of a degree must submit an application for graduation prior to the spring quarter deadline.

Candidates who are completing student teaching or a full-time internship in the following fall may petition the commencement committee with the approval of the major advisor and dean to participate in spring commencement. Fall candidates must apply for graduation by the summer deadline date; then petition the commencement committee to participate in commencement.

Students participating in commencement exercises must wear commencement regalia approved by the commencement committee.

Exceptions to commencement procedures must be approved by the commencement committee.

Graduation with Distinction

Baccalaureate honors are awarded to recipients of a first bachelor’s degree as a matriculated student, according to the following cumulative GPA:

3.500 to 3.699 - cum laude
3.700 to 3.899 - magna cum laude
3.900 to 4.000 - summa cum laude

The cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude honor will be noted on the recipient’s diploma and university transcript.

Other distinctions:

President’s Scholars: President’s Scholars are those students who, in the current academic year, have cumulative GPA’s in the top 1% of their respective school or college class. GPA is calculated by existing university policy.

Dean’s Scholars: Dean’s scholars are those students who, in the current academic year, have a cumulative GPA in the top 5% of their respective school or college class (but not including the top 1%). GPA is calculated by existing university policy. Eligible individual study majors will be determined by the Provost or designee.

The following conditions must be met in order to be considered for graduation with distinction:

1. At least forty-five (45) of the credits required for the degree must be earned at Central Washington University in courses taken on the A-F graded basis.
2. Credits earned by course challenge, CLEP® and other national examinations, military experiences or courses, prior learning assessments, non-college courses and industrial experience will not be allowed toward the 45 credits required for eligibility.
3. Honors shall be based on the GPA of all A-F graded college-level credits earned at Central.

For commencement purposes, the Office of the Registrar will calculate the top percentage for declared graduates based on the end-of-winter quarter data for spring, summer, and eligible fall graduation candidates. .

Final determination of honors will be based on final grades the term the degree is conferred.

Concurrent Baccalaureate Degrees

A student may be awarded more than one baccalaureate degree (BA, BAEd, BAS, BFA, BM, BS) at the same time provided that requirements of both degree programs have been completed. Double majors within the same baccalaureate program do not constitute separate baccalaureate degrees except in cases where the second degree requires 60 or more credits that do not satisfy any degree requirements of the first degree.

In disciplines offering multiple baccalaureate degrees with identical or similar names, such as BA and BS in biology, only one degree will be awarded. Exceptions to this policy require approval by the department chair and appropriate dean.

Second Baccalaureate Degree

Qualified students seeking second baccalaureate degrees are admitted to post-baccalaureate status; this does not mean, however, that they are enrolled in an “advanced degree program.” To receive a second baccalaureate degree, students must complete: (1) all degree requirements not satisfied by the previous degree, and (2) a minimum of 45 quarter credits from Central.

Second baccalaureate students must be accepted into a degree or certificate program by the time they have earned 25 credits beyond their last degree. Once a degree objective has been declared, second baccalaureate students must develop graduation plans with academic advisors. Academic department chairs may grant extensions beyond the 25-credit limit. Second baccalaureate degree students follow regulations applicable to undergraduates.

Second baccalaureate degree students may request from the department that any requirement of a minor be satisfied by the initial bachelor’s degree earned provided that the requirements of the minor were completed in prior course work.

CWU reserves the right to review a post-baccalaureate student’s transfer work to determine fulfillment of requirements.