Students should report to their college line-up area in Spragins Hall no later than one hour prior to their designated ceremony. You will receive a line-up card indicating your number in line and be instructed by University staff on when and where to line up. Your line-up card is the key to receiving your diploma.
- Students who completed all degree requirements during Summer 2008.
- Students who have applied for graduation and been audited for the Fall 2008 semester.
- Due to capacity restrictions, students graduating in the summer and fall may not participate in spring Commencement.
- Students scheduled to complete requirements during the Spring 2009 semester may NOT participate in the Fall 2008 Commencement ceremony. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
- Master’s and PhD students may not participate in Commencement unless all degree requirements have been satisfied.
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What to Bring to Commencement
Degree candidates should purchase their caps and gowns from the University Bookstore prior to the ceremony and should be sure to bring them, along with their tassels, to Commencement. Students should not bring purses, pagers, cell phones, etc., into Spragins Hall. Personal items may not be left in the assembly or robing areas during the ceremony.
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Academic Regalia
Commencement is an occasion marking a special time in a student’s academic career. Appropriate attire for the occasion is a black academic gown and mortarboard with no personal accessories or messages. Student members of academic honor societies may wear their insignia or honor cord of that academic honor society. Flowers, personal jewelry, pins or cords from social fraternities and sororities are not to be worn on academic robes. (See approved list below).
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Caps and Gowns
Caps and gowns may be purchased at Grad Finale or in the University Bookstore Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The last day to purchase caps and gowns is December 12.
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Tassels
White – Liberal Arts
Gold – Science
Orange – Engineering
Apricot – Nursing
Drab – Business
Old Gold – Doctoral
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UAH Honor Cords
UAH Honor Cords for those undergraduates who are eligible have been purchased by the University and will be available at Spragins Hall during the robing process. Graduation honors are not bestowed upon students receiving Masters or PhD degrees; therefore graduate degree recipients do not receive or wear honor cords.
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Graduation with Honors
Graduation with honors at the baccalaureate level requires a minimum of 60 semester hours at UAH. Honors will be determined by the grade-point average for the last 60 semester hours of coursework taken at UAH or the overall GPA for all coursework taken at UAH, whichever is higher. The academic terms containing the last 60 hours of coursework taken at UAH will be identified, and the GPA of all UAH courses taken during those terms to satisfy graduation requirements will be computed and the honors will be determined as follows:
- If the GPA computed as above is 3.90 or above, the student graduates summa cum laude.
- If the GPA computed as above is 3.70 or above (but below 3.90), the student graduates magna cum laude.
- If the GPA computed as above is 3.40 or above (but below 3.70), the student graduates cum laude.
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Approved Academic Honor Societies
Students graduating with university–wide and academic honors who are members of the following organizations may wear the cords, ribbons, collars, jewelry, etc., described below on their robes at Commencement.
University Honors—Gold Cords—Janet Waller
University Honor Societies
Omicron Delta Kappa—White, Black and blue twisted cords—Troy Skinner
Phi Kappa Phi—Blue and gold cords with fringed tassels—Donna Reed
Alpha Epsilon Delta—Purple and pink cords—Adriel Johnson
Sigma Xi-Scientific Research Society—Blue and white cords with tassels—Debra Moriarity
Alpha Lambda Delta—Gold, red, and white cords—Stephen Szilagyi
Delta Epsilon Iota—Blue and gold cords with tassels – Rick Shrout
Administrative Science
Beta Gamma Sigma (Business)—Blue ribbons—David Berkowitz
Beta Alpha Psi (Accounting)—Pins – Gene Bryson
Engineering
Omega Chi Epsilon (Chemical Engineering)—White satin collar (officers)—maroon and white cord/rope (members)—James Smith
Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering)—Gold braided cord with royal blue and scarlet tassels—Aleksandar Milenkovich
Alpha Pi Mu (Industrial & Systems Engineering) —White satin and gold stole—Paul Componation
Tau Beta Pi (Mechanical Engineering)—White satin collar and embroidered with bent in orange—Don Wallace
Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering)—Azure and murrey stole—Don Wallace
Sigma Gamma Tau (Aerospace Engineering) – Stole with red shoulders and white satin tips – Brian Landrum (4/20/07)
Liberal Arts
Kappa Pi (Art) – Purple and gold cords– K. Jill Johnson
Lambda Pi Eta (Communication Arts) —Red and white cords—Kristin Scroggin
Kappa Delta Pi (Education) — Teal green and purple cords—Mary Piersma
Sigma Tau Delta (English)—Red and black braided cords, 2” medallion attached to red ribbon—Julie Early
Phi Sigma Iota (Foreign Languages)—Purple and gold cords—Peter Meister
Phi Alpha Theta (History)—Madonna red and blue with multi-colored tassel at each end—Molly Johnson
Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science)—Medallions red ribbons—Thomas Williams
Psi Chi (Psychology)—Blue and gold cords—Sandra Carpenter
Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology)—Teal cord—Mitch Berbriar
Nursing
Sigma Theta Tau—Purple and white cords—Lynn C. McClellan
Science
Sigma Pi Sigma (Physics) Green and ivory tassels and cords—Robert Preece
Invitations
Commencement invitations may be purchased at Grad Finale, or in the University Bookstore or by visiting the Josten's website at http://www.shop.jostens.com/ or calling Josten's at their toll free number: 1-800-353-5299.
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Photography
The Commencement Committee has arranged to have ZAP Photography at the ceremony to take high quality photographs as you receive your diploma. Proofs will be sent to you within seven days after Commencement. There is no obligation to purchase the finished prints. If you order photographs, the prints will be delivered within thirty days or the deadline printed on the order card. If you choose to purchase a print, the cost for 5x7 color prints is $5.95 each. You may also wish to purchase an 8x10 in a folder for $11.95. If you do not want to purchase prints, you may keep the proof provided to you at no cost. ZAP Photography is the only photographer authorized by the University to sell photographs to the graduates.
PLEASE NOTE that to preserve the dignity of the ceremony, members of the audience are not allowed to come up to the stage to take pictures. Each graduate will have the opportunity to purchase prints from ZAP Photography.