Meet with your Academic Advisor or Department Chair to verify all requirements have been met, except the final grades for the course(s) for which you are currently enrolled. Students may monitor their degree progression using RAMPath - Degree Works. Students should contact their advisor and department chair about concerns regarding their degree audit.

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the general education requirements, major and minor requirements, a candidate for a baccalaureate degree must meet Academic, Residence and Catalog requirements and regulations in effect at the time of initial enrollment. Refer to the Undergraduate Catalog at the time of initial enrollment.

All degree candidates, including transfer students, are allowed six years from the date of enrollment at the university to complete the curriculum under the requirements and regulations in effect at the time of enrollment. After six years, the current requirements and regulations must be met. For this purpose, the six years will be counted from August 1 of the year of enrollment to August 1 of the year of graduation. Substitutions and/or changes in course requirements must be recommended by the Department Chair and approved by the Dean.

Please visit our Legal Affairs for more information regarding the 302.7 - Undergraduate Degree Requirements policy.

GRADUATE and PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS ONLY

In addition to degree requirements, a candidate for a graduate degree must meet Academic, Residence and Catalog requirements and regulations in effect at the time of initial enrollment. Refer to the Graduate Catalog at the time of initial enrollment.

A graduate student has six calendar years to complete his or her degree program. The period begins with the student’s first term of work after formal admission to a degree-granting program. Work completed as a non-degree student does not initiate the six-year period for completing a degree program. Courses taken more than six calendar years prior to the admission of a student into a degree program at WSSU normally are not accepted for credit toward fulfilling the requirements of the student’s degree program. A student may petition the academic dean to request that work that is more than six years old be accepted for credit. Such petitions must include an explanation and the endorsement of the Graduate Program Coordinator and departmental chair.

Please visit our Legal Affairs for more information regarding the 303.10 - Graduate Degree Requirements policy.

Complete and submit the online application for graduation through your Banner RAMS Online account, observing deadlines listed above. A $50 graduation application fee is automatically assessed upon the submission of the graduation application.  The Graduation application fee must be paid prior to the end of the semester, otherwise, degrees are held until all fees/balances are paid.

Undergraduate students must have completed at least 90 semester hours and have at least a 1.90 cumulative GPA at the time of the submission to access and submit an online undergraduate graduation application.

For step-by-step instructions, please click the link to the Self Service Graduation Application.

If you are unable to apply for graduation, please contact your Department Chair and Graduation Services immediately via email at graduation_services@wssu.edu.

Please allow 2-4 weeks to complete degree conferrals. You will receive an email/text message from Parchment, which allows 72 hours for you to update your current mailing address. Once the notification has been received, follow the steps below:

1. Click on the link in this email.
2. Create a password.
3. Share your digital degree on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, via the verified link or download a secure PDF later.

As you celebrate your accomplishment on social media, don't forget to use the hashtag #WSSUGrad.

After completing all certification requirements, education majors must clear with their program coordinators, as well as the licensure officer.

After consulting with your program coordinator, please call (336) 750-2554 for an appointment.

A student who is graduating and has a subsidized or unsubsidized student loan during their matriculation, must complete the mandatory exit questionnaire counseling form online at StudentAid.gov. The loan counseling process takes approximately 1 hour.

Students who received Student Loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, during their matriculation, must complete the exit counseling online at StudentAid.gov. It is mandatory for students who have received a student loan to complete this questionnaire. The entire loan counseling session will take about an hour. This website is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We encourage you to start this process now.

If you have questions regarding repayment or loan forbearance, please contact the Department of Education at 1-800-433-3243.

For further information, please contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid via email at financial.aid@wssu.edu or via phone at (336) 750-3296.

Exit interviews for seniors who received funds from the Federal Perkins and University Loans will need to be completed online at Mapping Your Future.

For further information, contact the Office of Students accounts via email at studentaccounts@wssu.edu or phone at 336-750-2812 to schedule an appointment.

The Graduation Fee of $50.00 is automatically charged to your student account by the Office of the Registrar. Please consult with the Office of Student Accounts to ensure you have no outstanding charges to your student account. Also check with Campus Police and the Library to clear any outstanding fines or debts that have been posted to your student account.

Degrees will not be released for anyone whose record has an outstanding balance or a "hold" by any department within the University. Graduates may view their holds in Banner RAMS Online in the Student Main Menu by selecting the following:

1. Student Main Menu
2. Student Records
3. View Holds

Students may start paying their fee(s) immediately.

For further information, contact the Office of Students accounts via email at studentaccounts@wssu.edu or phone at 336-750-2812 to schedule an appointment.

As you embark on this exciting new chapter in your life, we would like to hear about the path you have chosen to take after graduating from WSSU. The First Destination Survey is a brief online survey that asks about what graduating students are doing or plan to do upon graduating from WSSU. Graduates are asked about their employment plans, career fields, job location, employers, salary, and other plans such as graduate or professional education.

Whether your career or graduate school plans are firmly in place, a work in progress, or still unknown, we ask you to complete the survey as best you can, so we know what it is that you are doing after graduation. With the information you share, we will work to enhance services provided to all WSSU alumni as well as current and future RAMS to help you reach your career and post-graduation goals. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Career Development Services at 336-750-3240 or careerscvs@wssu.edu.  Thank you for your participation!

Register online with the Winston- Salem State University’s Alumni Engagement Office by completing the Alumni Update Form. Complete the form as indicated. You will receive a note stating the form has been sent. You may use that as verification of completion. You must clear with the Alumni Engagement Office. For additional information regarding this form please email Alumni Engagement at alumniengagement@wssu.edu.

Latin Honors Eligibility:  Undergraduate candidates must have completed at least sixty (60) semester hours of graded coursework offered by Winston-Salem State University (traditional and non-traditional delivery).

Distinction Honors Eligibility:  Undergraduate candidates must have completed at least thirty (30) semester hours of graded coursework offered by Winston-Salem State University (traditional and non-traditional delivery).

Below are the minimum hours and grade point averages which must be attained to graduate with honors at Winston-Salem State University. Also included are the honor cord colors.

Honors Designation on Transcript

The honors designation is based on the undergraduate candidate’s final academic coursework at Winston-Salem State University at the end of their final semester and will be printed on their academic transcript only.

Honors Bachelor's Degree

Students having received the Honors Program's General Honors and Departmental Honors Awards will also be eligible for the Honors Bachelor's Degree. The honor will be recorded on student's academic record.

Honors Designation in Spring Commencement Program

The honors designations in the commencement programs for fall and spring undergraduates are based on the cumulative GPA earned at the end of the preceding semester. Since end of the semester grades will not be reported at the time the programs are printed, some modifications in the tentative honors shown will have to be made following the recording of the final semester grades.

Distribution: Honors cords will be included in the diploma packet for summer graduates. Honors cords will be included in the commencement packet for fall and spring candidates.

Military Honors

In recognition of military service to the United States of America, the University honors all Veterans and authorizes them to wear red, white, and blue honor cords during the commencement ceremony.

Eligibility: If you are graduating and are an honorably discharged U.S. veteran, are currently serving in the U.S. military (active duty, National Guard, or Reserves), or are an ROTC student commissioning upon graduation, you are authorized to wear a Military Honor Cord. Military-affiliated faculty and staff are welcome to receive honor cords as well.

Distribution: Honors cords will be included in the diploma packet for summer graduates. Honors cords will be included in the commencement packet for fall and spring candidates.

Order your Academic Regalia and/or Announcements on-line at herffjones.com to ensure you will receive your regalia on time. You can have your orders shipped to the bookstore or to your home. Shipments to your home carry a shipping charge of $15.95.

Call Herff Jones’ Customer Service Number at 1-800-837-4235 for questions.

Graduates may view their attend ceremony decision in Banner RAMS Online in the Student Main Menu by selecting the following:

• Student Main Menu
• Student Records
• Apply to Graduate
• Select a Term
• View Graduation Applications

Students who wish to change their "attend ceremony decision" must email Graduation Services at graduation_services@wssu.edu by the corresponding dates above.

Fall 2025

Masters/Graduate Level
Date: December 11, 2025
Location: DJR 100
Time: 1:00 p.m.

Undergraduate Level
Date: December 11, 2025
Location: LJVM
Time: 4:30 p.m.

Spring 2026

Masters/Graduate Level
Date: May 14, 2026
Location: DJR 100
Time: 1:00 p.m.

Undergraduate Level
Date: May 14, 2026
Location: LJVM
Time: 4:30 p.m.

Candidates should arrive for line of march by 7:00 am.

Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum
2825 University Parkway,
Winston-Salem, NC 27105

Commencement exercises begin promptly at 8:45 a.m.

Congratulations on a job well done at Winston-Salem State University!