Information for Graduates

All students who are identified as eligible to participate in the June 2023 Commencement, were contacted by the Registrar’s Office in March 2023. If you did not receive information regarding the Intent to Graduate and Participate in Commencement form, please reach out to the Registrar’s Office at registrar@paloaltou.edu.

Students who are eligible to walk in commencement have completed or are on-track to complete the following:

1. Submitted Intent to Graduate Form

2. Completed the Total Unit Requirement for Program (which includes anticipated spring and summer course registration)

3. Completed all Course Requirements (successful completion of all courses required for your program)

4. Students must schedule and defend their dissertation by May 15th (PhD and PsyD only). D-6 form on file. For this year only, students must defend by June 2, 2023 in order to be eligible to walk in commencement. Please reference the communication above.

5. Started internship (PhD and PsyD only)

Commencement is the ceremony to honor students whose degrees have been conferred or who are expected to graduate in the academic year. 

Graduation is the completion of one's program requirements and the awarding of the degree.

When completing the Intent to Graduate Form, please make sure that you double-check the entered spelling of your name. Once the form is submitted, we will use the entered name for the commencement 2023 program. Changes to names must be submitted by May 15. 

Please email commencement@paloaltou.edu if you have any questions. 

Yes, the link to access the live-stream, will be added to the PAU homepage and the commencement page as we get closer to the ceremony date.

Please complete the ADA Request Form and indicate the accommodation needed by June 1, 2023.

Family, Friends, & Guests with a ticket are welcome to attend the in-person ceremony. The ceremony will also be live-streamed fro guests who are unable to attend in person.

You can order your regalia on Josten's website or you can call Josten's customer service at 1-800-854-7464. The deadline to order your regalia is May 4. 

Visit Josten's website or contact Josten's Customer Service at 1-800-854-7464 to place an order. 

Yes, visit Josten's website to view our PAU ring collection, or contact Josten's Customer Service at 1-800-854-7464 to place an order. 

Yes, PAU partners with GradImages, who will take multiple photos of each candidate as they process across the stage. GradImages will email graduates a few days after commencement when proofs are ready (as long as a valid email address was provided). 

If you have not received your proofs within five business days, please contact customer service at 800-261-2576.

Photos taken by our professional photographer can be ordered through Grad Images.

Once you have completed all degree requirements and have received a final grade for all of your courses, the Registrar's Office will confer your degree.  Upon the conferral of your degree, you will be sent a Diploma Request Form asking for your name as you would like it to appear on your diploma as well as the address to send it to.

Please make sure that you double-check the entered spelling of your name before submitting the Diploma Request form.

Once you have completed the Diploma Request Form, it takes 4-6 weeks for our vendor to print your diploma and for the Registrar's Office to mail it to you. For additional questions about your diploma, please contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@paloaltou.edu.

Yes, diplomas will not be released for students who have outstanding financial obligations to the University or outstanding academic requirements.

The undergraduate and masters diploma's measure 8.5" x 11" and the doctoral diplomas measure 11" x 14".

Visit the Jostens website, or contact Josten's Customer Service at 1-800-854-7464 to place an order.

Please note the following diploma sizes:

Bachelor's and Master's - 8.5" x 11"

Doctoral - 11" x 14"

Yes. Graduating students must complete online federal exit counseling on studenaid.gov to receive their PAU diploma.

Degrees are considered official when all grades are received and all degree requirements are successfully met and posted on your transcript.

University honors are for undergraduate students and are determined using a student’s cumulative GPA., academic honors are designated as follows:***

Summa Cum Laude 3.75+ (3.75-4.0)

Magna Cum Laude 3.66+ (3.66-3.74)

Cum Laude 3.5 + (3.50 - 3.65)

University Honors are noted on the diploma and transcripts.

***For the commencement program, academic honors are based on all of your completed coursework through the end of the winter quarter.***

Upon awarding of your degree, the Registrar’s Office will email you (via your PAU email address) notifying you that your degree has been conferred and stepson how to request your diploma. This email also includes detailed information on how to order your official transcript through the National Student Clearinghouse.

A degree verification can be obtained by emailing the Registrar’s Office at registrar@paloaltou.edu.  Information regarding the details required for your verification request can be found here.

Diploma - Alumni with a financial hold from their student billing account will not be able to receive their diploma until all outstanding financial obligations are paid 

Official Transcript - PAU will withhold the release of official transcripts of  a student with a Library hold and/or Student Success hold. Any student with these holds must work with the appropriate department to resolve their hold.

Please arrive at Hall B in the Santa Clara Convention Center by 9:15 a.m. (45 minutes before the start of the ceremony). Please be dressed in your regalia. 

No. Please leave valuables and personal possessions with family and friends; we do not have security or space to store them. We are not responsible for lost, stolen or destroyed personal possessions.

Please let your guests know that the doors to Hall C & D, where the ceremony will be held, will open promptly at 9 a.m., one hour prior to the ceremony. If your guests arrive before 9 a.m., they will be required to wait in the lobby of the Convention Center. Guests are required to have an Eventbrite ticket. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Graduates, please be sure to notify your guests of this procedure. If you or your guests require ADA accommodations, please complete the ADA Request Form by June 1, 2023.

No, all seats are general admission and on a first-come, first-served basis, unless requesting ADA accommodations.

The ceremony will last approximately 90 to 120 minutes.

No, children need to be seated in general seating with the candidate's guests.

Some areas of the ceremony hall will be blocked off for visibility and safety reasons or may be reserved for graduates. We ask that guests do not sit in these blocked areas. Our volunteer ushers may ask guests to relocate to another seating area if needed. 

Yes, the use of video cameras will be allowed to the extent that they do not obstruct the view of other guests in the audience. Monopods, bipods, and tripods are not allowed.

Graduating students must complete online federal exit counseling on studenaid.gov in order to receive their PAU diploma.

For additional information regarding student loan repayment please visit our site: https://www.paloaltou.edu/admissions/admissions-resources/financial-aid-and-scholarships/repaying-student-loans

Visit the PAU Alumni website for information regarding important alumni news and information, alumni benefits, resources, and events. 

You can also join your alumni Facebook and LinkedIn groups to keep in touch with peers and hear about alumni programming.

No, it is yours to have as an alumni. It is also another great way to stay connected to the University.