Preparing for Graduation

Your graduation date is determined by the date you fulfill all your academic requirements. Please speak with your academic advisor if you would like to know your expected graduation date.

There are no commencement ceremonies held directly following Fall or Summer terms.  If students graduate within the 2026 academic year, then they are eligible to attend their respective ceremonies/celebrations held in Spring 2026. Please view degree completion eligibility dates here.

Each campus in our global system will be hosting its own ceremony for graduates from that campus.

We strongly advise attending the graduation ceremony held at your primary campus. Please click here to view dates and locations.

A separate registration will be emailed from your specific campus.

To change your mailing address, follow these steps:

1. Log onto the Student Hub
2. Click “Resources”
3. Click on the “Graduation” section
4. View “Application to Graduate”
5. Scroll to the diploma mailing address and enter your new address
6. Click the “update address” button

• Please use the address that is best for mailing your diploma. It does not have to be your own current living address.
• Note: You must change your address no later than two weeks prior to graduating.

If you clear your financial hold after the mailing dates have passed, your diploma will be withheld. We don’t receive automatic notifications when students complete holds, so it’s your responsibility to contact the Office of the Registrar regarding the release of your diploma. It can take up to seven business days to confirm that a hold has been cleared. Once we receive confirmation from the Student Financial Services Office, we can arrange for your diploma to be mailed to you.

The major will be printed on diplomas for nonspecified degrees only (Associate in Science, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Professional Studies, Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study, Doctor of Philosophy). Minors and concentrations do not appear on diplomas.

All degree diplomas measure 11″ × 14.” Certificates are 8.5″ × 11″.

Your legal name will appear on your diploma. You will be able to add/edit your middle name in the Graduation Application. No prefix or suffix relating to a title or credential is allowed (e.g., Dr., DMD, Esq., Mrs., Mr.). If you need to change your legal name, please fill out this Name Change Form.

Students who would like to alert the University to a name change that is accompanied by legal documentation can do so by submitting a Personal Details Update ServiceNow ticket.

Students who would like to change their name and/or gender marker on record with the University, but have not pursued legal processes around these changes, may do so, per Northeastern University’s Policy on Use of Chosen Name. Submit a Personal Details Update ServiceNow ticket.

Northeastern University supports the use of a requested first and middle name, as well as the changing of the gender marker that appears publicly in most university systems. The legal name remains on record with the Office of the Registrar for its internal records.

For more information, see the Registrar Knowledge Base article, Diplomas.

You place an order for a diploma replacement or copy  here. There’s a fee of $50, and the process will take six to eight weeks. We are unable to rush replacement diplomas at this time.

• Only students are authorized to order a replacement for themselves. Others are not permitted to order on their behalf.

• If you have not received your original diploma, do not place an order. Please email the Office of the Registrar for any inquiries about your diploma status.

• If you need a new diploma due to a name change, please have your name updated prior to placing an order.  If you need to change your legal name, please fill out this Name Change Form.

Northeastern University now provides a Certified Electronic Diploma (CeDiploma) to all graduates as of March 2020, in addition to the traditional paper diploma. Students will receive an email notification when their CeDiplomas are available for download.

The Registrar’s Office can provide a transcript or degree verification at https://registrar.northeastern.edu/group/academic-records/.