Honors Graduation

To help ensure that all of our students make the transition smoothly from student to alumnus, The Honors College has a multi-step process for graduation.

  • Step 1: Apply to graduate with the Registrar's Office and The Honors College

    Expand dropdown

    Submit an application for graduation
    To graduate with a degree or certificate, you must submit a formal application for graduation online via my.emich's student services tab during the semester you'll complete all requirements. An application is needed for each degree and/or certificate you're applying for. The deadline to apply is the last day of the semester in which you'll finish your requirements. No applications will be accepted after this day. Follow this link, to learn more about applying for general commencement.

    Submit an Honors College Graduation Application
    The semester before you intend to graduate, we ask you complete the Honors Graduation Application. You will receive an initial audit showing any outstanding items to be completed before you graduate. You will receive a final audit the month before you graduate.

    Once you receive your initial audit, we will also send you information about the Honors College Graduation ceremony.

  • Step 2: Attend The Honors College Commencement Ceremony Expand dropdown
    The Honors College Graduation Ceremony is a celebratory event held prior to Eastern Michigan University’s fall and spring commencement ceremonies. Summer graduates may participate in the spring honors college ceremony if they wish. During the ceremony, you will receive your honors college medallion and an Honors College certificate holder. The Honors Graduation Ceremony concludes with a reception.
  • Step 3: Attend University Commencement Expand dropdown

    In addition to graduating through The Honors College, Honors students will be recognized by the University during Commencement as Honors College graduates and as laude graduates. This recognition is independent of any Honors College designation. The Honors degree indicates that you have completed the requirements of the Honors College. The Latin designations reflect the cumulative GPA upon graduation. For more information surrounding General Commencement, follow this link.

    At commencement, laude graduates wear a distinctively colored tassel; Honors College graduates can also wear their Honors medallion.

    Cum Laude (3.5-3.6)
    Magna Cum Laude (3.7-3.8)
    Summa Cum Laude (3.9-4.0)

Winter 2024 Honors Graduation

The Honors College will hold an in-person graduation ceremony at 10:30am on Friday, April 26, 2024 in Eastern Michigan University's Pease Auditorium. Graduates will begin lining up at Pease at 9:30am, and we will begin promptly at 10:30am.

Honors students who have been approved to graduate in Summer 2024 can participate in this semester's Honors Graduation Ceremony.

The Honors Graduation will be held in The Pease Auditorium at Eastern Michigan University, located at 494 College Pl., Ypsilanti, MI 48197. Prior to attending the ceremony, please be sure to fill out the Post-Audit Graduation Survey and the Honors College Graduation Application, if you have yet to do so. These are both extremely important for our graduation slideshow and records, for pronouncing your name correctly, and for ordering post-ceremony snacks and refreshments. There is no limit on the number of guests you can bring. Additionally, if you have not applied for University Graduation, you need to do so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Information for Graduates:

  • Doors will open for the ceremony at The Pease Auditorium at Eastern Michigan University at 9:30 am. Guests may enter through the main doors to the auditorium, which are located on College Place. Graduates must enter through the back door of the auditorium, which is located on the Perrin Ave. side of the building.

  • Graduates must check in by 10:00 amin their cap and gown. Family members and supporters will be invited to sit in the auditorium while you prepare for the processional. When you arrive at the rear door, volunteers will guide you to the check-in desk. 

  • If you have earned any additional stoles, cords, or Honors tassels, you are encouraged to wear them! 

  • When you check in, you will receive a card listing your degree and Honors information and a mock Honors certificate. 

    • Keep the card with you, as you will need to hand it to the marshal before you cross the stage.

    • Check the information on the card and correct any errors.

    • The cards will be numbered. Please be sure to remember this number, as it indicates your order in the line-up and processional.

    • Check the certificate to make sure your Honors pathways and home address are listed correctly and that your name is the way you want it to appear on your certificate (which you will receive this summer). Make sure you return the mock certificate to the volunteer!

  • Graduates and their guests may park in any on-campus parking lot (the entire University’s parking system will be free without parking enforcement). However, you are not allowed to park in handicap-designated spaces without proper placards or identification. We recommend parking in either the Pease A-1 Lot, Pease Staff Lot, Pease Guest Lot, or the Perrin Street Lot.

  • The ceremony will begin at 10:30am in the Pease Auditorium at Eastern Michigan University and last between 60-90 minutes.

  • Graduates will receive their Honors medallion and Honors certificate holder during the ceremony.

  • Following the ceremony, graduates will be escorted back to the Honors College for the reception and group photo. Please ensure you have all materials on you or with your family members during the ceremony. We do not want to leave anything behind in Pease.

  • At the reception, there will be snacks and refreshments, and you will receive an Honors College Graduation Package. 

    • Graduation packages include an Honors College Alumni T-Shirt, a velvet bag for your Honors medallion, an Honors pin, an Honors alumni button, and an Honors sticker. Most importantly, if you wrote a letter to yourself when you joined the Honors College, that letter will be added to your package.

    • If you are not able to attend the ceremony, you will be able to pick up your graduation package beginning on Monday, April 22nd from the Honors College.

  • We have hired a professional photographer to take photos of the graduates as they cross the stage. These photos will be made available to you a few weeks following the Honors College Graduation ceremony.

Skip Section Navigation