Steps to apply to graduate – Undergraduate and Master of Management students

This tutorial applies to undergraduate and Master of Management students only. If you are a graduate student within the College of Graduate Studies, view these instructions.

May 2025 Degree Conferral – January 9, 2025 Update:

The application process for May 2025 degree conferral is now open. The issue causing errors with the Graduation Application has been resolved, and you can proceed with the steps below.

 

About graduation

Step 1: Submit the Program Completion Application

Step 2: Submit the Graduation Application

Step 3: Verify your application

Step 4: Submit your Program Completion Questionnaire (Optional)

Commonly encountered problems

Late applications

Additional resources

About graduation

To graduate from UBC, you must complete a formal application process that consists of two components:

1. The Program Completion Application in Workday

  • This application must be submitted to have your degree conferred by the Senate and officially completed.

2. The Graduation Application

  • This application must be submitted to receive your parchment and to indicate whether or not you plan to attend the ceremony.

You must complete both the Program Completion Application and the Graduation Application or you will not be eligible to graduate.

Step 1: Submit the Program Completion Application

First, go to your Academics app

1. Log into your Workday account at myworkday.ubc.ca.

2. On the right side of the page, in the “Your Top Apps” menu, click the “Academics” app.

Next, go to Graduation

Once in your Academics app, you will be brought to the “Academics” page by default.

1. Click the “Graduation” tab in the top menu.

2. In the “Graduation” menu to the right, click the “Apply for Program Completion” link.

Complete your Program Completion Application

Once on the “Apply for Program Completion” page, confirm your Academic Record. If you only have one Academic Record, this field will be prepopulated. If you have more than one active Academic Record, select the one you are applying for.

1. In the table, check the “Apply” box to select the program of study. Only your primary program of study can be selected in this application, but you will graduate with all of your ‘In Progress’ programs of study, even if they don’t show here. If you have more than one program of study, make sure your secondary programs are correct before submitting your application (e.g., if you have a minor or a second major).

To confirm your programs of study in Workday:

i. On the Workday home screen, click your user icon in the top right corner.
ii. Click the “View Profile” button in the pop-up menu.
iii. Click the “Academics” tab in the left menu.
iv. By default, you’ll be viewing the information under the “Overview” tab in the top menu where your programs of study will be listed.

You can learn how to declare a minor or second major (program of study) with our step-by-step instructions. Once your application is submitted, you will not be able to make changes to your program of study.

2. You must enter an Expected Completion Date (ECD) according to the conferral period you are applying for:

  • May Graduation: Enter any date between January 1, 2025 and April 30, 2025
  • November Graduation: Enter August 31

i. The ECD date entered does not impact your academic record or the date you actually meet/met program requirements.

ii. Even if you have already met program requirements for your program of study, you must enter an ECD between January 1, 2025 and April 30, 2025 for May graduation, or August 31 for November graduation.

iii. If you select an ECD that does not match the current application window when you are applying, you will receive an error message.

3. Check that the information is correct. If it is correct, check the “Confirm” box at the bottom.

4. Click the orange “Submit” button at the bottom left of the page. Once your application is submitted, you will not be able to edit it or make changes to your program of study.

Review and confirm your Program Completion Application

1. Review your “Program Completion Status” to make sure your application was successful. Your status should read “Applied for Completion”.

Contact gradapps.okanagan@ubc.ca immediately if there are any errors.


2. Click the orange “Done” button.

Viewing your Program Completion Status

After submitting your Program Completion Application, your Program Completion Status will be updated. Learn how to view your Program Completion Application Status.

Step 2: Submit the Graduation Application

First, go to the Graduation Application

1. Use your CWL to log into graduation.students.ubc.ca to access your Student Portal.

2. Select ‘Apply for Graduation’ to start your Graduation Application.

Complete your Graduation Application

1. Review the information at the top of the application, which indicates the last date to make any required changes.

2. Complete the application.

  • Some of the fields on the Graduation Application will be prepopulated with information from your Workday account. Review this content.
  • If graduation ceremony dates and times have not been assigned, your graduation ceremony details will not appear. Details may not be available until May and are subject to change. Check back regularly.

Submit your Graduation Application

1. To submit your Graduation Application, you must select the “Save & Submit” button located after the ‘Ceremony Details’ section.

2. If your Graduation Application was successfully submitted, you will see a screen that states “Application Successfully Submitted”.

You will also receive a confirmation email sent to the primary email address you have listed in Workday. Reminder: Please check your Spam and Junk Email folders.

Step 3: Verify your application

1. Use your CWL to log into graduation.students.ubc.ca.

2. Select “View Details” to open the Application Details screen.

3. Confirm that you have successfully completed both the Program Completion Application and the Graduation Application.

If you see the following message on the Application Details screen, no further action is required:

    • “You have completed all the steps required for your degree to be evaluated for conferral”
Please note: an overnight refresh may be required before both green check marks appear on your Application Details screen.

 

If you see the following message, further action is required:

    • “You still have pending steps to complete for your degree to be evaluated for conferral”

4. Review the remaining application details for accuracy.

  • If there are any discrepancies or changes needed to your Graduation Application, you will be able to edit your application until the application period is completed. From the application details screen, select “Edit Student Application”.

Note: If graduation ceremony dates and times have not been assigned, your Graduation Ceremony details will not appear. Details may not be available until May and are subject to change. Check back regularly.

Step 4: Submit your Program Completion Questionnaire (Optional)

After submitting your Program Completion Application, you will receive the Program Completion Questionnaire sent to your “My Tasks” inbox in Workday.

You must submit the Program Completion Questionnaire if you have outstanding transfer credit (courses taken at another institution) that needs to be added to your record to meet your degree requirements.

1. Click the “My Tasks” icon at the top right of the page, which should now show a red notification. Alternatively, you can select the task on the Workday landing page under “Awaiting Your Action”.

2. Click on the inbox notification titled “Apply for Program Completion Event” to open the questionnaire.

3. Complete the questionnaire by selecting “Yes” or “No” for the question.

4. Review your answer before proceeding. Once you submit, you will not be able to make changes or view your response.

5. Click the orange “Submit” button at the bottom left to submit the questionnaire.

Commonly encountered problems

You may come across the following error message while filling out your Program Completion Application:

Error: The selected expected completion date doesn’t fall within an academic period available for completion.

You will see this error message if the application period for your chosen graduation date has not yet opened, or if you enter an Expected Completion Date that is too far in the future. Refer to the application periods and expected completion dates listed above.

Error: You must meet the class standing required to apply for program completion

This error message means you either do not meet the year level requirement to submit a Program Completion Application for your program or the program is not applicable for conferral (e.g. Unclassified Studies is not applicable for conferral).

Late Applications

If you do not submit the Program Completion Application or the Graduation Application by the deadline, you will need to request a late application. Late applicants will only be considered if there is sufficient time to adjudicate the application. Otherwise, applicants will have to reapply during the next available convocation period.

Please email gradapps.okanagan@ubc.ca to request a late application. You will be advised if your late application is accepted.

Additional resources