This tutorial applies to graduate students within the College of Graduate Studies only. If you are a Master of Management student, instructions specific to your graduation application will be made available in late September.
Introduction
To graduate, you must submit a formal application for graduation in Workday. This application is referred to as the “Program Completion Application,” wherein the term “Program Completion” is synonymous with graduation. Throughout this document, we will use “Program Completion” to denote the Workday terminology; however, it does not replace “graduation” in our UBC lexicon.
This document covers two components of the application process:
- Submitting “Apply for Program Completion” task
- Completing the questionnaire
An application is not complete until the questionnaire is submitted. The questionnaire collects information for adjudication including the conferral period you are applying for, whether you have pending transfer credits and whether you intend to take courses as an Unclassified student in the session following graduation. There is also a link to provide the details for your graduation ceremony. It is important that both application and questionnaire are submitted before the application deadline.
Before you begin
For an application to be successful, you must:
- Have an “Active” student status (refer to the Summary > Student Information page on your profile)
- Apply during the application period:
- May conferral: January 1 – April 30
- September conferral: May 1 – August 31
- November conferral: September 16 – October 15
- February conferral: September 16 – December 31
- Select the correct conferral period in the questionnaire that matches the current application window (e.g., If applying between May 1 – Aug 31, select September conferral). If you select a conferral period that is not currently open for applications, your application will be denied, and you will be required to reapply.
- Submit your application and questionnaire before the application deadline
Consider:
- Do you have pending transfer credit?
- Do you intend on registering for classes in the academic term immediately following your graduation as an Unclassified Student?
If you answered yes to the above questions, please ensure you provide this information on the questionnaire.
Task Instructions
- Find the Program Completion Application
- Fill out the application
- View summary and complete application
- Complete the questionnaire
Step 1: Find the Program Completion Application
a. Navigate to the Academics App
b. Click on the Graduation tab > Apply for Program Completion
Alternative route:
a. In the global search bar, search for the “Apply for Program Completion” task by entering the full name or partial text such as “app prog comp”.
b. Click on the task.
Step 2: Fill out the application
a. Academic Record
i. This field is prepopulated if you only have one active academic record.
ii. If you have multiple active academic records, you will need to select the one you are applying for.
b. Name – this field is prepopulated.
c. Check “Apply” to select the Program of Study. Only primary programs of study can be selected. Ensure listed programs of study are correct before submitting application.
d. Enter the correct Expected Completion Date (ECD) (see table below)
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 today’s date and the date the applications close for the graduation period you are applying to. For example, if you have completed your requirements in December 2024, but are applying for the May 2025 conferral period, you would select an ECD between the date you are completing your application and April 30.
iii. If you select an ECD that does not match the current application window when you are applying, you will receive an error message.
Table 1: Possible Expected Completion Dates (ECDs) for Application
| Conferral Period | Apply between… | Select ECD between… | Outcome |
| May | Jan 1 – Apr 30
(Winter Term 2) |
Jan 1 – Apr 30 |
|
| September | May 1 – Aug 31
(Summer Session) |
May 1 – Aug 31 |
|
| November | Sep 16 – Oct 15
(Winter Term 1) |
Sep 1 – Oct 15* |
*Nov and Feb conferral periods overlap |
| February | Sep 16 – Dec 31
(Winter Term 1) |
Sep 1 – Dec 31* |
*Nov and Feb conferral periods overlap |
e. Check “Confirm”
f. Click “Submit”
Step 3: View summary and complete application
On this page you will see your program completion status:
a. Student Program of Study Record Status = In Progress
b. Click “Done”
What happens after you submit an application?
|
Step 4: Submit Program Completion Questionnaire
A mandatory questionnaire will be sent to your My Tasks inbox. This will be used to confirm the conferral period and gather information on pending transfer credit and whether you intend to register as an Unclassified student in the upcoming academic period. The questionnaire also includes a link for you to provide required graduation ceremony details.
Confirming your graduation ceremony attendanceAt the top of the questionnaire, you will see a link that directs you to provide details for your graduation ceremony attendance. This link is not yet active, and more information will be provided at a later date. |
a. Navigate to My Tasks; or
b. Select the task on the landing page
c. Click on inbox item to open questionnaire
d. Confirm the conferral period for which you are applying. It is important that you select the correct conferral period that matches the application window of when you are applying:
| Select Conferral Period… (Questionnaire Response) |
When applying between… |
| May | Jan 1 – Apr 30 |
| September | May 1 – Aug 31 |
| November | Sep 1 – Oct 15* |
| February | Sep 1 – Dec 31* |
*Between Sep 1 -Oct 15, you can select either November or February conferral. After Oct 15, only February conferral can be selected. If November is selected after Oct 15, you cannot be considered for November conferral.
If you select a conferral period that is not currently open for applications, your application will be denied, and you will be required to reapply.
e. Answer the remaining questions
f. Click “Submit”
Note: once submitted, you cannot make changes to the questionnaire or view your responses.
Application Errors
You may come across the following error message while filling out your application:
Error: The selected expected completion date doesn’t fall within an academic period available for completion
You may receive this error message if the application has not opened, or if you enter an Expected Completion Date too far in the future.
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 today’s date and the date the applications close for the graduation period you are applying to. For example, if you have completed your requirements in December 2024, but are applying for the May 2025 conferral period, you would select an ECD between the date you are completing your application and April 30.
Late Applications
Once the application deadline has passed, please ensure you apply for the next available graduation period. You may contact the College of Graduate Studies for additional assistance. After the application has been processed, you can follow steps above to submit the Program Completion Questionnaire and view your Program Completion Status.
Additional Resources
- How to view your program completion status – Graduate students
- College of Graduate Studies Program Completion and Graduation
