Policy on Student Participation in Commencement before Completion of Requirements

Students in the M.S.N. and D.N.P. program who wish to participate in Commencement ceremonies in May and have not completed course requirements may participate if the following requirements are completed:

  • The faculty of record for requirement(s) in question—in consultation with the specialty director, associate dean of student life, and executive deputy dean—has attested that the student is expected to finish all requirements and have only one term of coursework remaining in their plan of study.
  • The student’s specialty/program director has created an academic plan with the student for completion of remaining work to meet the deadline.
  • The student has submitted a request for an Incomplete grade to the registrar for any courses with incomplete work in which the student is enrolled. For any spring-term courses with incomplete work in which the student is enrolled, the faculty of record will submit a grade of Incomplete to the registrar.

Any time that a student is allowed to participate in the May Commencement before completion of requirements, an asterisk will be printed following the student’s name in the program that states the student is expected to complete requirements and has only one term of coursework remaining. These students will not be presented to the Yale Corporation for conferral and will not receive a diploma until all their work is finalized and graded.

Graduation dates outside of the May ceremony are subject to the degree conferral dates set by the Yale CorporationThe YSN Registrar’s Office can provide the upcoming degree conferral dates; these dates do not always align with the end of the term.