All qualified students receive a degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. Degrees are conferred only upon students who have completed all requirements as described in the Catalog. Bates confers degrees twice annually: after the conclusion of Short Term, and after the conclusion of the Fall semester. There is only one Commencement ceremony, held annually on the last Sunday in May. 

In order for the degree to be conferred, all final grades and official transcripts for applicable non-Bates credit must be received, and all degree requirements must be completed. Once the degree is conferred, the academic record is considered complete and final, and students may not retroactively seek a change of degree, major, minor, or concentration.

Students who have 4.0 or fewer credits left to earn at the conclusion of Short Term may petition to participate with their matriculating class. To be considered, they must submit their plan to complete their outstanding credits the following summer or fall semester to the Registrar’s Office. For more information, please see the Commencement Participation page. Students completing their degree after the fall semester may elect to participate in the next Commencement ceremony following degree completion rather than participating in Commencement early. 

Seniors expected to graduate will be unable to make changes to their major, minor, or concentration after March 1 of the year they’re graduating. This is to ensure that all degree requirements can be checked and verified in plenty of time before degrees are scheduled to be awarded. Students may still make program changes, but must contact the Registrar’s Office after this date. 

Please see the Commencement website for the most recent information about commencement.

Bates provides diplomas in both paper and electronic form. For more information, please see the Registrar’s Office page on diplomas.