Graduation Requirements & Deadlines

The Graduate School has a set of requirements for each degree that must be submitted to our office in order to have your degree conferred. Let us help you on your journey to graduation.

Reminders for Operating Remotely

Your dissertation or thesis defense may be conducted remotely by being available to relevant students and faculty via an online meeting tool such as WebEx, Zoom or Skype.
The M-form is fillable, accepts electronic signatures and should be emailed to the Graduate School at grad@buffalo.edu. M-forms with original signatures can be photographed and emailed; or if need be, along with the M-form, committee members can email their approval to grad@buffalo.edu from their UB email account.

Graduation Requirement Due Dates

For degree conferral on:	Feb. 1, 2021	June 1, 2021	Aug. 31, 2021
Application to candidacy due:	Oct. 1, 2020	March 1, 2021	July 1, 2021
All required conferral materials due:	Jan. 15, 2021	May 14, 2021	Aug. 13, 2021

Requirements by Degree Type

For each degree type, there are specific requirements that must be submitted to the Graduate School, prior to set deadlines, in order to have your degree conferred. Find your degree below to determine what requirements you must submit.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Please review the Doctoral Degree Checklist for Graduation. The following items are required for conferral of a PhD degree:

An approved Application to Candidacy form.
A completed M-Form for Master's Degrees With Thesis and All PhD Degrees.
Electronic submission of your dissertation. Please see our Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Guidelines page for submission instructions.
Completion of the doctoral degree recipient surveys (two surveys required for PhD students).

Master's Degrees, Advanced Certificates, Doctor of Audiology (AuD), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Doctor of Education (EdD)

Those pursuing an advanced certificate, any master’s degree, AuD, DNP or EdD, must “Apply for Graduation” through HUB by deadline listed below in order to become a candidate for degree conferral. Please refer to the step-by-step guide on applying for graduation in HUB.

Graduation Term	Application Deadline	Conferral Date
Fall	Oct. 15	Feb. 1
Spring	Feb. 22	June 1
Summer	July 15	Aug. 31

Students completing an exam, paper, project or portfolio: Before your conferral date your department must complete the appropriate culminating experience milestone in HUB.

Students completing a thesis: Submit completed M-Form for Master's Degrees With Thesis and All PhD Degrees and electronic submission of your thesis. Please see our Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines page for submission instructions.

Other Degrees (DDS, DPT, JD, MD and PharmD)

The Graduate School does not handle your degree conferral. Please contact your academic department for the details about your graduation requirements.