Degrees are conferred by the Institute upon the recom­mendation of the dean and faculty of the various schools. This is done three times a year: October 1 (summer term), February 1 (fall term), and June 1 (spring term).

Graduation Requirements

To be eligible for a degree, the student must satisfy all Institute, school, and department requirements as stated in the student’s degree audit. Where applicable, students must also meet specific academic require­ments concerning prerequisites, course sequences, or program options as posted by academic departments.

Final graduation requirements include the following:

1. Grade Requirements
   Graduate students must be in good standing, with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. In courses constituting the student’s major as formally specified in advance by his or her departmental chair, the student must have received a grade of B or higher in each or have a cumulative index in these courses of at least 3.0. Any outstanding INC, NG, or NR grades from any previous semester(s) that are pending resolution must be resolved.
   Failure to do so will result in removal from the graduation list. When final grades are reported for the last term of active registration, any reported INC or NR grade for a graduation candidate will automatically remove the candidate from the graduation list. Students who have been removed from consideration must complete a new application for graduation in order to be considered for another graduation date.

2. Curriculum Requirements
   Each student must fulfill all require­ments for graduation. No credits required for graduation will be waived. All requests for an exception to this rule must be referred to the dean’s office for consideration. A course require­ment in a student’s major may be substituted by the department chair/adviser of the department in which the student is enrolled; however, another course in the same subject area must be taken.

3. Residency Requirements
   Thesis work must be registered at the Institute. The minimum residency requirement at Pratt for the master’s degree is 24 credits. In most cases, transferred credit does not exceed 25 percent of the total credits required. The Professional Master of Architecture program permits up to 33 percent of the total credits required.

4. Master’s Thesis/e-Portfolio
   A thesis or e-portfolio is required in many of the master’s degree programs. Each student is held respons­ible for meeting the precise requirements of their school. Thesis candidates should obtain the latest edition of Regulations Concerning the Deposit of Master’s Thesis in the Pratt Institute Library and sample pages from their respective departments.

Application for Graduation

Students wishing to be considered for graduation must file a Graduation Application. The application is available to the students in Student Planning. Applications must be filed on or before the following deadlines:

Application for Graduation

Graduation	File on or Before
Summer Term/October	March 25
Fall Term/February	August 25
Spring Term/May	December 15

Using the application, candidates indicate:

1. their anticipated graduation term
2. the exact spelling and punctuation of their name as it is to appear on the diploma
3. their hometown and state/country as it is to appear in the commencement program 
4. the Diploma Mailing Address to be used to mail diplomas

Information can be updated before the application deadline by simply filling out and submitting the graduation application again. If the candidate is not cleared for the announced graduation, a new application must be filed for each subsequently requested graduation. Only after the application has been submitted to the Office of the Registrar will the candidate’s name be placed on a tenta­tive graduation list. At that time, the graduation review is scheduled.

Diploma Clearance

Students who have completed their academic require­ments but who have outstanding financial obligations to the Institute will be graduated; however, the diploma will be held and no transcript will be released until their financial account is cleared in full.

Graduation With Distinction

To graduate with distinction, a graduate student must have earned a final cumulative GPA no lower than 3.850 in all work. To be considered for distinction, a student must have completed a minimum of 50 percent of degree credits at Pratt. These credits must be in semesters evaluated with a GPA.

Candidates completing degree requirements and graduating with distinction in May are so designated in the Commencement program on work completed through the most recent fall semester. The final distinction will be indicated on the official diploma and academic record, reflecting all grades included in the degree.