Contact

Office of the Registrar

Hunter Center
9200 University Blvd., N. Charleston, SC 29406
P843-863-8060
Eregister@csuniv.edu

How to Prepare for Graduation

After all of your hard work, there’s just a few more steps to make sure you get what you came here for. Below you will find all of the information you need to make sure you get to walk across that stage and receive your diploma!

Graduation Deadlines and Fees

The deadline to apply for summer and fall 2023 graduation is April 7, 2023. The fee for summer is due July 3, 2023. The fee for fall is due October 25, 2023.

The deadline to apply for Spring 2023 graduation is November 4, 2022. The graduation fee is due March 1, 2023.

Graduation Fee: $55.00

Pay online or in person at the cashier’s window in the Student Center. The graduation fee covers the cost of your diploma, cover, honors cord (if applicable), the ceremony and the cost associated with processing graduation applications. The fee is the same whether you choose to participate or not. The cost for your cap and gown, hood (if applicable) is not included in the $50 graduation fee. If you told our office you did not want to participate in the commencement ceremony and you changed your mind, please call 843-863-7992 immediately.

  • The graduation fee is due July 3 for Summer graduation.
  • The graduation fee is due October 25 for Fall graduation.
  • The graduation fee is due March 1 for Spring graduation

If you submit your application for graduation after the deadline, you will incur a $50.00 late fee. If you do not graduate in the term you initially applied for, you will incur a $50.00 reapplication fee.

To be eligible for commencement, a student must have completed all of their academic requirements. Students who finish in the summer or fall will be invited to participate in the following spring ceremony. You will receive your diploma at the end of the semester you complete all of your requirements.

Graduation Forms

All students must fill out a graduation form by the application deadline in order to walk across stage at the graduation ceremony and receive their diploma.

Once you have verified with your advisor that you will complete your academic requirements and you are registered for your final semester, please fill out the graduation application in MyCSU. You will need to login to MyCSU, Click on the ‘Student’ tab, Click on ‘Forms’ on the left, click on ‘Application For Graduation’. Your Academic Advisor must approve your graduation application before submitting to the Office of the Registrar.

To apply online, you will need to know your Student ID number and Personal Identification Number (PIN). If you do not know your ID or PIN, you may obtain them online through MyCSU. Click ‘I forgot my CSU ID #’ or ‘I forgot my password.’

How to Get Your Diploma

Degrees are conferred at the end of each term, Summer, Fall, and Spring). It is important to apply for graduation the term before you are going to meet your academic requirements. (See the academic calendar for deadlines). 

All financial obligations and holds must be cleared in order for the degree to be conferred. While the university confers three times a year, there is only one graduation ceremony per year held at the end of the spring semester.

  • Nonparticipating summer, fall, and spring graduates will be contacted to pick up their diploma and cover (or have it mailed) by the Registrar’s office normally within two weeks after the semester/term ends. 
  • Fall and summer graduates participating in the spring ceremony will be contacted within two weeks after the semester/term ends to pick up or mail their diploma immediately; your cover will be given to you at the ceremony.
  • Spring participating graduates will receive their diploma and cover at commencement.

Students may request a duplicate diploma. The cost is $50. The request takes about 6-8 weeks for processing and delivery.

You may mail a completed duplicate diploma request to

Charleston Southern University
Office of the Registrar, PO Box 118087
Charleston, SC 29423

Please include your check or money or online receipt number.

Order Online

What to Know for the Commencement Ceremony

A commencement ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. in the North Charleston Coliseum for August 2022, December 2022, and May 2023 graduates!

Stay up-to-date on the latest information at the 2022 Graduation page, and look out for further information in the coming months through emails as well as BucAlerts. Be sure to update your information in the BucAlert system here.

Students needing handicap access to the stage should contact graduation@csuniv.edu no later than April 2.

Commencement lasts approximately 3 hours.

Graduation regalia is required for all students participating in the Spring commencement ceremony. Students will order regalia (cap + gown, hood if applicable) online by visiting the Charleston Southern University Jostens page. Instructions and additional details will be provided by the Office of the Registrar once a student applies and receives approval to graduate.

EdD students should contact their Director for cap and gown information.

Men should wear dark pants, dark shoes, shirt and tie. Ladies should very seriously consider flat shoes – dark colors are preferable.

Honor cords are given at check in. Students in the graduate programs do not receive honors.

Contact your academic honor society advisors to obtain cords/stole for respective honor societies. Please do not decorate or embellish your cap or gown. You will not be able to participate in the ceremony if you do.

Rehearsal will be held on Friday, May 5 at 1:30 in the Lightsey Chapel.

TBA

To purchase graduation announcements, please visit the Campus Store or call 843-863-8017. Jostens provides beautiful custom announcements and thank-you cards to upcoming graduates. You can also order online at www.jostens.com.

Professional photos will be available for purchase of the graduation ceremony.

GradImages takes photos of each graduate as he/she receives his/her diploma. GradImages will send a proof and ordering information to each graduate a few weeks after graduation. Proofs will be mailed to the permanent address you have on file in the registrar’s office.

Students should submit a completed graduation application to the Office of the Registrar to initiate the graduation process. Once the application is received, your record will be audited, and you will receive a confirmation email from the Assistant Registrar to your CSU student email after the application has been approved and processed. Students with 61 hours or more may request one official degree audit through their MyCSU account.

Academic Eligibility

A student desiring to graduate must have selected a major and minor field of concentration. (Some majors do not require a minor.)

Additionally, students selecting a double major are not required to select a minor. A double major does not mean you have completed two baccalaureate degrees. Therefore, you will only receive one diploma.

To receive two degrees from CSU, you must first complete one degree, with a major and minor (if required). Then, you will have to choose a new major (and minor if required) and complete at least 36 new hours.

For more information about receiving a second diploma, see Policy R 28.

A student will be eligible for graduation upon successful completion of 125 credit hours, including all Liberal Arts Core (LAC), major and minor requirements, with an overall 2.00 GPA and a 2.00 GPA in his/her major and minor.

Bridge students will require 129 or 133 credit hours to complete.

To be eligible for graduation with honors, at least 60 hours of the course work to be applied to the degree must have been earned at Charleston Southern University. For the purpose of calculating GPA for graduation with honors, only course work taken at Charleston Southern University will be included in that calculation.

To be eligible for graduation a student must complete professional core and specialization area requirements with a 3.00 GPA. (See graduate catalog for specific degree requirements.) A student does not receive honors in the graduate program.

You can find information about chapel credits by going to the Academic Catalog under the Student Development/Activities section or by going to MyCSU to see your total recorded chapel credits.

It is solely the student’s responsibility to meet the requirements for graduation.

All forms of advising are for informational purposes only. Students may view their unofficial advising worksheet (degree audit) through their MyCSU account. After logging in, go to the “Student” tab, then navigate to “Courses and Grades”, then select “Course Needs” (Advising Worksheet).

Your advising worksheet is an unofficial check of the requirements you have completed and the requirements you have remaining. Though is is unofficial, it should accurately reflect your progress in meeting your graduation requirements.

If you believe there is an error on your advising worksheet, contact the Office of the Registrar. If you do not understand how to read your audit, please contact your academic advisor. If you are having trouble understanding your advising worksheet, this resource for Understanding your Degree Audit may be helpful to you.

Once you have earned 61 hours or more, you can request an official degree audit through your MyCSU account. Click on the “Student” tab, then navigate to “Forms” and fill out the online form. You will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office within two weeks with your audit. Students can only receive one official audit. When you apply to graduate, we automatically audit your record.

The following are common holds placed on a graduating student. All true holds must be cleared in order for your degree to be conferred, to be eligible to participate in commencement and to receive your diploma. Any student who has a hold on his/her account during the last week of classes may not be eligible to graduate. If you do not graduate because of a hold, you will need to clear the hold and then reapply for graduation.

There is a $50.00 fee to re-apply. You will not have to pay the $115.00 graduation fee again. Your degree will then be conferred at the end of the next term/semester. Please do not apply for graduation if you will not be able to clear all holds before the end of the term/semester.

A0: This is not a hold that you need to clear to graduate. Once you apply to graduate, we place this hold on your account. If you need to drop, add or withdraw from a class, you will need to see the Associate Registrar to make these changes. Once your degree is conferred, the A0 hold is removed, and we place a RA hold on your record.

AG: Need to pay the $55.00 graduation fee. You can pay at the cashier’s window, online through Online Payments (Scroll down to Student Payments, click view category, scroll down to graduation fee, click view details and fill out the online form as it pertains to you), or mail your check to the business office. You can also use your refund check to pay the graduation fee. Log onto your MyCSU account, click on the student tab, click on forms, click on Transfer Funds Request and choose to pay the graduation fee. 

AI: Need to pay the $50.00 graduation reapplication fee.

AL: Need to pay the $50.00 late graduation application fee.

AM: Student has a balance and has applied to graduate. Contact Student Accounts to clear this hold 843-863-8058.

AN: Student needs to submit an application for graduation. Go to the Office of the Registrar.

AP: Student applied for graduation but is not in all of the correct courses; contact the Associate Registrar, 843-863-7990.

AR, AS or AT: This is not a hold that you need to clear to graduate. When a student applies for graduation before the next registration period is open, or if a student applies for graduation and is not registered for courses, an AR warning will be placed on his/her account. This warning reminds students and their advisor to register for their final semester of courses. Often, this warning will remain on the student’s account until the beginning of his/her last semester. For example, if a student applies for Spring graduation in the Fall, the AR warning may remain until Fall grades are posted. After Fall grades post, the AR warning will change to an A0 hold which means that the student is in his/her last semester of courses.

B1: Student has a balance. View your account through MyCSU. Contact Student Accounts to clear this hold 843-863-8058.

BX: Need to complete the Perkins Loan Exit Interview:

  • Step 1: Log on to www.heartland.ecsi.net
  • Step 2: Select Students
  • Step 3: On the following screen, you will login to access your account
  • Step 4: It will ask you for the following information:
    School Code: W8
    Account Number: Your Social Security Number
    Password: If you do not remember your password that you created for your promissory note, call 1-888-549-3274. ECSI will give you your password.
  • Step 5: On the following screen, select Sign my E-Exit.

BT: Student has a balance. View your account through MyCSU. Contact the Business Office to clear this hold 843-863-8058.

CP: Each year The Career Center at Charleston Southern University is mandated to collect crucial placement information from ALL CSU GRADUATES prior to graduation. This crucial information is being collected for statistical purposes related to recruitment and retention and would serve as your contribution to the continued well-being of CSU. As a graduate of Charleston Southern University, your name will never be used in connection with disclosure of salary or employment information.

F3: Student must complete Exit Counseling.  All students who received either the Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan or Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan program must complete the Exit Loan Counseling online at www.studentloans.gov. You will need your FAFSA Pin to access this site. Federal Regulations require Charleston Southern University’s Financial Aid Office to provide Exit Loan Counseling to all Federal Student Loan borrowers who are no longer enrolled half-time (6hrs), are scheduled to graduate, who have withdrawn or do not return to school, or even if you plan to attend another university, so they will better understand their rights and responsibilities. The Exit Counseling provides important information about your student loans. Upon completion of the exit counseling, confirmation will be sent to Charleston Southern University and the Department of Education. If you have any questions, please contact the Enrollment Services Office at 800-947-7474/843-863-7050 or by email at financialaid@csuniv.edu.

RA: Once a student’s degree is conferred, an RA hold is placed on your record. If you plan on attending CSU again, you will need to submit an application for admission.

S4: Student does not have enough chapel credits to graduate. If there are enough opportunities to attend chapel to meet your requirement, attend chapel. If there are not enough chapels left to meet your requirement, contact the Dean of Students at 843-863-7212.