Graduation

Graduation Check: Making Sure You Are on Track to Graduate

As soon as you have registered in your final degree requirements on Bear Tracks, submit a Graduation Check to Education Student Services (ESS) to confirm that you are on track to graduate.

A Student Advisor will check your entire program including transfer credit (if applicable), completed courses, and the courses that you are currently registered in to determine if you are on track to graduate.

In response to your Graduation Check, you will receive an email from a Student Advisor letting you know the status of your Graduation Check. You can expect one of the following responses:

  • You are on track to graduate. This means your course selections are accurate and no changes to your registration are required as you are on track to fulfilling all degree requirements. In this case, your Degree Status in Bear Tracks will be updated to “Needs to Finish Pending Work”.
  • You are on track to graduate and currently registered in courses that are extra to your degree. This means you are registered in more courses than are required to complete your program. As a result, these additional courses will be noted on your transcript as “Extra to Degree.” Since you are on track to graduate, your Degree Status in Bear Tracks will be updated to “Needs to Finish Pending Work.”
  • We are not able to approve your Graduation Check as there is a problem with your registration. In this case, we will let you know what the problem is and how to address it.

Apply for Graduation in Bear Tracks

All students must apply for graduation in Bear Tracks. You can do this by selecting the 'Academic Records' tile and then ‘Graduation’ and 'Apply for Graduation' in Bear Tracks.

The University of Alberta holds convocation ceremonies three times throughout the year. The graduation application in Bear Tracks for each ceremony is available during the following dates:

  • July 1st to October 15th for March Convocation 
  • October 1st to February 1st for June Convocation 
  • March 15th to September 1st for Fall Convocation 

If you are not able to apply for graduation in Bear Tracks a Student Advisor will apply on your behalf when you submit a Graduation Check provided you are on track to graduate.

My Degree Status in Bear Tracks

Degree Status: Needs to Finish Pending Work

If you submitted a Graduation Check and are on track to graduate, your Degree Status in Bear Tracks will be updated to say “Needs to Finish Pending Work”.

This means that a Student Advisor has reviewed your entire program which includes transfer credit (if applicable), completed courses, and the courses that you are currently registered in and determined that you are on track to graduate pending successful completion of your final degree requirements.

Why does my Degree Status still say “Needs to Finish Pending Work” even though I completed my final degree requirements? This is completely normal and does not mean that you are ineligible to graduate. For more information about when your Degree Status will change please review the “Expected” section below.

Degree Status: Expected

Once you have successfully completed your final degree requirements and your grades have been posted on Bear Tracks, a Student Advisor will complete a final review of your program to confirm that you are eligible to graduate. This final review confirms that you have fulfilled all degree requirements, completed the required number of credits for your program, and meet the GPA requirements for graduation.

There is usually a delay of approximately six weeks between completing your final exams or Advanced Field Experience and the final graduation review. This is because we must wait for final grades to be posted to Bear Tracks for all students graduating from the faculty that term before the final review can be completed.

During this six week period, before we complete the final graduation review, your graduation status will remain at “Needs to Finish Pending Work”. As soon as our final review is complete, a Student Advisor will update your Degree Status to “Expected” provided you have fulfilled your degree requirements and are eligible for graduation.

Convocation Ceremonies

The University of Alberta convocation ceremonies, coordinated by the Office of the Registrar, are held three times a year:

  • March - for students who complete their degree requirement in Fall term.
  • June - for students who complete their degree requirements in Winter term.
  • November - for students who complete their degree requirements in Spring/Summer term.

You must indicate in Bear Tracks whether or not you plan on attending your convocation ceremony. This information can be found in the ‘Academic Records’ tile of Bear Tracks under ‘Graduation’ and then ‘Graduation Status’.

For more information about convocation, including information about ceremony times and dates, and a “Graduation Checklist”, visit the Office of the Registrar’s Convocation website.

Graduation Photos

Interested in graduation photos? The Education Students’ Association (ESA) has an agreement with SUB Photo where Education students can receive a discounted rate for sit-in photographs. Book your session online on Sub Photo's website. For more information please contact SUB Photo or the ESA.