Apply to Graduate (SDSU)
Application for graduation is a requirement and is unrelated to whether or not a student participates in either university’s commencement ceremony. Students can apply to graduate at SDSU through their mySDSU.edu portal. UC San Diego does not require an application to graduate.
SDSU Graduation Information can be found on SDSU’s Graduate Studies website: https://grad.sdsu.edu/current-students/graduation-information
Application Filing Period: The application filing period for summer graduation opens during the fall semester of the graduation year and ends shortly after spring semester begins. For current Application Filing Period dates, please refer to the SDSU Office of the Registrar’s Graduation website: https://registrar.sdsu.edu/graduation/apply.
PhD Graduation Application Fee: Required by SDSU in order to apply to graduate, paid through the my.SDSU portal at the time of application. The JDP will reimburse students for this fee. Click on the How to Receive Additional Program Support SharePoint link to view the instructions on how to get reimbursed for the Graduation Application Fee.
Graduation Term: Since student internships end after the last day of UC San Diego’s Spring Quarter, students apply to graduate during the Summer term (NOT the Spring). Even though a student will apply for summer graduation, they will NOT have to register for any units during the summer term if all requirements have been met by the deadline listed under the “Important Deadlines” section on the Dissertation Submission Guidelines webpage, including defense and final approval of your dissertation. If a student does not meet the criteria listed by the deadline provided, they will need to register for PSY 899 at SDSU for either Summer or Fall term at their own expense.
Please Note – For students whose internship completion date is after the end of June, you do not need to register for any summer units.
Commencement Ceremonies
Students are strongly encouraged to attend both commencement ceremonies.
SDSU Commencement
SDSU Commencement occurs at the end of Spring semester (typically the second weekend in May). For more information about SDSU’s Commencement Ceremonies, visit the following website: https://commencement.sdsu.edu/.
Our students are invited to attend the College of Graduate Studies Ceremony for the Doctoral, Terminal & Master’s Degree Candidates in the College of Sciences.
UC San Diego Commencement
UC San Diego Commencement occurs at the end of Spring Quarter (typically in mid-June). For more information about UC San Diego’s Commencement Ceremonies, visit the following website: https://students.ucsd.edu/academics/commencement/index.html
Our students are invited to attend the Graduate Division, Doctoral and Master of Fine Arts Commencement Ceremony.
NOTE: Your name will be printed in the SDSU commencement booklet the year you graduate. For UC San Diego, your name will ONLY be printed in UC San Diego’s commencement booklet if you register online to attend the Grad Division ceremony; Otherwise, your name will not be printed in the booklet until the following year.
Degree Conferral
Degrees are only posted once the degree has been conferred on the last day of final exams of UC San Diego Summer Session II (beginning of September).
You will receive one diploma from UC San Diego and have an official transcript from each campus.
Since many students complete all program requirements prior to their degrees being officially conferred by the University, you may be required to provide a letter from the program verifying that you have met all requirements prior to starting a Postdoctoral Fellowship. For more information about how to request this letter as well as postdoc hours and licensing boards, please refer to the After Graduation webpage.
Updated 6/20/2025