Holds will prevent you from applying for graduation online, receiving a transcript and/or a diploma. These include, but are not limited to:

• Athletic holds
• Bursar Office holds
• Housing fees
• Library late fees
• Parking tickets
• Financial Aid holds

If you received loan funds while you were enrolled at Middle Georgia State University, you must complete Exit Counseling. This must be done whenever you cease enrollment or are no longer enrolled at least half-time or meet any of the criteria listed above. Here is how you may complete Exit Counseling on the web:

• Sign on to studentaid.gov
• Click on “Complete Exit Counseling”
• “Log in to Start”
• Click on “Start Demo”
• Upon completion of the counseling session, confirmation of your completion is automatically sent to the MGA Financial Aid Office

In order to graduate, you must meet all degree requirements as listed in a single Middle Georgia State University catalog. Choose any catalog less than 5 years old beginning with the catalog you’ve used during your studies here.

• Seeing your advisor each semester will help you stay on track
• Re-Admittance or Change of Major circumstances: If you stop attending and are subsequently readmitted to MGA or if you change major, your matriculation catalog is reset to the year of readmission or change of major. You must have attended at least one term under your chosen graduation catalog.

Meet all deadline dates: including graduation application deadline, cap and gown order deadline. Resolve deficiencies (petitions, course substitutions, History and Constitution Requirements). Failure to do so can cause you not to graduate in a timely manner.

Hour and Residency Requirements:

• Associate Degree - minimum of 60 semester hours, including core curriculum and major requirements. Applicants must have earned at Middle Georgia State 25% of hours applicable to the degree. Credit earned by examination cannot be applied to the residency requirement.
• Baccalaureate Degree - minimum semester hours defined for your program including a minimum of 39 semester hours of upper-division courses overall and 21 semester hours in the major. Applicants must have earned 30 semester hours, including 21 hours in upper division courses in the major area. Satisfactory completion of upper division work will be reviewed and completion certified by the applicable department chair. Credit earned by examination cannot be applied to the residency requirement. To graduate with honors, a baccalaureate student must have completed at least 60 semester hours of course-work at Middle Georgia State University and earn a cumulative institutional GPA of at least 3.5.
  
  

  For both Associate and Baccalaureate degrees:

  1. History and Constitution: Before being certified as having met all degree requirements, students must have satisfied the Georgia legislative requisites of demonstrating proficiency in U.S. and Georgia history, and U.S. and Georgia Constitutions.
  2. Regents' Test: Students must have met Regents' requirements.
  3. Graduation Grade Point Average (GPA): Associate degree candidates must present a minimum cumulative institutional GPA of 2.0 on academic work attempted at Middle Georgia State University and a minimum of 2.0 on all courses used to meet graduation requirements. Baccalaureate degree candidates must present an institutional 2.0 GPA on all work attempted at Middle Georgia State University.

Go online to SWORDS account and apply online.

• The first term the online application asks for is the curriculum term.
• Choose a term, then click submit. You will be asked to choose a graduation term a few steps later.
• Check your SWORDS account to confirm the spelling of your current name and make sure we have your correct address.
• Payment instructions can be found here.

• To pay online, go to SWORDS for secure login to your SWORDS account.
• After successful login, select the Student tab and click the "Pay Now"
• You are then redirected to the Middle Georgia State University ePayment window. If guidance is needed, click the “help” menu item for a listing of available topics.

Non-completion of degree requirements: If you do not complete your degree during the term you specify on your application, your graduation status will be inactivated until you reapply and indicate a new term for degree completion. No additional application fee is charged.

Please contact Yulonda.Banks  if you have questions.

When you apply online via SWORDS, the graduation application is retrieved by the Graduation Coordinator in the Office of the Registrar. They will then begin the auditing process.

• Associate Degrees:
  • Audits are processed in the Registrar’s Office within 2-4 weeks by the Graduation Coordinator
• Bachelor Degrees
  • Audits are processed in the Registrar’s Office within 4-6 weeks (audits are dispersed to each academic department for review)
• Second Degrees (only if the first degree was received at MGA):
  • For both Associate and Bachelor Degrees, a Second Degree Application is completed by the Graduation Coordinator in the Registrar’s Office and dispersed to each department for review
  • Once reviewed by the Department, the Second Degree Application is returned to the Graduation Coordinator in the Registrar’s Office and then mailed to the student
  • Allow 4-6 weeks for processing

Graduation Coordinator will ask the departments to review the MyDegree audit to make sure you are on track to graduate.

The MyDegree audit will indicate if anything is missing or if you are on track to graduate.

• As a convenience to you, you may view your MyDegree audit on your SWORDS account once degree audits are completed.
• To view MyDegree in SWORDS:
  • Once logged on to your SWORDS account, go to “student”, and then click on “MyDegree” to view update audit
  • If any issues, contact the Graduation Coordinator in the Office of the Registrar

Graduation Coordinator will send emails (student email only) concerning the GradFest, graduation schedule and tickets. To ensure you are ready for the big day, refer to the Graduation Checklist.