Student FAQs

Students must wear their full regalia (gown & cap). Bring your name reader card. Leave gifts (including flower bouquets) with your guests. You will not be allowed to bring in bags, gifts, etc.

Viterbi PhD Hooding is on May 8 ,2024.
Commencement Day is on May 10, 2024.

For more information visit the Viterbi PhD Hooding webpage and Masters Commencement webpage.

Yes, students need to apply for graduation as well as register to participate in commencement.

1. Students who have completed all degree requirements should apply for graduation through their home departments. When those requests are approved, those eligible students will be emailed an invitation to register for the commencement ceremony.
2. USC Viterbi utilizes Marching Order for registration to commencement ceremonies. You will receive an email directly from Marching Order with detailed instructions on how to register for your Viterbi Master’s Ceremony. The deadline to register will be Spring 2024 .

Only students who have completed their degree requirements in December 2023, or will complete their degree requirements in May 2024 or August 2024 are eligible to participate in Viterbi Master's Commencement Ceremonies.

Only students who have completed their degree requirements in December 2023, or will complete their degree requirements in May 2024 or August 2024 are eligible to participate in Viterbi Master's Commencement Ceremonies.

If you are an out of cycle grad and wish to walk this May, you are encouraged to complete the Out of Cycle form which will be available Spring 2024. Please understand that there is a chance your application may not be approved. Your name will also not appear in the Commencement Book.

For the Viterbi's Commencement Ceremony, candidates will be announced as they cross the stage. By completing the registration process on Marching Order, your name and major will display on the screens when you cross the stage at the Viterbi Commencement Ceremony. When you select “yes” for the ceremony attendance, the Marching Order website will ask you to confirm how your name will be announced. The photographer will also use this registration information to send you photograph proofs.

Commencement Program

The 2024 Commencement Program book includes students who graduated in Fall 2023 or will graduate in Spring or Summer 2024 . If you would like to check your expected graduation date, please check your STARS report on OASIS. To check if your name will appear in the Commencement Program, visit: https://camel2.usc.edu/CommBook/index.html .

All correction requests for the Commencement Program must be received no later than 5pm on Tuesday, March 19th to USC Degree Progress in order to make the printed copy of the 2024 Commencement Program. Correction requests received after this deadline will not appear in the printed program but will appear in the online Commencement Program. For other corrections and general inquiries regarding the published information, please send an e-mail to dpcommbook@usc.edu

Commencement Programs will be available online and on campus on May 10, 2024.

The Commencement Program book includes the graduate’s name and previously earned degrees. The format is as follows: graduate name, current degree program, and previously earned degree.

Students are added or removed from the Commencement Book based on whether or not they have finished their requirements in the specified time frame.

If you’ve legally changed your name and want it to appear in the USC Commencement Program book, you will need to contact the Office of Academic Records and Registrar in the Verifications Department at (213) 740-9230. You can do this by mail. For verification purposes, you must submit a legal document that includes your complete name: driver’s license, birth certificate, or passport.

Cap and Gown Information

Viterbi MS= Orange
Viterbi PhD= Dark Blue

Invitation Letters

Letters are not required by the United States Consular Offices in order for family members to obtain visitor visas; however, as a courtesy to our students, OIS does provide a letter template for students who wish to write their own letter to invite family members to the United States. https://ois.usc.edu/invitation-letter/

Parking for all official commencement events is complimentary. Parking is free on Wednesday and Friday on a first-come, first-serve basis. On Wednesday, you and your guests will need to tell the gate attendant that you are here for Commencement.

There is no rain-date for Commencement. Fortunately, Southern California tends to be dry in May, though we recommend that you bring an umbrella if rain is forecasted.

Announcements are ordered at the Bookstore. For more information, visit USC Bookstore under the Graduation link.

Just rent your regalia. No other fees for participating in commencement. Class ring, announcements, etc. are optional.

Will wheelchairs be available for the main and Viterbi commencement? Will handicapped parking be available?

Wheelchairs are available for checkout from 6:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. If you need a wheelchair after 5:00 p.m., you will need to bring your own. One additional guest will be able to sit with him/her in this section.

Yes, children are allowed at the ceremony and reception. Children are to be supervised by an adult at all times.

Diplomas

The Registrar's Office oversees the distribution of university diplomas, in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Most diplomas are mailed to the permanent address of record, six to eight weeks after a degree is conferred.

Certain activity restrictions or an invalid address will prevent your diploma from being printed until the problem is corrected. Any restrictions attached to your account can be found on the Restrictions link in OASIS which can be accessed through the myUSC portal.

Diplomas are generally printed and mailed six to eight weeks after the conclusion of your final semester. If you need official verification of your degree before you receive your diploma, please contact the Verification or Transcript department.

Unless you have made other arrangements, the Degree Progress department will mail your diploma to your permanent address. You may request that we mail your diploma to your local address. When an order is placed with our diploma vendor, the Degree Progress department will pull a student's local and permanent addresses from the university's Student Information System (SIS). No updates can be made after the order is placed. If you would like to verify and/or change your local or permanent address, please update your address in OASIS.

In the event that a diploma is lost, stolen, damaged, or a duplicate copy is necessary, a request for a replacement may be sent through our contact page by selecting the Registrar/Diploma category from the drop down menus. The cost for a replacement diploma is $125.00, and the process may take four to six weeks from the time it is ordered. The new diploma will bear the current names of the officials in office at the time the replacement diploma is produced.

Please include the following information in your request:

1. Full Name while in attendance at USC
2. 10-Digit USC ID number (if applicable)
3. Dates of attendance
4. Date of birth
5. Major/degree for which you are requesting a replacement diploma.
6. Mailing address to which the replacement diploma should be sent.

Information on payment options for this service will be included on the email acknowledgement sent by USC.

Diplomas reflect university honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude) for undergraduate degrees. They do not reflect departmental honors. However, departmental honors, if earned, will be noted on your transcript. University honors are not granted to graduate degrees.

In general, diplomas do NOT reflect areas of concentration, specialization or emphasis. Depending on your major, your concentration or emphasis may appear on your transcript.

All bachelor's, master's and PhD degree certificates are 8.5" high x 11" wide.
MD, JD, PharmD and DDS degree certificates are 11" high x 14" wide.
Minor certificates, issued since late 1998, are 6" high x 8" wide.

If it has been more than three months since you received your congratulatory email, please contact the Registrar One Stop Center ( https://arr.usc.edu/records-transcripts/diplomas/) using your USC email account, to inquire about a reissue. Be sure to include your USC ID number. We usually wait 10 weeks for returned mail from domestic addresses, and 14 weeks from international addresses, before reissuing diplomas. Be sure to verify that your mailing address is valid, and that you do not have any activity restrictions that might have prevented your diploma from being printed.

In the event your diploma was damaged in transit, please return it to the Registrar One Stop Center with a clear photocopy of your valid government-issued photo ID, the damaged diploma AND the original mailer (so that we can verify the in-transit damage). If the original mailer is returned, we will waive the replacement fee of $125.

Please include the following information in your request:

1. Full Name while in attendance at USC
2. 10-Digit USC ID number (if applicable)
3. Dates of attendance
4. Date of birth
5. Mailing address to which the replacement diploma should be sent