Degrees are conferred upon recommendation of the Mason Gross School of the Arts faculty. A candidate entering the final semester of his or her program should submit a diploma application to the graduate registrar and an application for admission to candidacy to the dean's office. This can be completed online at https://www.ugadmissions.rutgers.edu/diploma. Degrees are conferred and diplomas issued only at the annual commencement each spring, but a student who completes the degree requirements in the summer or fall may request that the school issue a certificate in October or February for use until the following commencement. At the time of commencement, degrees may be conferred in absentia only if the candidate has notified the registrar that he or she is unable to attend the commencement exercises. Diplomas are withheld from all students having unpaid financial or library accounts or other outstanding obligations to the university.
The graduate diploma application must be completed and submitted online by the candidate. This must be done according to the deadlines on the registrar's diploma application website at http://nbregistrar.rutgers.edu/grad/gradip.htm. Unless the application is filed by the appropriate date, the degree will not be conferred and graduation will be delayed, in some cases by as much as one year.
If, after filing the application for a diploma, a candidate is unable to complete the degree requirements by the end of the semester specified, another application must be filed.
