Undergraduate Graduation and Degree Conferral

Undergraduate Graduation Application

Undergraduate students who plan to graduate must submit a Graduation Application to the Office of the Registrar during their junior year. The application is submitted as part of the student's completed grad plan (using Degree Audit Planner) with their major department’s guidance. Once submitted, a Degree Specialist will review the application, and will assign each student a degree status. The Graduation Processing Fee will be placed on the student’s account at this time. In addition, students who fail to submit their application before their graduating term will be charged a late graduation application fee. This fee will be assessed for any application submitted after the end of the second week of the semester in the student’s selected commencement term. No applications will be accepted after November 15th for Fall degree conferral and March 15th for Spring degree conferral/commencement during the student’s last term. Thereafter, the student must participate in the next available commencement ceremony.

Requirements for all Baccalaureate Degrees

1. All baccalaureate degrees require a minimum of 120 degree-applicable credits for graduation. Unless otherwise designated, each major consists of a minimum of 30 credits of which 24 must be upper-division, a minimum of 21 unique credits, and at least 15 of the 24 upper-division major credits must be taken at Biola University. For specific major requirements please see indicated major listings. Elective credits may be necessary to meet the minimum 120 degree-applicable credits needed for graduation. In the case of repeated courses, only the credits from one of the repeated courses apply. 
   1. A minimum of 24 of the last 30 credits must be earned at Biola University (i.e., only 6 credits may be transferred in during this time).
   2. Biola University accepts up to 70 transfer credits from accredited community colleges or up to 90 transfer credits from accredited four-year colleges and universities. No more than 90 transfer credits will be accepted.
   3. No more than 15 transfer credits will be accepted after a student matriculates (defined as the first day of a student’s first semester of coursework).
2. All academic requirements must be completed/fulfilled. Approval of the student's Graduation Application must be obtained from the major advisor and an academic records and degree specialist in the Office of the Registrar at least one year before graduation. During their last year, students anticipating graduation should take a normal academic load of 18 credits to ensure completion of degree requirements. Those students who wish to take more are expected to notify their academic records and degree specialist. Approval for additional credits beyond the norm will be made through the Office of the Registrar.
3. A minimum of 30 credits must be taken at Biola University, at least 15 credits (upper-division level) in the major field. Biola has a residency requirement for biblical studies. Students in most traditional programs must take at least 15 Bible credits at Biola. Students in select high-credit majors and transfer students with 45 or more transferable credits completed after high school graduation at the time of enrollment/matriculation must take at least 9 Bible credits at Biola. Transfer credit, credit for prior learning, credit by examination and off-campus programs may not be used to fulfill the minimum residency requirement.
4. A maximum of 25% of an undergraduate degree may be fulfilled through all internal forms of PLA (external standardized examinations such as AP, CLEP, IB, ACTFL, STAMP 4S, etc. excluded). The process for PLA portfolio must be completed prior to the beginning of the student’s last semester required for degree completion.
5. A minimum C average (or a 2.0 grade point average) in the major and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 taken at Biola University. (Note: GPA requirements are higher in some majors. See departmental requirements.)
6. All transcripts counting toward graduation must be received by the Office of the Registrar prior to November 15th for Fall commencement and March 15th for Spring commencement.
7. All students who have entered the university Fall 1986 or later and who will be graduating in Spring 1990 or later must pass the Writing Competency Exam.
8. Students will need to pay the Graduation Processing Fee.

Note: All graduation requirements may be met within four school years by carrying approximately 16 or 17 credits each semester. Students may still meet graduation requirements within four years if they wish to take a lighter load and enroll in Summer Session.

Graduation Honors - Undergraduate Programs

Honors at graduation for baccalaureate recipients are based on grade point average, overall performance, Christian values, and a minimum 60-credit residency. Honors are not automatically granted. Faculty may raise the standards at any time. Honors are granted by the faculty and may be denied or higher standards may be applied. The university honors have been defined by the Academic Standards Committee as:

Honors recognized in the graduation ceremony may be changed based on the processing of final grades. GPA standards for honors must be met with no rounding of numbers. Graduate students should check with their program section in the catalog for honors qualification.

Honor Society

A select group of eligible seniors are inducted by the faculty each year to membership in Epsilon Kappa Epsilon, the baccalaureate honor society of Biola University. To be eligible for membership, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher and must have completed 60 credits at Biola prior to the semester of graduation. Final selection is based upon scholastic performance, Christian witness and contributions to the Biola community. Membership is limited to no more than 5% of the graduating class.