Degrees Awarded

The University offers the following undergraduate degrees:

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Associate in Arts

Requirements for the Baccalaureate Degree

  1. Official acceptance by the Admission Office.
  2. A minimum of 120 earned semester hours.
  3. Fulfillment of the residency requirement.
  4. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00.
  5. Completion of the core curriculum requirements. (Refer to the specific core curriculum requirements.)
  6. A major satisfying the requirements of the department and minimum grade point average of 2.00 in courses required for the major. Refer to departmental requirements for majors.
  7. Integration of the specificity of the major field into the broader focus of the core curriculum.
  8. Completion of assessment courses and/or projects.
  9. A formal application for the degree must be on file in the Registrar’s Office by the application deadline specified in each semester’s or term’s Semester Policies and Procedures.
  10. Students can apply up to 9 co-op hours towards their degree; individual programs may further restrict the number of co-op hours that can apply towards a major.  
  11. No more than three documented Plus One Credits may be accumulated during pursuit of a degree.
  12. Students can apply a maximum of 4 credits total of combined ACT 175 intercollegiate sport credits to their MSJ degree. 

All of the listed degree requirements must be satisfied before a degree can be posted. 

Requirements for the Associate Degree

  1. Official acceptance by the Admission Office.
  2. A minimum of 60 semester hours.
  3. Fulfillment of the residency requirement.
  4. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00.
  5. Completion of the core curriculum requirements. (Refer to the specific core curriculum requirements.)
  6. A major satisfying the requirements of the department and a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in courses required for the major. Refer to departmental requirements for majors.
  7. A formal application for the degree must be on file in the Registrar’s Office by the application deadline specified in each semester’s or term’s Semester Policies and Procedures.

All of the listed degree requirements must be satisfied before a degree can be posted. 

Graduation with Honors

The baccalaureate and associate degrees are conferred with special honors on students who have fulfilled the university residency requirement and whose final academic cumulative grade point average is 3.50 or above.  In addition to the GPA criteria, students must have completed a minimum of 42 semester hours in Mount coursework earning letter grades by the end of the final semester or term of courses/credits required for the degree. Courses earning a Pass/Fail grade or credits earned through experiential learning options do not apply toward the 42 hour minimum. Official graduation honors are noted on the student’s diploma and academic record.

The student’s cumulative grade point average and fulfillment of the residency requirements for honors (refer to preceding paragraph) determine the following distinctions:

Baccalaureate Degree
Cum Laude: 3.50-3.69
Magna Cum Laude: 3.70-3.89
Summa Cum Laude: 3.90-4.00
 
Associate Degree
With Distinction: 3.50 or above

Tentative Graduation Honors at Commencement

The May commencement ceremony is held before final grades are reported by instructors. Therefore, tentative (unofficial) graduation honors are noted in the commencement program and announced at the commencement ceremony. Tentative graduation honors for purposes of the commencement ceremony are based on: 1) the applied graduation candidate’s previous semester/term earned cumulative grade point average; and 2) the Mount's residency requirement and 3) the required minimum of 42 semester hours in Mount course work with a letter grade (excluding P/F grades or experiential learning credits) earned by the end of the previous semester.

Graduation Application Information

Graduation Applications

Application deadline dates for undergraduate graduation candidates completing their degree requirements are:

  • August completion - graduation application due November 15 of previous year
  • December completion - graduation application due April 15
  • May completion - graduation application due September 15 of previous year

Commencement Ceremony 

All graduation candidates will be eligible to participate in the University's May commencement ceremony as below:

  • August graduation candidates with 12 or fewer credit hours to complete their degree may participate in the May ceremony prior to the summer session in which they complete their requirements.
  • December graduates may participate in the following May commencement ceremony.
  • May graduation candidates may participate in May commencement ceremony.

Applying for Graduation

Graduation candidates are required to complete a graduation application which is submitted for approval to their advisor and program director and/or department chair. The approved application for graduation is submitted to the Registrar's Office. The graduation application must be on file in the Registrar's Office by the posted deadline dates.

If graduation requirements are not completed by the date (month/year) specified on the student’s graduation application, the application will be moved to the next graduation cycle. If the requirements are not completed by the next official graduation date, i.e. December, May or August, the application will be canceled. If a student completes their graduation requirements after being notified their application has been canceled, the student will be required to submit a Petition to Review of completed graduation requirements for degree posting on the next official graduation date.

A one-time $75.00 non-refundable graduation application fee is assessed to all graduation candidates for each degree application. Students who apply after posted application deadlines are at risk for not receiving important communications regarding participation in commencement and graduation-related activities, may not have their name listed in the commencement program, and may not be eligible to participate in commencement.

If a student applies for one degree during one academic year and another degree during a future academic year, the graduation application fee is charged twice. A student applying for an undergraduate and a graduate degree during the same academic year will be charged the full graduation application fee twice.

Bachelor Degree Posting

The final posting of all academic degrees is not done until all final grades have been submitted and a final review of the degree audit is completed by the Registrar's Office to ensure all graduation requirements have been met. The University has four weeks after the semester's final grade due date to post, move, or cancel a graduation applicant's degree. The University posts degrees three times a year following the end of the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

Official diplomas for all graduates are mailed approximately four weeks after final grades have been submitted and all financial obligations to the University have been met.

December, May and August degrees are conferred by Mount St. Joseph University at the annual May commencement ceremony. 

Diplomas

Official paper and electronic diplomas for all graduates are mailed approximately four weeks after final grades have been submitted and all financial obligations to the University have been met. Certified Electronic Diplomas (CeD) are emailed to recipients through Paradigm.

Finalizing the Academic Record

The University posts degrees to student records during Fall, Spring, and Summer terms. All final grades and official transcripts for applicable transfer work must be received in order for degree posting to occur.

Once the degree is posted to the record, the academic record is considered complete and final. No further changes will be made unless there is a documented clerical error or unless the student successfully appeals a grade under the Academic Grade Appeal Policy or Formal Complaint Policy. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the Office of the Registrar of a clerical error within 30 days of the posting date.

Course repeats for the purposes of bolstering the final degree GPA are not permitted after a degree is posted. No transfer work will be accepted after the degree is posted.

Students may not retroactively seek to have additional majors or concentrations added to a degree after it has been posted. See Additional Undergraduate Degree for more information about adding additional degrees, majors, minors, or concentrations after degree posting. 

Degree Revocation

Mount St. Joseph University reserves the right to revoke any degree previously awarded. A degree awarded may be revoked if the university becomes aware that the degree should not have been granted, such as a degree that was obtained by violating the Code of Student Conduct or by deception, misrepresentation, falsification of records, academic misconduct, research misconduct, or if the work submitted in fulfillment of — and indispensable to — the requirements for the degree are determined to fail to meet the academic standards that were in effect at the time the degree was awarded.

The university also reserves the right to withdraw a degree to correct an administrative error, such as an incorrectly listed degree, or in a situation where it was found that a student had not actually fulfilled all graduation requirements.

The Provost reviews all recommendations for revocation of degrees and forwards to the President any recommendations deemed to be warranted. The University President will consider all recommendations forwarded by the Provost and effectuate those determined to be warranted. Notification of the date of revocation will appear on the student’s transcript, and the student will be asked to return the diploma.

Procedures governing degree revocations may be obtained from the Offices of the Registrar, Provost, or President.