Graduate Information

For students requiring additional accommodations for the Commencement ceremonies, please contact:

• Undergraduate students (associate or baccalaureate) - Registrar's Office at 785-628-4222 or registrar@fhsu.edu
• Graduate students (master's, Ed.S., and doctoral) - The Graduate School at 785-628-4236 or gradschool@fhsu.edu 

Sign Language interpreters

• Arrangements for sign language interpreters must be made by sending a request to the Registrar's Office by November 14, 2025.

Close Captioning

• Closed Captioning will be available on the jumbo screen in Gross Memorial Coliseum during each ceremony.

Undergraduate and graduate students must file an apply for program completion form (formerly Intent to Graduate form) in Workday for the last semester in which the degree is being sought.  Directions to Apply for Program Completion (APC).

To be included in the Fall 2025 commencement program and recognized in the ceremony, students will need to submit any changes to their Program Completion (APC) form by the deadline of: October 13, 2025.

No additional degree completion fee is charged to undergraduate or graduate candidates.  This policy is effective Fall 2023.

Graduates will receive their diplomas in the mail approximately four to six weeks after the end of the semester.  Your diploma will be mailed to your primary address or diploma mailing address within Workday.  If your primary address is incorrect, refer to the "My Primary Address Changes" job aid.  Note: if you are a student employee at FHSU, changing your primary address could have withholding and tax implications.

Associate's and Bachelor's degree candidates should contact their degree analyst in the Registrar's Office at 785-628-4222 or registrar@fhsu.edu with questions to change to their diploma address.

Master's, Ed.S. and DNP degree candidates should contact the Graduate School at 785-628-4236 or gradschool@fhsu.edu with questions to change their diploma address.

Your diploma will be mailed to your primary Address unless you create or designate a different Diploma Mailing Address.

To create or designate a different Diploma Mailing Address, log into Workday, go to your Student Profile and access your Contacts to edit.  Specific directions to either designate or create a different Diploma Mailing Address can be found in the Student Records section. 

Candidates completing all degree requirements (associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degrees) during the Summer or Fall semesters are eligible to participate in fall commencement. Candidates completing all degree requirements during the Spring semester are eligible to participate in spring commencement.

Students with reasonable expectation to finish a degree during the summer term may participate in the spring commencement prior to completion. Summer graduates also have the option to attend the following fall commencement. However, all graduates are allowed only one opportunity to participate in commencement. Names will appear in the program for the ceremony in which the graduates are scheduled to participate. Undergraduate students present requests to the Registrar; graduate students present requests to the Dean of the Graduate School.

Bachelor's degree candidates who are earning graduation honors from Fort Hays State University wear a black-and-gold honor cord as part of their commencement gown. Honors are awarded based on the candidate’s grade point average (GPA) for both cumulative and Fort Hays State University coursework. Eligible students must have attended Fort Hays State University for one of the last two years.

• Cum Laude - Achievement of 3.60 to 3.79 GPA.
• Magna Cum Laude - Achievement of 3.80 to 3.89 GPA.
• Summa Cum Laude - Achievement of 3.90 or above GPA.

While honors will be listed in the commencement program for those who may reasonably anticipate them, the listing on the program is not a guarantee of receiving honors. The listing and reading of honors for degree candidates are based on the grade indexes achieved at the beginning of the student's final semester. The official honor awarded based on final grade indexes will be noted on the student's diploma and transcript.

There are no honors distinctions for Master's, Ed.S., or Doctoral degrees.

Hometown 

FHSU will use the city, state, and country (NOT street address or zip code) in the primary mailing address as your hometown. This hometown will appear next to your name in the Commencement Program that friends, family, and other graduates receive at the graduation ceremonies.

To create or designate a different Hometown Address, log into Workday, go to your Student Profile and access your Contacts to edit. Specific directions for either designating or creating a different hometown address can be found in the Student Records section.

All graduates receive their regalia at no cost.

Whether you’re an on-campus or online graduate, you must order your regalia by completing the form at this link.

On-Campus Graduates

Your regalia will be ready for pick-up starting November 6 at Victor E. Apparel and Gift Co., located in the Memorial Union.

If you order after November 10, please allow 24 hours for processing.

Off-Campus Graduates

You have two options for getting your regalia:

1. Pick up in person
Visit Victor E. Apparel and Gift Co. in the Memorial Union by December 11, 2025, no later than 4:00 p.m. (CT).

2. Have it shipped to you

• Be sure to order early—shipping takes time!

• The last day to ship orders is December 1 to guarantee arrival before Commencement.

• Students outside the United States are responsible for international shipping costs.

Note: Regalia cannot be shipped to the following areas: Alexander, Bison, Bunker Hill, Catharine, Collyer, Dorrance, Ellis, Gorham, Hays, La Crosse, Liebenthal, Lucas, Luray, McCracken, Ogallah, Otis, Paradise, Rush Center, Russell, Schoenchen, Timken, Victoria, Waldo, or WaKeeney.

Need Help?

Check out the Regalia FAQ for answers to common questions.

You can also contact Victor E. Apparel and Gift Co. at
📞 785-628-4417 or ✉️ by email.

Review the how-to video on how to wear FHSU regalia.

The diploma name must match the legal first and last name on file with Fort Hays State University.

To change a legal first and/or last name, on the diploma, see the “Change My Legal Name” job aid. FHSU requires you to upload a valid driver’s license, Social Security card, or passport with your new legal name to change it in the FHSU record system. Please submit any legal name updates as soon as possible.

Once a diploma is issued, any changes/updates to the name will require the purchase of another copy of the diploma.

The Registrar’s Office or Graduate School will email students if the diploma name submitted does not meet the standard outlined above. Any diploma name that does not match the legal first and last name will revert back to the legal name on file with the University before the degree is awarded and diplomas are issued.

Please note:

• Middle names may be added, removed, abbreviated or expanded as necessary until the designated APC deadline.
• Suffixes are permissible after the last name. (ex : Smith III)
• Periods are placed after all middle initials. If you do not want a period after your middle initial, please email registrar@fhsu.edu or gradschool@fhsu.edu with this request.
• To insert a special diacritical mark or accent, please copy and paste the character from Microsoft Word.
• Names in all capital letters will be changed to mixed case (only the first letter of each name is capitalized).
• The commencement programs and diplomas have hard print deadlines. Please submit changes by October 12. We cannot make any changes submitted after these deadlines.

Diploma names for international students must match the exact name as it appears on their passport, visa, insurance and other official documents. Various international governments and verification agencies accept a student’s diploma as official only if it is issued under the name listed on the official university record.

Please direct any questions you have to the Registrar’s Office at registrar@fhsu.edu or gradschool@fhsu.edu.

Commencement programs will be available electronically at each ceremony through a QR code. Guests may scan the code to view, download, or print the full program.

Official printed programs are available for purchase through FHSU Printing Services. These keepsake editions will be mailed beginning December 19, 2025.

Details

• Cost: $15 (includes shipping and handling)

• Payment options:

  • Credit card (online orders)

  • Cash or check (in person at Printing Services)

• Order period: November 1, 2025 – January 16, 2026

Contact Information
FHSU Printing Services
Brooks Building, Room 101
600 Park Street
Hays, KS 67601
Email: printshop@fhsu.edu
Phone: 785-628-5310

Orders can be placed through the TigerLink form.

• Undergraduate candidates (associate and baccalaureate degrees) and Graduate candidates (master's, and Ed.S.) - The RSVP link is no longer available. Please RSVP your attendance by contacting the Registrar's Office or the Graduate School.

The pre-recorded Virtual Ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday, December 13 at 2:00 pm (CT) for the graduate degrees and at 4:00 pm (CT) for the undergraduate degrees.

Graduates unable to physically come to campus for the ceremonies, are recognized in a virtual ceremony on the Tiger Media Network on Saturday, December 13. The undergraduate and graduate ceremonies will feature formal remarks from the President, Provost, Kansas Board of Regents member and deans. All graduates (including those attending the on-campus ceremonies) will have their name and degree appear on a slide on the screen as it is read by the Reader of Names.  All names are read alphabetically by last name within the college.  The order of the colleges are identical to the on-campus schedule.  Names are not read by types of degrees.