Frequently Asked Questions
Spring 2022 Commencement
Yes. We are working with our campus partners to host in-person commencement ceremonies that implement the necessary safety measures. Graduates and their loved ones are strongly encouraged to follow our Campus Protocols and event instructions to promote a safe environment for all attendees during Commencement.
Graduating students who do not feel comfortable attending in-person may decide to view the Commencement ceremonies online and download their graduate slide.
Brownsville Commencement
May 13, 2022
Library/MAIN Lawn (view map)
Edinburg Commencement
May 14, 2022
Edinburg - Bert Ogden Arena
|
Time |
Colleges |
| Brownsville Ceremonies for Spring 2022 Graduates Date: Friday, May 13, 2022 Location: Brownsville Campus – LIBR/MAIN Lawn One West University Boulevard, Brownsville, Texas 78520 |
|
|
3:00 P.M. |
Check-In |
|
4:00 P.M. |
College of Fine Arts |
|
6:00 P.M. |
Check-In |
|
7:00 P.M. |
School of Medicine (Bioethics) |
| Edinburg Ceremonies for Spring 2022 Graduates Date: Saturday, May 14, 2022 Location: Edinburg – Bert Ogden Arena 4900 S I-69 C, Edinburg, TX 78539 |
|
|
7:00 A.M. |
Check-In |
|
8:00 A.M. |
College of Fine Arts |
|
11:00 A.M. |
Check-In |
|
12:00 P.M. |
Mathematics and Science Academy |
|
2:30 P.M. |
Check-In |
|
3:30 P.M. |
School of Medicine (Bioethics) |
|
6:00 P.M. |
Check-In |
|
7:00 P.M. |
College of Engineering and Computer Science |
- The ceremony will begin with a welcome and order of exercise.
- Upon arrival, graduates will check-in using their graduate pass and will be directed to sit in the graduate seating area in the order they arrive.
- Before going on stage, graduates will line up to retrieve their diploma tube.
- Graduates will pose on the stage an official photograph. The university’s official seal, mace, and college dean will be in the background.
- Graduates will exit the stage.
- Graduates will line-up off-stage (at photo-op designated area 2) for a second official photograph
- Graduates will be guided towards the event exit.
No. Graduate seating will be arranged by in order of degree (doctoral, masters, and bachelors). Graduates will be guided to sit within their degree section in the order in which they arrive.
Graduates will be guided to the exit after taking a photo on stage. Their guests will also be strongly encouraged to head to the exit to rejoin their graduate. We found that our graduates and their families enjoyed being able to depart after the graduate walked, so we will continue this process.
Yes. The college deans will recognize and confer their graduates as part of the order of exercise.
Before going on stage, graduates will line up to retrieve their diploma tube. Diploma tubes are only distributed at the Commencement ceremony.
GradImages® is proud to be the official commencement photographer for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley! Finding your photos after the event is easy. You will receive your free photo proofs via email 7 to 14 business days after the event, or you can search for your images on www.gradimages.com.
Questions? Please contact the GradImages Customer Service Department at (800) 261-2576 or ecc.giservice@gradimages.net.
Yes. We encourage you to purchase your graduation regalia which can be done at the UTRGV Campus Stores in-person or online via the Campus Stores website. You must wear full regalia (graduation gown and mortar board) in order to participate in commencement. Please note the use of the graduation hood is optional.
On the day of Commencement, you will be able to purchase regalia at the Campus Store, which will be open during the Commencement dates. Regalia will not be purchased inside the Commencement event area.
Yes. Guests unable to attend in-person ceremonies may view the ceremonies at https://www.utrgv.edu/live or via Facebook live stream.
Parking and transportation information will be available closer to the Commencement dates.
Please anticipate that there will be a significant amount of walking for both venues. We encourage you to wear comfortable shoes and plan appropriately.
Yes. Ushers will be available to assist families needing accommodations.
No. Graduation care packages were only distributed to the Class of 2020 graduates who had a virtual ceremony the semester they were scheduled to graduate. The Class of 2020 graduates have since then had the opportunity to participate in an in-person Commencement in May 2021.
If you have questions or concerns, please visit utrgv.edu/commencement or email commencement@utrgv.edu.
RSVP Process & Tickets
Yes. RSVPs will be used to determine the appropriate start times for each college.
Graduating students will receive an email from commencement@utrgv.edu very soon with this subject line: Spring 2022 Commencement – RSVP & Create Your Slide!
This email will provide instructions regarding how to log in and RSVP for commencement via our partner, Marching Order. Graduates have until Monday, April 11, 2022 to select the ceremony date and location of their choosing: Friday, May 13 in Brownsville or Saturday, May 14 in Edinburg.
Yes, you may change your answer and have until Monday, April 11, 2022 to select the ceremony date and location of their choosing: Friday, May 13 in Brownsville or Saturday, May 14 in Edinburg.
Brownsville: No tickets required. Due to the lawn location, seating capacity, and ceremony schedule, tickets will not be distributed. Instead, guests will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Edinburg: Ten tickets allotted per student. Due to the indoor location, seating capacity, and ceremony schedule, you will be limited to 10 guest tickets. Guests will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tickets will be distributed electronically upon a graduate’s RSVP through the Marching Order portal. Tickets will each be designated a unique QR code that will identify them upon arrival at the ceremony.
Yes. All guests from 0 years and up must have an electronic ticket to enter the ceremony.
Grad Slide & Message
If you choose to not attend in-person, you may enjoy the ceremony via live stream at https://www.utrgv.edu/live or via Facebook. Your name will not be announced at the live ceremony; however, you will be able to access your graduate slide at your convenience through your college ceremony webpage on the Commencement website.
Students will receive an email from commencement@utrgv.edu with this subject line: Spring 2022 Commencement – RSVP & Create Your Slide! This email will provide instructions regarding how to create a profile with our partner, Marching Order. For questions regarding your slide, please send an email to commencement@utrgv.edu.
UTRGV reserves the right to exercise discretion in rejecting graduate pictures or messages that fall under any of the following categories:
- Trademarked or branded material
- Containing personal contact information
- Soliciting services for a personal or business venture
- Promoting sponsorship or affiliation with a political, religious, or social organization
- Containing references to alcohol
- Containing references to guns or weapons
- Demonstrating illegal behavior, such as illegal drug consumption
- Obscene or lewd nature
- Memes or photos with social media filters
Your personal slide will include your full name, degree, major and any Latin honors you may qualify for based on your last institutional GPA (in-progress courses are not included in the calculation). Your photo and personal message will be included if you upload them by the deadline of Monday, April 11, 2022
Messages are limited to 200 characters including spaces.
Sample Slide:
Wearing a cap and gown along with any other regalia is encouraged, but it is optional.
No. Only pictures of you and/or your family will be accepted. Uploading a picture is optional. If your photo and/or message fall under one of the restriction categories (See FAQ question “Are there any restrictions on the types of pictures or message a graduate can submit?), only your name and degree information will be displayed.
By submitting a photo with other individuals to the Marching Order website, you are acknowledging that you have permission to use the image, including expressed consent by any party shown in the image, other than yourself.
Yes. All messages uploaded will be monitored. Any message that is profane, vulgar, violent, political, or offensive to any one individual or group of people will be rejected. If your photo and/or message fall under one of the restriction categories (See FAQ question “Are there any restrictions on the types of picture or message a graduate can submit?), only your name and degree information will be displayed.
Yes. You will be able to replace, change or edit your message once submitted – but only until the submission deadline of Monday, April 11, 2022, before 5 p.m. Please plan ahead and make sure you’re satisfied with the words you choose.
No. Minors and concentrations will not be recorded on the commencement slides. Minors and concentrations are printed on your official transcript.
On the day of your ceremony, you will have the opportunity to share or download your slide directly from your college commencement page. Your individual graduate slide will include a link that allows you to download or share to Facebook or Twitter. You may also take a screenshot of your slide. All graduation slides will remain available for sharing or download for a year after your commencement.
For your name to appear in the Spring 2022 Commencement Program, you must have applied by Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
On the day of your ceremony, you will have the opportunity to share or download your slide directly from your college commencement page. Your individual graduate slide will include a link that allows you to download or share to Facebook or Twitter. You may also take a screenshot of your slide. All graduation slides will remain available for sharing or download for a year after your commencement.
No, the commencement program will be available online at https://www.utrgv.edu/commencement 3 to 5 business days prior to the Commencement ceremonies.
Please email commencement@utrgv.edu by Monday, April 11, 2022 before 5 p.m. and include your student identification number along with details about your concern.
Remember that given timing constraints and for ceremony purposes only, honors are based on your GPA after the close of the fall semester (or the prior semester completed if you were not enrolled in the fall). Official, final Latin honors will be based on your final GPA after all grades are submitted, and all your degree requirements are verified as met. Final Latin honors will be posted on your diploma and official transcript once your degree is officially awarded. Please contact commencement@utrgv.edu for additional questions.
Graduation Eligibility
A student who has applied for spring 2022 graduation, and whose degree audit has demonstrated the student is on track to fully meet graduation requirements by April 8th is invited. Students can review deadlines-related graduation milestones here.
Students who were lacking more than 6 credit hours for degree completion in Summer 2021 and did not already participate in a ceremony are permitted to participate in the Spring 2022 ceremonies.
Applying for undergraduate graduation is done through ASSIST. The priority Application Deadlines can be found on the graduation application deadline page.
Here are the steps to apply:
- Go to utrgv.edu and login with your UTRGV credentials
- Select “ASSIST” under Applications
- Under “Student Services”, click on “Student Profile”
- Click “Application to Graduate” on the left-hand side
- Follow the prompts in the online application and hit “Submit”.
There is a $50 fee that will be applied to your student account once you finalize the application.
A non-refundable graduation fee of $50 is charged for undergraduate and graduate degrees regardless if the graduate participates in person. The fee is payable online on ASSIST or at the Edinburg or Brownsville Bursar’s office. This fee is used to pay for processing the application for graduation, diplomas and diploma postage, and expenses associated with commencement ceremonies.
DegreeWorks is a degree audit system used to monitor undergraduate students’ degree progression and graduation requirements. It offers the following functions:
- Allows students and advisors to view a student’s progress toward degree completion.
- Review pending coursework to assist in planning future coursework.
- Ability to run “What-If” audits scenarios for students interested in changing their major or adding a minor or concentration.
View your degree audit on DegreeWorks through ASSIST: https://my.utrgv.edu. Please keep in mind, however, that the DegreeWorks degree audit is not intended to replace the requirement that you meet with your academic advisor, as it is a guide to help you with course selection. For assistance interpreting the DegreeWorks report, please contact your academic advisor.
If you are going to be enrolling in undergraduate courses after graduation for professional improvement, to raise your GPA for admission into Grad school, or to take prerequisites for a master’s program, you need to submit a Readmit application through ApplyTexas.
Failure to reapply for admissions may prevent you from being eligible to receive Financial Aid.
If you have already applied for graduation online and you need to make a change in the term/date in which you will be completing your degree requirements, you are required to fill out and submit a Request for Change of Graduation Date form, as soon as possible.
The form is located online at https://www.utrgv.edu/studentforms, under the Student Enrollment Forms link on the U Central web page. You may submit your form in person at U Central on either campus or via e-mail to certification@utrgv.edu, be sure to use your UTRGV e-mail account.
UTRGV offers three (3) options for students to meet the Language Proficiency Requirement:
- Take Six (6) hours in the same language combination sequence (courses must be in a language other than English), visit the UTRGV catalog for additional information at: https://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/academics/catalogs/index.htm.
- Take the WebCAPE Placement Exam
- Take a CLEP Exam and earn college credit hours.
Upon demonstrating proficiency and once a score transcript reaches the Office of the Registrar for either a WebCAPE Placement Exam or for a CLEP Exam, your student record will be updated and noted appropriately.
Examination fees and testing information is available at: https://www.utrgv.edu/p16/testing/index.htm under Computer Based Exams.
Most degree plans require a minimum of 120 hours and 42 advanced hours; however, some degrees may require additional hours in both areas.
For example, Engineering and some Health Profession programs require additional hours in both areas.
Visit UTRGV at https://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/academics/undergraduate/index.htm to view your specific degree plan. Click on Undergraduate Program Archive to view degree plans in catalog years 2015-2019.
Contact your department for course recommendations. If you need further assistance, please e-mail the Graduation Help Desk at graduationhelpdesk@utrgv.edu. Explain your situation and provide your Student ID Number and a contact phone number.
If you need to initiate a course substitution or waiver, please contact your advisor. Advisors can submit, view and search requests online. You may schedule an advising session at https://www.utrgv.edu/advising/.
If you are unable to schedule an advising session with your academic advisor online, please call their office at (956) 665-7120 to speak with the Academic Advising Center representative for further assistance. Explain your situation and your upcoming graduation in the semester to see if you can get an appointment due to the circumstances.
You may view any holds on-line
- Log in to http://my.utrgv.edu
- Click on ASSIST
- Click on “Student Profile”
- Click on “Holds:” on the top right side of the page
For general information, you can visit https://www.utrgv.edu/holds for a listing of the different types of student holds along with respective contact information for each office.
Diplomas will be mailed if you do not have any holds by the end of January for fall graduates, and by the end of June for spring graduates, and the end of September for summer graduates. Update your phone number and “diploma” mailing address in ASSIST: https://my.utrgv.edu before you graduate.