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Office of the Registrar

Pre-Graduation To-Do List

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Preparing for graduation can feel like an overwhelming task. To ensure your celebration is both smooth and memorable, students are encouraged to utilize this Pre-Graduation To-Do List as a helpful resource in managing the graduation and commencement process.

Grad Fest
Fall 2024


Hattiesburg Barnes & Noble Bookstore 
Thad Cochran Center

Monday, September 16, 2024
10:00am - 5:00pm

Tuesday, September 17, 2024
10:00am - 4:00pm

Gulf Park Barnes & Noble Bookstore
Hardy Hall

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
1:00pm - 5:00pm

Click on Order Caps and Gowns below for more details!

 

Apply for Graduation 

*All students regardless of participation in Commencement ceremony MUST apply for graduation.

Optional Services

Photo Services - Students may choose to have their photos made in advance of graduation through Southern Miss Photo Services. Call 601.266.4149 to set up an appointment in Hattiesburg. 

Southern Miss class rings may be ordered at Ring Day, Grad Fest and online. Ring production typically takes 8-10 weeks, therefore orders must be placed by September 6, 2024 for arrival in time for Fall Commencement (not guaranteed).

Fall 2024 Ring Day
Southern Miss Barnes & Noble
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. 

Graduates Participating in Commencement

Graduates seated on the floorAll candidates for Undergraduate, Master's, Specialist, and Doctoral degrees are required to indicate their desire to participate in the commencement ceremony at the time of filing for their degree. Candidates who express a wish to participate will receive an automatic seat confirmation from the Registrar's Office. If, however, a student initially opts not to participate and later decides to attend, they must reserve a seat using the seat reservation link below. Additionally, all students wishing to participate in the ceremony must wear traditional black regalia, with the exception of Doctoral candidates, who may purchase custom gold regalia.

Degree candidates for Fall 2024 are required to submit and pay for their degree application by September 6, 2024, in order for their names to be included in the commencement program. Candidates participating in Fall 2024 commencement may reserve a seat free of charge from August 21 - October 31, 2024. Requests for seating between November 1 - November 27, 2024 will incur a $100 late seating fee. Requests for seating after November 27 2024 will not be honored and those students will not be allowed to participate in the Fall 2024 commencement ceremony.

 

  • Tickets will NOT be required for entry into Reed Green Coliseum for the Fall 2024 commencement ceremonies. Students are permitted to invite any number of guests.

  • Commencement ceremonies will be streamed live at /university/live.php for families and friends who are not able to attend in person.

Southern Miss wants degree candidates to enjoy this milestone for years to come. Barnes & Noble @ Southern Miss will host Grad Fest for degree candidates to have the convenience of taking care of all of their graduation needs at one time and place. Students may purchase and receive regalia on this day, order invitations, class rings, and visit with other campus representatives. While this event is not mandatory, students are encouraged to receive their regalia early by coming to enjoy Grad Fest on the following dates: 

Hattiesburg Campus (Barnes & Noble): Monday, September 16 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. or
Tuesday, September 17 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Â鶹´«Ã½ Gulf Coast Campus (Barnes & Noble): September 18 from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

If students are not able to attend Grad Fest, regalia (caps and gowns) may be ordered from Barnes & Noble at Southern Miss during regular business hours for Fall 2024 beginning September 19 thru Monday, November 4, 2024. A late fee will be charged for all orders placed after October 28, 2024.

Please note:  All orders placed in-store after Grad Fest will be available for pick-up at your campus Barnes and Noble Bookstore December 10-11, 2024, from 8:00am - 5:00pm.

ONLINE REGALIA ORDERING AND PICK UP
Caps and gowns may be ordered beginning September 19, 2024. The deadline to order your cap & gown for the Fall 2024 Commencement Ceremony is November 4, 2024 (date subject to change). A late fee will be charged for all orders starting October 29, 2024. Students are allowed to keep their regalia (cap, gown and tassel) after their ceremony and have the option to pick up in store or have items shipped to them.

In-store pick up for online orders will take place at your campus Barnes and Noble Bookstore December 10-11, 2024, from 8:00am - 5:00pm.  If you choose ship-to-home, your order will ship to you for arrival the week of November 18, 2024.

  • Undergraduate Regalia – $53.48 incl. tax (includes cap, gown, and tassel)
  • Master’s & Specialists – $106.98 incl. tax (includes cap, gown, hood and tassel)
  • Doctoral Mortarboard Cap Package – $74.88 incl. tax (includes mortarboard cap, gown, and tassel)
  • Doctoral Tam Package - $139.08 incl. tax (includes deluxe tam w/gold bullion tassel and gown)

o   Graduate School provides Doctoral hoods for their degree candidates.

Caps and gowns may also be ordered in store at Barnes and Noble on both campuses starting September 19, 2024.

Hattiesburg Barnes and Noble    (601) 266-4381

Gulf Park Barnes and Noble        (228) 214-3479

*Orders must be picked up from the campus where the order is placed. Please contact your campus bookstore to arrange a pick up time if you are unable to pick up during the designated pick up dates. 

MASTER'S AND SPECIALISTS HOODS
Master's and Specialists hoods are purchased from . Click here to view the various academic hood colors (disciplines) so that you may choose the appropriate hood color to order.

DOCTORAL HOODS
Doctoral students should not buy a hood. The cost of the hood is included in your doctoral graduation fees. The Graduate School will provide you with your hood at Commencement check-in on the day of Commencement. Your regalia is yours to keep. Seating cards for doctoral students will be distributed at check in by the Graduate School on the day of commencement.

 VENDORS FOR DOCTORAL REGALIA PURCHASE
 

You may choose any other vendor, as long as your gown is in accordance with Â鶹´«Ã½ standards - black doctoral with black velvet stripes OR black doctoral with color velvet stripes to match your hood. (Hood is provided by the Graduate School.)  When ordering custom regalia, orders must be placed by March 1st each  Spring semester and October 31st each Fall semester.

Below is a quick reference for information on the color of your velvet stripes if you choose the Deluxe Regalia.

Ph.D. Navy Blue
D.M.A. Pink
D.N.P. Apricot
Ed.D. Light Blue
Au.D. Rhodes Blue

UNIVERSITY ISSUED HONOR CORDS
To give distinction to student honor achievements, the University offers honor cords for undergraduate candidates (and approved petitioners) that have a current cumulative Southern Miss GPA of 3.5 or higher.  A black and gold honor cord can be purchased for $15 October 14, 2024 - December 13, 2024. All students who qualify for honor cords are notified via Southern Miss email. Students may opt to have their honor cord mailed to their home or can visit either campus for purchase and pickup.

Students wishing to purchase and pick up honor cords in HATTIESBURG may do so in the Registrar’s Office, Kennard-Washington Hall Room 110 Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m starting Monday, October 14, 2024.

Students wishing to purchase and pick up honor cords on the GULF COAST CAMPUS may do so in the Student Services One Stop, Gulf Coast Library, room 101 Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m starting Monday, October 14, 2024.

Students wishing to have their honor cords mailed can request and purchase using our .  The link for the online purchase will be available to students beginning Monday, October 14, 2024.

A student’s Latin designation shown in the Commencement program is based upon the student’s cumulative Â鶹´«Ã½ GPA at the end of the term preceding the graduation term. The official distinction on a student’s diploma and final transcript may differ, depending upon the student’s final semester’s grades.

REQUESTS FOR COMMENCEMENT STOLES/CORDS FOR ON CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS
A commencement stole is a decorative vestment worn by students who are members of various organizations for the purpose of denoting outstanding achievements in academics and used to indicate membership in a professional organization. All commencement stoles worn at graduation must be approved through the Office of the University Registrar.

Organizations must complete the  along with submitting a supplemental formal letter addressed to the Academic Regalia Subcommittee of the Executive Commencement Committee by February 1 for Spring commencement and September 1 for Fall commencement. The letter will need to address justification for requesting cords and will need to include the academic requirements for joining the organization. The committee will only consider commencement stoles/cords that are associated with academic excellence. Along with attaching the formal letter to the , the organization must attach a picture of the stole/cord they’re wishing to purchase when submitting the application.

Please address memo to:
Academic Regalia Subcommittee of the Executive Commencement Committee
ATTN: Dana%20Berry
118 College Drive #5166
Hattiesburg, MS 39406

All questions regarding organizations applying for a commencement stole or cord should be directed at our Graduation%20Listserv or to Dana%20Berry.

Students may choose to have their photos made in advance of graduation through Southern Miss Photo Services. Call 601.266.4149 to set up an appointment in Hattiesburg. 

Find out more about commencement photos on our Day of Commencement page

The Registrar's Office will communicate Commencement information through the student's @usm.edu email account. Students wishing to participate in the Commencement ceremony should check their @usm.edu email account for pertinent Commencement/Graduation information. 

An undergraduate student who wishes to make petition to walk in a ceremony for which he/she is not an actual degree candidate, should complete the .

The Graduate School allows students to attend a Commencement Ceremony only for the term in which they are graduating (excluding summer graduates who are allowed to participate in the Fall Commencement Ceremony following their summer graduation). For questions please contact the Graduate School at (601) 266-4369 or email Document%20Specialists

Students who graduate in the summer may walk in the Fall Commencement Ceremony.

IMPACT ON GRADUATION
It is important to understand that your privacy status could impact your graduation in several ways:
   â€¢  Your name will not appear on the RSVP Confirmation page
   â€¢  Your name will not appear in the Commencement Program
   â€¢  We will not be able to confirm your degree to potential employers

DIRECTORY INFORMATION
The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ has designated the following items as Directory Information, subject to public disclosure in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974:
   â€¢  Address                           â€¢  Dates of Attendance
   â€¢  Student Name                 â€¢  Classification
   â€¢  Telephone Number         â€¢  Degree(s) Earned
   â€¢  E-mail Address                â€¢  Previous Institutions Attended
   â€¢  Major                                â€¢  Class Rank

Directory Information pertaining to students of The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ is never knowingly provided to any requester for commercial purposes. Students must request the University not to release Directory Information; however, the consequences of that action should be considered before making the decision to do so.
   â€¢  The enrollment of students who request to withhold Directory Information cannot be verified to any outside source such as potential employers, colleges, universities, or medical insurance 
      companies.
   â€¢  The names of students who request to withhold Directory Information will not appear in any 
      official university publication distributed to the public, such as a commencement program. 
   â€¢  The names of students who request to withhold Directory Information will not be provided to 
       the media when releasing academic recognition announcements (President's List or Dean's
       List).

Please understand that academic information will be kept completely private for you with or without the privacy status. However, for students who request privacy of their public information, directory information that is normally considered public is also kept private. Directory information includes: name, address, birth date, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, major and most recent previous educational institution attended.

Students who know they will not graduate the semester for which they have applied but will graduate a subsequent semester must complete a new degree application (via their SOAR account) and obtain all necessary signatures. The completed form should be submitted to your Dean's Office for processing.

Prepare for Commencement

Contact Us

Office of the Registrar
Kennard-Washington Hall (KWH) Room 110
118 College Drive, #5006
Hattiesburg, MS 39406

Hattiesburg Campus

Campus Map

Email
registrarFREEMississippi

Phone
601.266.5006

Contact Us

Student Services One Stop
Gulf Coast Library (GCL) 101
730 East Beach Boulevard
Long Beach, MS 39560

Gulf Park Campus

Campus Map

Email
OneStop_GPFREEMississippi

Phone
228.214.3370