Senior Handbook

The Senior Handbook, now updated for the 2024-2025 school year, contains information of interest to current seniors at Whitman College. Please direct questions to Jennifer McNeil, mcneiljl@whitman.edu, or 509-527-5910.

Key information regarding Degree/Commencement completion

Table of Contents

The Senior Year

• Graduation Date
• Graduation Forms
• Calendar
• Credits
• Pay-per-credit
• Transfer Credit
• Testing Information
• Distribution Requirements
• Major Requirements
• Minor Requirements
• Concentrations
• Honors in Major Study

Graduation Forms

The Bachelor of Arts Degree

• Honors in Course
• Final Grades
• Commencement
• Transcripts
• December Graduates
• Diplomas

THE SENIOR YEAR

Please review the following sections to ensure you have completed everything necessary for you to receive your diploma during Commencement. If you have any questions about the status of your college requirements for graduation, please contact Jennifer McNeil in the Registrar's Office at 509-527-5910. If you have concerns about completing requirements for your major(s), speak with your faculty adviser.

* You are ultimately responsible for completion of degree requirements. *

Graduation Date

Is the Anticipated Completion Date listed on the top of your current Academic Evaluation/My Progress accurate? Another way to check is the student listserv. Is the listserv year correct for you? If not, please contact Jennifer McNeil to have your record evaluated and graduation date updated. This date is when you are to complete all degree requirements for graduation and the year in which you are expected to participate in Commencement.

Graduation Forms

Every student is required to complete the online Graduation Application and Commencement Information forms. These two forms will help ensure you know your remaining degree requirements and provide the needed information for the Commencement program. 

A link to the forms will be emailed to students based on graduation date. May and September graduates will receive the link in mid-October and December graduates will receive the link in early February.

View full information

Calendar

Credits

You must complete a minimum of 124 credits for a degree. You may transfer work from other accredited colleges, but a minimum of 54 credits must be earned on the Whitman campus, 44 of which must be in regularly-graded courses (not Cr/NC or P-D-F). Note that there are limitations on activity and applied music credit (see the “Academics” section of the online catalog). Also note that any activity or applied music credit in excess of the maximums allowed will not count toward the 124 credit minimum needed.  Lastly, to participate in Commencement, a student must only need a semester's worth of credits (18 or less) by the end of the Spring term, though a diploma will not be conferred until all degree requirements have been successfully completed.

Pay-per-credit

Graduating seniors, who need four or fewer credits to complete their degree requirements at the beginning of their final semester, should submit the Pay-Per-Credit form to the Registrar's Office to request regular student status on a pay-per-credit basis. Students approved for pay-per-credit may then enroll in up to eight credits and pay the per-credit tuition rate (See Charges/Special Tuition in the online catalog). Students may not be concurrently enrolled at another college in order to meet the credit requirements for pay-by-credit status. All requests for this status must be submitted to the Registrar's Office by the last day to add classes each semester.

Students who add additional credits after the last day to add classes must stay within four credits to keep their pay-by-credit status. Graduating seniors who drop classes after the deadline for requesting pay-by-credit status will remain at full tuition even if they drop below four credits.

Transfer Credit

If you wish transfer credit to be considered toward your graduation requirements, but it is not already a part of your record, you must request of the registrar of the institution attended that an official transcript be sent directly to the Whitman Registrar's Office. In addition, you must submit a completed Request for Approval of Transfer Credit form to the Registrar. We must receive all notification of transfer credit on or before Reading Day for spring graduation.

Note: Whitman is on the semester system, thus approved courses will transfer on a credit-to-credit basis from other semester-based institutions. If, however, the other institution is on the quarter system, for every three quarter credits of an approved transfer course, you may receive two Whitman credits. In addition, remember that grades from other colleges will not be included in your Whitman GPA.

Testing Information

If your major requires the GRE, MFT, or LSAT, you need to plan accordingly to have that completed prior to Commencement.

If you plan to take the GRE General Test for admission to graduate school visit www.ets.org for locations, schedules, and other resources.

Distribution Requirements

Five of the six Distribution Requirements should be completed by the end of the sixth semester of college work. The total requirements must be fulfilled not later than the seventh semester or at the time 110 degree credits have been earned if this occurs prior to the seventh semester. If you are unable to complete all distribution requirements on time, the Associate Registrar will work with you on obtaining the necessary approval to complete them during your final semester.

See the “General Studies Program” section of the online catalog for further information.

Major Requirements

For a list of the course work needed to complete the major(s), refer to the catalog that was current during the second semester of your sophomore year when you submitted your Declaration of Major. Your catalog year is displayed at the top left on your Academic Evaluation and in My Porgress. If any deviation from the required course work has been approved by your major department and is not already shown on your academic evaluation, a written request, email is preferred, to the Registrar's Office from the department chair is needed. Please discuss completion of your major requirements with your faculty adviser. Note that a maximum of one-third of the credits required for your major may come from transfer work, and that several departments and programs have lower transfer credit limits. In any case, the remainder of the work must be completed at Whitman. If you are pursuing a double major, courses applying to one major may not apply to the other major unless specifically approved.

Minor Requirements

If you have not submitted a ‘Declaration of Minor’ form already and plan to pursue a minor, please submit the form at your earliest convenience. Check this year’s catalog for requirements for any minor you choose to pursue and complete a form for each. You must obtain the signed approval of the chair of the appropriate department for each minor you plan to complete. As with the major, any course substitutions will require an accompanying written request with the department chair's signature on the minor form. Courses applied to your major cannot be also applied to your minor and courses used for one minor cannot apply to another minor unless specifically approved.

Concentrations

If you have not submitted a form to declare a concentration already and plan to pursue one, please submit the form at your earliest convenience. Check this year’s catalog for requirements for any concentration you choose to pursue and complete the appropriate form. You must obtain the signed approval of the Director of the concentration who will also assign an advisor for the concentration.  

You will work with your concentration advisor to ensure all requirements are completed prior to graduation.

Honors in Major Study

Check the guidelines for the Application for Honors in a Major Study by clicking  here.

The approval for candidacy begins with the major department's receipt of the Honors in Major Study Application. In the case of Individually Planned Majors, this form is submitted to the major committee. If the major department requires an application for Honors, students must declare candidacy within the first six weeks of the semester prior to the semester of enrollment in thesis. That is, for students expecting to enroll for Honors in the Spring semester, petitions should be submitted by the Fall deadline (see calendar). No student will be permitted to enroll in Honors Thesis unless her or his application has been approved and the department has in turn submitted the candidacy form to the Registrar's Office before the end of the term in which candidacy is declared.

For Application for Honors in Major, the following criteria must be met:

• at the time of announcing candidacy, completed at least 87 credits and two semesters in residence at Whitman College

Honors in Major Study will be awarded if the following criteria are met upon completion of the thesis and all degree requirements:

• A major GPA of 3.500 or better
• Submission of the thesis or report to the library by the deadline
• Earn a grad of “Pass with Distinction” for the Senior Assessment
• A grade of at least A- in the Honors thesis course or project

See the Penrose Library web site for more information.

Please note: Honors Thesis is a course and must be added and dropped in accordance with rules governing regular course work. If the criteria for Honors is not met, registration will be adjusted to either Senior Thesis or Independent Study, depending on your major department.

GRADUATION FORMS

Every student is required to complete the online Graduation Application and Commencement Information forms. These two forms will help ensure you know your remaining degree requirements and provide the needed information for the Commencement program. 

A link to the forms will be emailed to students based on graduation date. May and September graduates will receive the link in mid-October and December graduates will receive the link in early February.

For the Graduation Application, consult the Academic Evaluation via the Portal, my.whitman.edu, or My Progress in Self Service for much of the information needed to complete this online form. Please make sure that the expected graduation date on file for you reflects the end of your final semester at Whitman. The form consists of the following:

• Completion Date Select the date indicating when you expect to complete all degree requirements.
• Commencement Indicate in which year you plan to participate in the required  Commencement ceremony.
• Provide hometown information if you wish it to be included in the program and high school information for possible newspaper announcements
• Commencement Photos Indicate if you wish to provide access to your parents/guardians
• Completion Plan Indicate which courses, and when, you plan to complete for your major, distribution, minor, and degree credit requirements. Carefully review your Academic Evaluation with your faculty adviser to ensure a plan to complete requirements. Check your distribution requirements to ensure completion of all six areas (see the “General Studies Program” section of the online catalog).
• Majors Select your area of major study.
• Minors Select area of minor study. If you still need to declare, see instructions above.
• Concentrations Select concentration pursuing. If you are still need to declare, see instructions above.
• Honors in Major Study Check if you are to be a candidate for Honors in Major Study or if your department does not require an application.
• Certification  Before submitting, carefully review your application with your major adviser(s) to ensure that all of the information is accurate. 

The Commencement Information form is a personalized Google form for each student. This form allows the student to confirm the correct spelling of their full legal name for the diploma as well as give them an opportunity to provide an alternate name for the commencement program. If necessary, students can also provide phonetic pronunciation on this form. Lastly, students can provide their cell phone number and non-Whitman email which is used by the Provost and Alumni for communication post-graduation.

If you plan to go/work abroad after graduation, we've had students run into issues with their diploma not matching their passport and/or driver's license. Foreign countries use the diploma versus a transcript. 

The Commencement Program will also list any Honors in Major Study and/or Honors in Course. 

These forms must be completed by the deadline as specified in the Academic Calendar.

THE BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE

Honors in Course

Honors in Course are based on your cumulative (combined) GPA. Honors in Course may be awarded to those students who have been in residence at Whitman College during the past four semesters, or for a total of six semesters, and earned a total of not fewer than 60 credits at Whitman. Do not confuse this with Honors in Major Study for which certificates are issued.

summa cum laude   Whitman GPA of 3.900 or greater with no course grades of F
magna cum laude    Whitman GPA of 3.800 or greater with no course grades of F
cum laude               Whitman GPA of 3.650 or greater

Final Grades

If you have an expected graduation date of the current year, your final semester grades will be made available to you on the Thursday prior to Commencement, if not sooner. Other senior grades are not due until after Commencement, and will be available on the web when grades are available to continuing students. Please note if you are a December graduate, faculty often do not have your grades ready before Commencement.

Commencement

Students are required to participate in a commencement ceremony. The information you provide on the two graduation forms will help produce the Commencement Program. The Program will also list any Honors in Major Study and/or Honors in Course. 

• You are required to participate in Commencement ceremonies at Whitman. If you are unable to do so, you must Petition the Board of Review for a waiver.
• If you have outstanding requirements, you are still expected to participate in Commencement but you will not receive your diploma during the ceremony.
  • Those students completing requirements prior to the September deadline will receive their diploma in the September.
  • Those students returning/completing during the fall, will receive their diploma in December.

Commencement information will be sent out prior to Commencement. This will include information about graduation announcements, gowns, etc. Please retain these mailings for reference.

Transcripts

Final transcripts will not be available after grade processing begins at the end of the Spring semester and for about two to three weeks following Commencement. You may order transcripts online and select ‘Send transcript after grades for this term have been recorded.’ These will then be mailed out at the earliest possible opportunity.

Winter break is a busy time for transcripts, so please be sure you order well ahead of time for graduate school or other applications. Again, transcripts cannot be issued until all grade processing for Fall courses has been completed.

Transcript order forms can be found in the Registrar's Office and online. It usually takes one to three business days to process a request.

December Graduates

If you expect to complete your degree requirements at the end of the Fall semester, you will have had to participate in a Commencement ceremony in order to receive your diploma in December. You can choose which ceremony you wish to participate in but depending on when you do, your graduation could be delayed if you choose to participate the following year. As long as you have a semester's worth of credits (18 credits or less) remaining after the spring semester, you are automatically eligible to participate in the ceremony. If you have 19 credits or more remaining, you would need to petition the Board of Review for approval to participate. 

See calendar for deadlines on necessary paperwork.

Diplomas

The diploma that you receive during the Commencement ceremony or following your graduation for those graduating in September or December is unique. There are no copies on file at Whitman. Verification of your degree in a foreign country, e.g. Japan, may require your original diploma, in place of or in combination with a transcript, so keep it in a secure location.

A new diploma may be ordered if you can verify that the original has been destroyed. However, replacements are generally produced only when diplomas are ordered for May and September graduates.  See the ‘ Replacement Diplomas’ section of our website for more information.