Office of the Registrar

Diploma Information

Diplomas are mailed approximately 6-8 weeks after each conferral date. Doctoral candidates who graduate in May will receive their diplomas at the Commencement ceremony. All other diplomas are mailed to the diploma address you provide in Patriot Web when you file your GIF. You must be in good financial standing with the University and have no holds on your account in order to receive your diploma.

Please Be Aware…

• IMPORTANT: Verify that your diploma address is correct. If your diploma is lost because the address on your record was incorrect, you will be charged $50 for a reprint.
  
• The Office of the Registrar does NOT print the name of a Minor on the diploma. The name of the Minor will be printed on your transcript.

• GRADUATE/UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATES: Please be aware that the Office of the Registrar does not print diplomas for certificate programs. Please contact your Dean's office for more information about graduating from a certificate program.

• Your diploma name MUST reflect your name of record during the last term of attendance at George Mason. To change your name of record including adding a middle name or a suffix, you must provide legal documentation in the form of a birth certificate, passport, marriage certificate, or a court document. All name change requests must be done in person in the Records Department in the Office of the Registrar.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

• What name can appear on my Diploma?

  • Your diploma name must reflect your name of record during your last term of attendance at George Mason University. To request a diploma name other than the one on record, such as the full spelling of your middle name or a suffix such as Jr., III, etc, you need to provide legal documentation to the Records Department in the Registrar’s Office. Acceptable documents are birth certificates, marriage certificates, passports, or official court documents.

• Will my diploma list the name of my academic program?

  • The name of your major, for both bachelor's and master's programs, will appear on your diploma. Academic disciplines for doctoral graduates, however, will not appear of their Mason diploma. Additionally, George Mason does not, however, print the name of the minor, graduate certificate program, or in most cases, concentrations, on the diploma. Concentrations are listed for students who graduate from the Bachelor of Individualized Study, Bachelor of Integrative Studies, and Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. Minors, undergraduate and graduate certificate, and all other concentrations will appear only on your final academic transcript.