To be eligible to graduate, students must be matriculated into the appropriate degree or certificate program. Only matriculated students are eligible for graduation. To be considered for graduation, students must complete and submit a graduation application. Applications can be found in MyGCC under the "Submit a Form" section and must be received by the appropriate deadline. Deadlines are published in the academic calendar. GCC awards degrees three times a year, following the summer, fall and spring semesters. The Commencement ceremony is held once per year for all students graduating from the previous summer and fall semesters as well as the current spring semester. The ceremony is generally held at the end of May. Students do not have to participate in Commencement to graduate but must submit a graduation application. Additional information is available at gcc.mass.edu/registrar.

In order to earn an associate’s degree or a certificate, students must be matriculated in the degree or certificate program, complete the course requirements of the curriculum, achieve a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 for all courses taken at GCC (excluding developmental courses) and be in good standing with the College. All associate degree programs require at least 60 credits of coursework. Students must complete at least 25% of credits of coursework used to fulfill the requirements of the associate’s degree at GCC to receive a degree. To earn a certificate at GCC, students must complete at least 50% of the credit hours required for a certificate program at GCC—including at least three courses and nine credits used to fulfill certificate requirements at GCC.

Students should work with their advisor to determine when they will the requirements for their degree or certificate

To earn more than one associate’s degree student must:

• meet all specific requirements of each degree program;
• each degree program  must include at least 15 credits of course work that meets program requirements that is not used in any other degree; and
• of those 15 additional credits, at least 12 must be completed at GCC.

Note: a student may not earn more than one Associate in Arts in Liberal Arts degree.

Normally, students must fulfill the degree or certificate requirements that were stipulated in the catalog at the time the student matriculated into the College. However, if the degree or certificate requirements change after initial enrollment at GCC, students may elect to fulfill the requirements that were in effect in the catalog of the year when they matriculated or in any subsequent catalog year as long as the catalog requirements are not more than five years old.

If external certification and/or licensure requirements change, the College strongly recommends that students complete the new requirements to ensure that the student graduates with current skills and abilities.