Frequently Asked Questions

Commencement is the celebration ceremony that honors students who have graduated or are graduating. Our office coordinates Commencement celebrations and ceremonies only. 

*Please note: CSULB holds annual commencement ceremonies at the end of Spring semester for students who have completed or are set to complete their degree requirements. 

There is currently NO fall commencement ceremony. Summer and fall graduates can choose to walk in the commencement ceremony in May prior to or after their degree completion and must apply to graduate via MYBEACH during the spring semester of the year they are walking.

Graduation is dependent on completion of degree requirements. Participating in commencement in no way implies or ensures graduation, or the award of honors. Enrollment Services handles all matters related to GRADUATION, ELIGIBILITY, DEGREE CHECKS, DIPLOMA, CLASS CREDIT, GRADES, NAME & ADDRESS CHANGES, FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act), GRADUATION STATUS. 

If you have questions concerning degree progress or graduation itself, please contact Enrollment Services at es-registration@csulb.edu.

You must apply to graduate through MYCSULB Student Center to be eligible to graduate:

Apply to Graduate - Undergraduate Students

Apply to Graduate - Graduate Students

Step by step instructions:

If you have questions on the application process, please email CSULB Enrollment Services at es-registration@csulb.edu.

A refund will not be issued because the 'Apply to Graduate' fee pays for services already rendered, including the costs of your degree audit as well as creating and shipping your diploma. 

The fee also partially funds the Commencement ceremony that will celebrate all graduates regardless of their attendance.

It is university policy to send commencement communication to student email accounts. Student email addresses (@student.csulb.edu) remain active for 1 year after graduation. Use this link to look up your student email account.  For other information, such as forwarding your beach emails to another email account, visit this general website.

GPA honors are not recognized at the ceremony (GPAs are not calculated until your degree has been granted, several weeks after the end of the semester.) If you have graduated prior to the ceremony and know your final GPA, you can purchase an honor cord at the University Bookstore and note your honor level through personalized grad announcements (also available through the Bookstore). 

To inquire about honors within a major, contact your college coordinator.

The "legal name", also known as the graduate's primary name, is required to be used for official university business, such as transcripts, diplomas, and the graduate recognition program. Graduates can look up their primary name in the student center app on the CSULB single sign-on website.

If you wish to have a name different than your primary name listed on the graduate recognition program or personal grad slide please contact commencement@csulb.edu before the March 1st deadline. Please contact Enrollment Services at es-registration@csulb.edu for degree and diploma related changes.

If you wish to change your legal name within the University system, you must submit a Legal Name Change Request form with all required documentation to the Office of Enrollment Services (BH 101) for students or to Payroll (BH 353) for employees. If you're a current or former CSULB student, you can submit a Legal Name Change Request with appropriate supporting documentation. This form is available under the ‘Registration/Records Forms’ heading on the Forms webpage, /enrollment-services/forms. Current and former CSULB employees (including student employees) cannot use this form and should instead contact the Payroll Office at payroll@csulb.edu.

Cultural graduation celebrations are hosted each spring by the Division of Student Affairs and student organizations. For more information, please visit the Cultural Graduation Celebrations website or contact the office of the Division of Student Affairs.

If you change your graduation term, you will NOT need to reapply to graduate and pay the fee again. 

You can check for FERPA restrictions via your MyCSULB Student Center or by contacting Enrollment Services. 

FERPA does not affect your ability to graduate. Enabling FERPA restrictions simply means you have restricted the sharing of your personal information with anyone other than the parties you have given permission to. You will NOT receive emails from Commencement, nor will you be listed in the commencement Graduate Recognition Program due to the FERPA privacy restriction.

The University, including Commencement, can NOT answer questions about you from your family members. If parent/s, sibling/s, grandparent or any family member or friend reaches out to ask us about your ceremony, etc. we are unable to answer their questions in specifics to you (did my child apply or RSVP yet? What ceremony are they in? Here’s a quote for my student’s slide, etc.) PLEASE direct friends and family to our website AND please inform them of your ceremony specifics.

1. Open a web browser and go to  translate.google.com. 
2. In the text box on the left, type in the entire CSULB Commencement URL, /commencement (be sure to include the http://). 
3. In the text box on the right, choose the language you want to see the website in. 
4. Click on the highlighted URL in the box on the right.

No. At this time, CSULB does not offer Fall ceremonies. If you are a Fall graduate, you have the option of attending the Spring ceremony before or after your last semester.

Please continue to check your student email and check the commencement website for details regarding the 2023 ceremony as we release them! Look under the “Communications” tab if you feel you have missed any commencement emails.

The Center for International Education handles visa requests for those living outside of the country that want to attend commencement. They can be reached at cie-student@csulb.edu.