Graduation / Hooding

The 21st Annual Hooding Ceremony was held on May 8, 2008 at 9:00 am. Each May, the Arnold School of Public Health hosts a Hooding Ceremony for students graduating in May, August and the previous December. Students eligible to participate are sent information from the Office of Student and Alumni Services about the Hooding Ceremony and are asked to complete a brief form with information for the program. The Hooding Ceremony is held at the Koger Center and is usually held the day before University commencement exercises.

Each year a guest of honor is invited to give a brief message to the graduates; candidates are then presented for the hooding ceremony. The Dean and department chairs hood doctoral candidates; department chairs hood masters candidates. This is followed by presentation of the annual student and faculty awards. Immediately after the ceremony, graduating students, their families and guests are invited to join The Arnold School Deans, faculty and staff for a reception in the lobby of the Koger Center.

Each candidate for graduation must file an application for graduation. These applications are due early in the term in which graduation is expected. All Arnold School of Public Health Graduate Students are required to submit their "Application for Graduation" directly to the Arnold School of Public Health Office of Student and Alumni Services in HESC 112. The Office of Student and Alumni Services will make a copy for School records and will then deliver the original to the USC Graduate School. Please make sure that the applications are completed well before the deadline date to ensure that it will reach the Graduate School on time.This change in procedure will aid our office in creating Hooding and Delta Omega eligibility lists. Note: students must be registered during the term of graduation.

Applications for Graduation are available in the Arnold School of Public Health Office of Student and Alumni Services (HESC 112), in the Registrar's Office (Petigru, 3rd Floor) or at the Registrar's website at: http://registrar.sc.edu.pdf/degreeapp.pdf.

The Graduate School's Application for Graduation deadlines for this academic year are as follows:

• Summer 2008 (August 2008) - June 17, 2008
• Fall 2008 (December 2008) - September 11, 2008

Therefore completed applications must be submitted to the Office of Student and Alumni Services by the following date to ensure delivery to the Graduate School on time:

• Summer 2008 (August 2008) - June 10, 2008
• Fall 2008 (December 2008) - September 4, 2008

If your department hosts a special group meeting to complete the applications, then your departmental administrative assistant should forward your application to the Office of Student and Alumni Services.

PLEASE NOTE! Applications for Graduation submitted after the announced filing deadline will be accepted only if supported by a letter from the student's Graduate Director and accompanied by a special processing fee of $25.00 (which increases by $25.00 for each additional month after the deadline).

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Christy Smith at 803-777-5031 or cfsmith@sc.edu.

The Graduate School requires that students complete a Program of Study, in addition to other steps that must be taken as part of their degree program. It is the student's responsibility to see that all requirements are met. All necessary forms may be accessed at the Graduate School forms library, http://www.gradschool.sc.edu or by going to the Graduate School (which is located on the 3rd floor of the Byrnes Building).

Graduating students may also attend the University of South Carolina's Commencement Exercises.

The dates are as follows:

Summer 2008:
Commencement Exercises (Public Health Undergraduate and Masters degree students)	Saturday, August 9, 2008	10:30 am	Colonial Center
USC Doctoral Hooding (eligible participants only)	Saturday, August 9, 2008	8:30 am	Koger Center for the Arts

Fall 2008:
Commencement Exercises (Public Health Undergraduate and Masters degree students)	Monday, December 15	3:30 pm	Colonial Center
USC Doctoral Hooding (eligible participants only)	Monday, December 15	1:30 pm	Koger Center for the Arts