HJI degrees are conferred at the end of May and the end of December. Commencement is held once a year in May. December graduates are invited to attend the May ceremony.

Tentative Date: Saturday, May 27, 2023
Time: 2 pm 
Location: Social Hall, 4 West 43rd Street, New York City, NY

Commencement is tentatively planned to be held in-person. (Subject to change if health conditions require.)

Each graduation candidate must submit an application for graduation. Of specific importance is the information requested for the name you desire to be printed on your diploma, and whether you want HJI generated digital announcements/ invitations for your friends and family (see below).

For your convenience, the application form is available as a fillable pdf and Microsoft Word document.

The Registrar monitors all graduation candidates for completion of graduation requirements. Please check your HJI email for requests for clarification on concentrations, course substitutions, missing documentation and similar.

• Pdf announcements/invitations created by HJI staff
  HJI staff is available to create pdf announcements for you to send digitally to your family and friends. An example of a past invitation can be found here.
• International Invitations
  Invitations to family members of international students who require a US entry visa to attend graduation must follow a specific protocol. Please note that visa approval is not guaranteed. However, if you follow these recommended guidelines, the chances may be higher. Submit the names of the persons you wish to invite to the Registrar. The Registrar will issue letters for each of your invitees stating you have been approved for graduation. In addition, you must create a letter of invitation for your family members according to Immigration Department’s guidelines. Click here for instructions for your letters of invitations. Send both letters (yours and the Registrar’s) to your invitees to carry to the US Embassy or Consulate.
• Ordering announcements from outside companies
  You are welcome to order commencement announcements/invitations from the company of your choice. HJI works with Jostens for commencement regalia, which has also a variety of cards available. Click here to order cards from Jostens (Note: This link is not to order regalia. For regalia, use the link indicated below.).

The ceremony will be recorded and most probably livestreamed. Official photographs will be available. Family and friends are welcome to take photos and videos as well but should be mindful not block the view of others when taking photographs.

HJI does not loan regalia to students, instead, students are responsible to purchase their own regalia.

• Master’s Degrees
  • Caps, gowns and hoods may be ordered at Jostens (direct link for regalia ordering). HJI Master gowns and caps are royal blue. Please note that although the image on the Jostens website displays the regalia in black, you will receive the correct color.
  • For the MA in Religious Studies, please purchase the hood listed under “Theology”. Do not choose “Religious Education”.
  • Due to the time needed by Jostens to customize the hood with HJI colors, the deadline for ordering the regalia is five weeks prior to commencement, and is noted on their website.
  • The total cost for the regalia will be $65.80 plus shipping and handling (normally approximately $15.00). In the past, students living close to each other have ordered gowns together to be shipped to a common location to reduce shipping costs.

Note: the above link is only accessible for approximately two months prior to commencement. At other times during the year, the link is inactive. You may locate our school by entering “Unification” if you do not use the above link. (Note: typing “HJI” will not allow you to locate our institution.)

• Doctoral Degrees

Doctoral candidates may select the company of their choice from which to order the tam, gown, and hood. Students previously opted to use Oak Hall, which has HJI’s school colors on file. The tam may be 4 or 6 cornered, normally deep red in color. Black is also acceptable. The tam may be purchased for around $60. Oak Hall has several options for gowns and hoods. Students may choose either Single use only, at a fraction of the cost but made of a much cheaper material, or more expensive options. HJI doctoral gowns are black (not royal blue as the Master gowns). Single use gowns cost under $100. Other options vary between $450 and $800 depending on the material and style selected. The hood is about $120 -135. Oak Hall has no dedicated registry for HJI. To order, call (800) 223-0429. Their website is here, but you are not able to order online. You must call. The deadline for Doctoral regalia ordering is approximately eight weeks prior to commencement.

Master students may attend the ceremonies if they have fulfilled all required academic work. There are exceptions based on certain circumstances, as indicated below.

If a student has one incomplete academic requirement (Course, Independent Study, Thesis, Field Education Internship etc.) from the current term, the student may participate in the graduation ceremony but is not eligible to receive their degree or a diploma.

Per HJI guidelines, if a student has more than one incomplete academic requirement, the student will not be permitted to participate in the graduation ceremony.

Any incompletes, Distance Learning courses, or Field Education from previous terms must be cleared one week prior to graduation.

The deadline for Theses submission is three weeks prior to graduation. Please make sure that your professors receive your work in time so that any edits can still be made before the date of graduation.

Doctoral students may not attend graduation unless the oral dissertation defense has been successfully completed.

Invited guests attending graduation may expect you to have been granted your degree from HJI. However, participation in the ceremony alone is not evidence of receiving your degree. HJI allows candidates to participate even if certain degree requirements remain incomplete (see previous section). If remaining requirements are successfully completed within 30 days after the conclusion of the semester, the student will be deemed a May graduate. If this deadline is not met, the degree conferral date will be the next graduation date after the completion of all outstanding requirements.

You may also expect to receive your diploma from HJI during or soon after the ceremony. However, for your diploma to be signed and delivered to you, you must have completed the following (check with staff indicated below to confirm you are cleared):

• Academic requirements completed (check with Registrar, Ute Delaney)
• Financial obligations paid including graduation fee (check with Bursar, EJ Rapada)
• Library books returned (check with Librarian, Robert Wagner)
• Thesis and Dissertation submission
  • Master candidates

One electronic copy in pdf format of Thesis/Project emailed to Library and submitted to Proquest. For directions on how to submit thesis/project to Proquest, click here. (check with Librarian Robert Wagner)

• • Doctoral candidates:

One electronic copy in pdf format of Dissertation emailed to Library and Dr. Drissa Kone and submitted to Proquest. For directions on how to submit dissertatio to Proquest, click here. (check with Librarian, Robert Wagner, and DMin Director, Dr. Kone)

• Financial Aid Exit Interview (federal aid recipients only)

All students who received federal direct loans are required to complete a brief Exit Counseling questionnaire at: https://studentaid.gov/exit-counseling. Upon completion, please notify Mr. Henry Christopher so he may inform the Registrar to release your diploma. (check with Chief Administrator of Financial Aid, Henry Christopher)

March 31	Application deadline for May graduation Deadline for Doctoral degree regalia
April 20	Deadline for Master degree regalia (after this date rush fee applies)
April 24	Deadline for dissertation project defense
May 8	Theses and projects due for May graduation (Master programs)
May 19	Last day of regular scheduled classes Deadline for previous incompletes
May 22-25	Examination Period
May 27	Graduation Day: 47th Commencement

1. Jostens general information
2. Jostens regalia ordering (Master degrees).
3. Oak Hall (Doctoral regalia)
4. Proquest (Thesis, Dissertation submission
5. Federal Financial Aid

1. Registrar: Ute Delaney, registrar@uts.edu

2. Director of DMin Program: Dr. Drissa Kone, d.kone@uts.edu

3. Bursar: E.J. Rapada, bursar@uts.edu

4. Library Director: Robert Wagner, r.wagner@uts.edu

5. Chief Administrator of Financial Aid: Henry Christopher, h.christopher@uts.edu