Completion/Graduation Requirements

Santa Monica College grants the Associate degree to students who have successfully completed sixty (60) degreeapplicable units, and a Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design to students who have successfully completed 120 degree-applicable units — consisting of courses that meet State and local general education (GE) requirements, courses that fulfill requirements for a major, and elective courses — with a cumulative degree-applicable grade point average of C (2.0) or higher.

All college-level work (except basic skills and some religion and theology courses) taken at regionally accredited twoyear colleges (including Santa Monica College) and in the lower-division of regionally accredited four-year colleges is counted when calculating the cumulative degree-applicable GPA and the sixty (60) degree-applicable units. Upperdivision, graduate, and professional courses from regionally accredited colleges will be applied toward the Associate degree as needed. Please see smc.edu/articulation for details.

Students planning to graduate should first make an appointment to meet with a counselor to verify that they are eligible for graduation. The petition may be submitted at smc.edu/forms.

Students must file a Petition for Graduation with the Admissions Office during the academic term in which they plan to complete requirements for graduation prior to the filing deadline (see below).

Santa Monica College policies authorize the College to confer a degree or certificate upon an eligible student without requiring a petition for the degree or certificate when the student has stopped attending. The Admissions Office will notify potential awardees of its intent to confer the degree or certificate.

Honors at graduation will be awarded to students who complete an Associate degree or a Bachelor degree at SMC with a cumulative degree-applicable grade point average of 3.0 or higher (including degree-applicable coursework completed at other regionally accredited colleges), who have completed a minimum of 12 units of coursework at SMC, and who are in good standing at the time they graduate. Students who have completed only certificates of achievement are not eligible for honors at graduation.

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In-Residence Course Requirements

In addition to other academic requirements, in order to graduate with a degree from Santa Monica College, students must enroll in and successfully complete a minimum of twelve (12) degree-applicable units at SMC, and have official transcripts on file at SMC from ALL OTHER institutions where coursework is used. Official transcripts must be mailed directly to the SMC Admissions Office by the other institutions.

At least 50% of the academic or career path (major) units must be completed at Santa Monica College, except for the Associate Degree for Transfer and the IGETC and CSU GE Certificates. Department chairs have the discretion to waive the 50% minimum units required at SMC to meet the major or area of emphasis.

Petition for Graduation

Students planning to apply for graduation with a degree, Certificate of Achievement, Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Competency should first make an appointment with a counselor to verify that they are eligible for graduation. A student may complete EITHER the major requirements in effect at the time of the student’s initial enrollment if the student has maintained continuous enrollment since then, OR the major requirements in effect at the time the student begins to maintain continuous enrollment, OR the major requirements in effect at the time of the student’s graduation. (See continuous enrollment).

Students who leave SMC to attend another accredited institution may petition for special consideration to maintain catalog rights for the purpose of earning a degree or certificate, if the absence does not exceed two years.

A student is entitled to receive a degree or certificate if the student has met all degree or certificate requirements consistent with catalog rights. Santa Monica College will post the degree or certificate to the student’s transcript based on the applicable catalog year rights, and report the term it is granted to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

A Petition for Graduation must be submitted to the Admissions Office for approval during the semester in which the student expects to complete the requirements for graduation. DEADLINES FOR FILING PETITIONS FOR GRADUATION (and for Certificates of Achievement) are:

For spring semester graduation — Start of spring session through April 15
For summer session graduation — Start of summer session through July 31
For fall semester graduation — Start of fall semester through December 2

Students who will complete their requirements for graduation during a winter session will graduate the following spring.

Students may petition for any number of degrees or certificates for which they are eligible.

The Petition for Graduation form is available online at smc.edu/forms (click on the “Graduation Petition” link). Please note that petitions will be processed ONLY during the designated periods.