Information Sheet for Requesting a Letter of Certification
The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School is the only qualified official institutional entity authorized to provide verification and certification prior to degree conferral that degree requirements have been met by graduate students; subsequent to degree conferral, the University Registrar is the appropriate, authorized entity. Letters signed by a representative of the Registrar’s Office, faculty members, or college deans attesting that degree requirements have been met for graduate students are not official or appropriate for verification purposes.
Letter of Certification (Master’s and Doctoral Students)
Candidates for graduation during a particular semester who have completed all degree requirements may request an official letter that verifies their status and their expected graduation date.
A Letter of Certification provides official verification from The Pennsylvania State University that all degree requirements have been met and specifies the date that the student’s degree is expected to be conferred. The letter includes the student's name, degree, major, the date requirements were completed, the projected degree conferral date, the University's official seal, and the signature of the Senior Associate Dean of the Fox Graduate School.
A Letter of Certification can only be issued if ALL degree requirements have been officially met. If a student is enrolled in a course, other than SUBJ 601 or 611, the Fox Graduate School will not issue a letter to certify that all degree requirements have been met.
A Letter of Certification will be dated with the date of completion of the final requirement. For example, if a thesis or dissertation is a requirement of the degree program and is the final requirement completed by the student, the letter will note that all degree requirements were met on the date that the thesis/dissertation was approved and reported by the Thesis Office, and not the date of the final oral examination nor the date the committee members approved and signed the final document.
For a Letter of Certification request to be processed, the following steps must be completed:
- The student must have activated Intent to Graduate in the semester the degree will be conferred.
- The student must have completed all requirements and all courses must have grades assigned.
- The graduate program head (or Director of Graduate Studies) must verify in the student’s LionPATH record that all requirements have been completed.
A Letter of Certification cannot be provided if:
- the degree requirements include a thesis or dissertation, and the
final, signed thesis or dissertation has not been submitted to and
approved by the Fox Graduate School Thesis Office;
- completion of the culminating experience (for degree programs that do not require a thesis or dissertation) has not yet been reported to the Fox Graduate School by the graduate program;
- there are missing or deferred grades;
- a hold has been placed on the student record;
- the student is currently enrolled in a course (other than 601) and the grade had not yet been posted to LionPATH. Grade rosters do not become
available until the day following the official end date of classes.- The deadline to request a letter of certification is the last day of classes. Therefore, students currently enrolled in classes other than 601 with an official end date of the last day of the semester are ineligible for a letter of certification;
- the student has not activated their intent to graduate (i.e., the
student is not on the graduation list) for the semester in which the
letter is requested
- Students cannot activate their intent until the activation period opens (the beginning of every semester). Students who have satisfied all requirements but who are not graduating until the following semester are unable to receive a letter of certification until the all steps (including activation of Intent to Graduate) have been completed in the semester in which the degree will be conferred.
- the student has not been approved in LionPATH Graduation Tracking by either the graduate program head (or Director of Graduate Studies).
- the student has not been approved in LionPATH Graduation Tracking by Graduate Enrollment Services.
At a student’s request, a Letter of Certification may be provided to potential employers, licensure boards, embassies and other agencies.
A Letter of Certification is the appropriate letter to request when petitioning the USCIS for an H-1B visa. For H-1B visa purposes, all required credit and course requirements need to be officially met (i.e., noted on the student’s transcript) no later than the end of the fall semester preceding any request for a letter of certification that all degree requirements have been met in the subsequent spring semester.
Requests for a Letter of Certification from the Fox Graduate School will be fulfilled in approximately 1-2 weeks.
After degrees have been conferred, completion letters are no longer issued by the Fox Graduate School because an official transcript can be requested from the University Registrar that provides evidence of degree completion.
Forms
Letter of Certification Student Instructions
Further Information
Letter of Certification Procedure
Revision History
- Revised by the Fox Graduate School, Dec. 1, 2025
- Editorial revisions to reflect the new name of the Fox Graduate School, July 19, 2024
- Approved by the Graduate School, Jan. 9, 2019