Petitioning to Graduate
A year before you graduate, generally spring quarter of your junior year, you need to complete an Application for a Bachelor's Degree form (often called a Petition to Graduate). The form needs to be reviewed and then signed by your psychology adviser. Alternatively, it can be reviewed and signed by one of our general department advisers (Sara Broaders, Renee Englen-Maddox, or Joan Linsenmeier) or by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Wendi Gardner). To make an appointment with one of the general advisers, contact the Undergraduate Secretary, Ginger Gilmore, in the psychology department office (Swift 102, phone 847-491-5190).
Once you have met with an adviser to complete and discuss your form and to get it signed, you should turn in your completed form at the Registrar's Office.
There are separate forms for majors and minors - the Application for a Bachelor's Degree for majors, and the Minor Application for minors. You can get a copy of either form from the Registrar’s Office, our department office (Swift 102), or you can download the form you need from the registrar's webpage.
Completing your petition and carefully reviewing the feedback you receive from the Registrar's Office is an important procedure to make sure that you haven't overlooked or misunderstood any graduation requirements. Reviewing the feedback allows you to find out if you and the degree auditors in the Registrar's Office agree on how your courses fit department, college, and university requirements. Completing the Petition to Graduate also provides a good opportunity to think about how you would like to spend your final year as an undergraduate student at Northwestern and discuss your plans with your department adviser.
