Diplomas
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If you have been affected by an officially declared natural disaster and require a replacement diploma, please contact us at diplomas@pobox.upenn.edu.
DEGREE VERIFICATION: You can receive instantaneous degree verification through the National Student Clearinghouse and you can order electronic transcripts that will be delivered within minutes. Degree verification is usually available approximately six weeks following your graduation date.
The University of Pennsylvania diploma has been printed in Latin since its first graduating class in 1757. The size of the current diploma is 9 5/8 inches by 12 1/4 inches.
Diplomas are issued three times each year (May, August, and December).
- The diplomas of May graduates are expected to be mailed in late July.
- The diplomas of August graduates are expected to be mailed in mid-October.
- The diplomas of December graduates are expected to be mailed in March.
Diplomas will be mailed approximately 8-10 weeks following the official degree conferral date (i.e., the date appearing on your diploma). Your diploma will be mailed once your degree has been posted by your school and if you are in good financial standing. You can confirm that your degree has been posted by logging into Path@Penn. If your degree has not been posted, you should contact your school.
Diplomas will only be mailed to the permanent or diploma mailing address. The local or temporary address will not be used. Please note the following deadlines for updating addresses in Path@Penn.
- For May diplomas, addresses must be entered/updated no later than May 31.
- For August diplomas, addresses must be entered/updated no later than September 1.
- For December diplomas, addresses must be entered/updated no later than January 15.
Failure to provide a diploma mailing address prior to the dates listed above will result in the diploma being mailed to the permanent address.
DIPLOMA NAME INFORMATION: For the name you select to be printed on your diploma, the first and last names must match the first and last names that have been registered with Penn. If the name being requested for the diploma differs significantly from the name on the official student record, a name change request must be submitted to the University Registrar, 3451 Walnut Street, 150 Franklin Building. If you request a name for your diploma that does not match your registered name with the University, and do not submit the name change prior to the diploma printing, your registered name will be printed on your diploma. No additional titles, such as Esq., Dr., etc., will be permitted on the diploma.
Diplomas damaged in shipment will be replaced free of charge providing that the diploma office is notified within one-year of the degree conferral date. To report a damaged diploma, please complete a Damaged Diploma Replacement Request.
Diplomas are mailed 8-10 weeks after graduation and are not considered missing until 8 weeks from their mailing date. Diplomas sent to the wrong address are often returned to the Office of the University Secretary. If your diploma is returned, you will be contacted for a new address. Please do not report your diploma as being lost or missing until the time frames specified above have passed.
If it has been 8 weeks since your diploma was mailed and it has not arrived, or you want to know to what address your diploma was sent, please submit a Missing Diploma/Mailing Address Inquiry.
If you received your diploma, but have since lost it, please see the section below on replacement diplomas.
A replacement diploma will be issued upon request and can be ordered online or with an application form. A replacement displays the signatures of the current officials but shows the original date of graduation. A statement reading “Replacement Diploma Issued on (Month, Date, Year)” will be printed at the bottom of the diploma to indicate that it is not an original. The fee for a replacement diploma is $100, and the processing time is up to 8-10 weeks.
DIPLOMA NAME CHANGES: The name printed on the replacement will be the name from your original diploma. If you want to make any changes or adjustments to the name printed on your replacement diploma, before purchasing a replacement diploma, you must first update your name with the Office of the University Registrar. Instructions for updating/changing your name can be found on the Update Your Student Data page of the Office of the University Registrar website. A special note to Penn Carey Law School alumni: If you are requesting a replacement diploma due to a gender-related name change, please visit the Penn Carey Law School website to review its policies.
There are two ways to order a replacement diploma:
- Online: If you know your PennKey and password*, you can order a diploma using the online request form.
- Downloadable Form: If you do not know your PennKey and password*, please download and complete the Application Form for a Replacement Diploma (PDF) and submit your payment via check or money order (payment and mailing details can be found on the form).
*If you do not know your PennKey and password, but graduated in 1988 or later, you may request one from the PennKey alumni support website.
Starting with the Class of 2020, the University provides a certified electronic version of diplomas (CeDiploma). These must be purchased to be accessed and downloaded.
The CeDiploma is an official, secure, and verifiable electronic version of the Penn diploma that can be easily shared. The CeDiploma is accepted worldwide by many employers and governments and by federal and state medical boards within the United States.
If you have been notified that you have a CeDiploma available for purchase and download, it can be accessed here: https://credentials.secretary.upenn.edu/
If you are a third-party wishing to validate a CeDiploma, the graduate will need to provide you with the CeDiD (unique identifier) located in the top left corner of the CeDiploma and the first two letters of the graduate’s name as it appears on the credential. Please visit the link below to validate the CeDiploma.
Validate a CeDiploma: https://credentials.secretary.upenn.edu/penn_credential/validate
The University of Pennsylvania diploma has been printed in Latin since its first graduating class in 1757. If you would like to read the English translation please click the link here.
You can also request a personalized, electronic English translation that includes your name, degree, and graduation date. Translations are created on electronic University letterhead, they are not an actual Penn diploma printed in English. Notarized and unnotarized versions of the electronic English translation are available (different fees apply). The processing time is up to 4 weeks and cannot be expedited.
How to order an English diploma translation:
- Online: If you know your PennKey and password*, you can order an electronic English diploma translation using the online request form.
- Downloadable Form: If you do not know your PennKey and password*, please download and complete the Application Form for an Electronic Diploma Translation (PDF) and submit your payment via check or money order (payment and mailing details can be found on the form).
*If you do not know your PennKey and password, but graduated in 1988 or later, you may request these credentials from the PennKey alumni support website.
The Office of the University Registrar provides a number of services to verify a student's status. You can receive instantaneous degree verification, for a small fee, through the National Student Clearinghouse. Degree verification documents can be obtained free of charge from the Registrar's Office. Further information about verifying degrees and ordering transcripts can be found by visiting Student Registration and Financial Services.
DOCTOR OF MEDICINE GRADUATES: If you graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM), please contact the PSOM registrar directly to have your diploma certified. The PSOM registrar can be reached at PSOMregistrar@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
ALL OTHER GRADUATES: The Office of the University Secretary utilizes electronic notarization. This means that a digital scan of the physical diploma must be provided with the request. The processing time is up to 4 weeks from the provision date of the physical diploma and cannot be expedited. Electronic notarization is accepted by the Pennsylvania Department of State for the purposes of receiving a state seal or apostille.
Apostilles and state seals are handled by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the graduate's responsibility to compile the necessary documents and submit them to the Commonwealth. Please visit the Commonwealth website and follow the instructions for how to obtain an apostille or state seal.
Checklist for Requesting an Electronic Notarization of a Penn Diploma
- Download and complete the form to request an electronic notarization of a diploma (PDF).
- Provide a digital scan of the diploma to be notarized. If you no longer have a copy of your diploma, you must first place an order for a replacement diploma to be notarized. We do not have copies of student diplomas on-file. You must provide us with a digital scan of the diploma.
- Submitting payment: Payments can be made via the online request form, or via check or money order. For checks and money orders, mailing address and payee information can be found on the downloadable form. You must know your PennKey and password* in order to access the online request form.
- Processing time is up to four weeks and cannot be expedited.
*If you do not know your PennKey and password, but graduated in 1988 or later, you may request these credentials from the PennKey alumni support website.
NOTARIZED TRANSCRIPTS: The Office of the University Registrar handles requests for notarized transcripts. More information regarding their services is available here.
The default diploma delivery system is free, non-trackable first class mail.
We also offer secure, trackable shipping for an additional fee. There are two ways to purchase secure shipping:
- Online: If you know your PennKey and password*, you can order a diploma using the online request form
- Downloadable Form: If you do not know your PennKey and password*, please download and complete the Application Form for a Replacement Diploma (PDF) and submit your payment via check or money order (payment and mailing details can be found on the form).
Due to global shipping delays, we strongly encourage international alumni to use a domestic mailing address (including that of a friend) and/or purchase secure, trackable shipping.
Instructions for updating your diploma mailing address are available on the Diploma FAQs for Graduating Students page.
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