Graduation Policies, Honors, and Awards

University Policy of Awarding Degrees

Double Major/Dual Degree Policy

The New York State Department of Education states the conferral of two associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and professional degrees should be reserved to recognize that a student has competencies in two essentially different areas.  

A student with a strong academic record, generally a 3.00 or higher cumulative GPA, may elect to take a second major with the approval of the department chair of the second major and the dean or associate or vice dean of the college/school of the first major. 

• Awarding of Degrees with the Same Classification is not Permitted

The New York State Department of Education does not permit Pace University to confer two Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Bachelors of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelors of Science, Bachelor of Business Administration within the same school, or any combination of these degrees.

The New York State Department of Education does not permit Pace University to confer two different Masters degrees, i.e. Masters of Business Administration or Master of Science degrees, Master of Arts degrees, etc. within the same school, or any combination of these degrees.

• Double Major

If the student selects two majors with the same degree (AA, AAS, BA, BS, or BBA), regardless of college/school, then the requirements for both majors need to be fulfilled. In addition, students may potentially fulfill the requirements for both majors without exceeding 128 credits, depending upon the two baccalaureate majors selected.

• Dual Degree

If the student selects two majors that are different degrees (i.e., dual degrees, e.g., BBA marketing and BA speech communication, JD), then in addition to fulfilling all course requirements for both, a minimum of 32 credits is required to be completed beyond the requirements for the first degree or a minimum total of at least 160 credits for both degrees. 

Degree Deferment - Under extenuating circumstances, a request for extension of time may be submitted for consideration by the department chair or Dean of the School, dependent on departmental policies (see individual school policies).

To qualify for a degree or certificate, each student is required to meet the course requirements of their program of study and satisfy a minimum number of approved courses in residence at the University.  In addition, the student must maintain at least the minimum cumulative quality point average specified by their school.

Commencement - Commencement exercises are scheduled once a year, every May. Degree recipients in December, or students who are expected to complete their degree requirements in May or August of the same year, are eligible to participate in commencement exercises in May.

Latin Honors - Bachelor’s Degree students are awarded honors for high scholastic achievement on the following basis:

Graduation With Distinction - Students who have completed 32–59 credits (30-59 for 120 credit programs) at Pace University, and are therefore not eligible for Latin Honors, and who have earned a bachelor’s degree with a final QPA of 3.50 are eligible to receive their degrees with distinction. Graduates of the associate degree programs who have earned a final QPA of 3.50 and have completed at least 30 credits at Pace are also eligible to receive their degrees with distinction.