Please see below for frequently asked questions about delivery, shipping, ordering, and more.
Diplomas for new graduates will be sent to your Diploma Delivery Address 4-6 weeks after graduation. New graduates will receive both a traditional printed diploma and a CeDiploma (certified electronic diploma). Emails will be sent to your diploma delivery email address when your diploma ships and when your CeDiploma is available to download.
It is very important for you to provide an accurate diploma delivery address. Diplomas are sent to the address you provided as your Diploma Delivery Address on your degree application in MyUI. If you do not list a Diploma Delivery Address, the diploma will be mailed to the Residing Address you list on MyUI at the end of your graduating session. Spring degree applicants must update their Diploma Delivery Address on MyUI before the deadline on May 5, 2023.
Students with a domestic/U.S. Diploma Delivery Address should choose United States Postal Service (USPS) First Class mail as their diploma delivery method.
For reliable delivery, diplomas going to an international address should be sent using UPS with tracking. A UPS fee ($20 domestic U.S. delivery and $75 international delivery) will be posted to your U-Bill. UPS delivery may not speed up the production of your diploma, but it delivery will be made within a few days after your diploma has been released. Once it is in their possession, UPS will send you an email with a tracking number. Spring degree applicants must update their diploma delivery method on MyUI by May 5, 2023. After May 5, 2023, contact Registrar Diplomas at reg-diploma@uiowa.edu
Students who do not choose UPS delivery for their diploma going to an international diploma delivery address will be sent using Airmail with a tracking number at no charge. This form of delivery is not recommended, as delivery is not always reliable and tracking may not be updated after the package leaves the U.S.
In MyUI, under the Student Information tab, go to Student Life Management and click on the Degree Application link. If you have an active degree application on file you will see your Diploma Address on the right side of the screen. To update the Diploma Delivery Address, click on the (edit) link to the left which will open your application. Scroll down to Diploma Delivery Information and enter your diploma address here. Be sure to click on the green Save button at the bottom of the screen. Following the diploma address you will see Delivery Method options.
Please do not send your diploma to a friend or another 3rd party without using C/O in front of that person's name. Mail sent with the letters C/O before the name, is sent "in care of" someone else and lets the Post Office know they should deliver your mail to the person living at that address. Using C/O is a way to ensure that the Post Office does not return your diploma to the UI, when they see the package is addressed to someone who does not reside at the address the package has been sent to.
If the diploma is sent to an incorrect address and it is lost or returned to the Office of the Registrar, it will be necessary for you to provide a corrected address on MyUI and pay a $10 reorder/re-mailing fee. (If you are unsure where you will be residing at that time, you may want to consider having your diploma sent to a permanent or parent address.)
Diplomas will be mailed to graduates 6 - 8 weeks after graduation. After diplomas have shipped, an email will be sent to the email address you submitted on your degree application.
On your degree application you may choose the following diploma delivery methods on you degree application on MyUI:
Please be sure to provide a correct Diploma Delivery Address with a correct postal code on your degree application in MyUI. Your delivery address must be in English, no foreign characters please.
Your delivery address must consist of no more than 2 lines of 35 characters per line, for address entry, so some words may need to be abbreviated. (Example: Street = St.; Block = Blk.; Apartment = Apt.) *It is your responsibility to make sure FedEx can deliver to the address you provide. If your diploma is returned to the UI because it cannot be delivered, the FedEx shipping fees and the return fees will be also charged to your U-Bill.
If the diploma is sent to an incorrect address and it is lost or returned to the Office of the Registrar, it will be necessary for you to provide a corrected address on MyUI. If we have to mail the diploma to a different delivery address than you originally provided, a $10 reorder/re-mailing fee will be charged to your U-Bill. If you are unsure where you will be residing after graduation, you may want to consider having your diploma sent to a permanent or parent address. Do not send your diploma to a 3rd party address without using c/o (in care of plus the name of the 3rd party individual).
The CeCertificate (certified electronic certificate) and print certificates for spring 2022 and later graduates will be available for purchase.
Spring 2022 and later graduates interested in purchasing a CeCertificate and/or print certificate may order them using the Credential Order Form on the registrar’s website: Digital Diplomas and Certificates. A separate order form must be completed for each credential.
Certificates will continue to appear on official transcripts and verification letters.
The CeCertificate is not available if you graduated prior to Spring 2022.
If your diploma is damaged during the delivery process, please take photos of your diploma and the cardboard envelope it arrived in and attach to an email to reg-diploma@uiowa.edu. Please provide your name, student ID number and address where the new diploma should be mailed. Diploma Services will order a new diploma for you. Turn around time will be approximately 3 weeks.
If you care to, you may want to touch base with your mail carrier or local post office reporting the damage to your original diploma, and to let them know that a new diploma will be sent to you soon. The 10" x 13"cardboard diploma envelope has the words DO NOT FOLD displayed on the front.
Your Official Student Name will appear on your diploma as it does on your University records (MyUI). Your Diploma Name will also appear on your degree application on MyUI.
International Students: If you are having your diploma certified in another country you will want your diploma name to match your passport name. If you need to update your Official Student Name, use the Online Name Change Form and submit it with a copy/image of your passport as documentation to support your name change.
If your name is not correct on MyUI, please complete the Online Name Change Form, (*legal documentation is required for all name changes), and submit with the required documentation as stated on the form. In order to appear correctly on your diploma, name changes should be processed by the last day of your graduating semester/session.
The University of Iowa will not issue a print or CeDiploma to graduates with past-due U-Bill accounts. If your account was past due at the time diplomas were mailed, but has been paid, you should contact Diploma Services at reg-diploma@uiowa.edu, to let us know you have paid your U-Bill balance, so we can order a diploma for you. You can view your U-Bill on MyUI under the Student Records tab, under the heading Finances & Billing.
UPS charges are billed through the University Billing Office, and once charges have been billed, U-Bill payments may be made several ways. Please contact University Billing Office to find out more about payment options.
You might consider ordering a digital copy of your official transcript, once degree notations appear on graduates' student records. Visit Transcripts at: https://registrar.uiowa.edu/transcripts. Ask Transcripts to release your transcript after your degree notation has been added, or "hold for degree".
Alumni can print their own degree verification by using their HawkID and password through MyUI. Degree verifications can also be obtained through the National Student Clearinghouse at: https://registrar.uiowa.edu/verifications
The notation for your Minor will only appear on your Official Transcript.
You'll receive a separate diploma for every unique degree you earned (e.g., BA, BS, BBA). If you pursued one degree with multiple majors, you will receive a single diploma with each major completed at the time the degree was conferred.
If you complete an additional major after you earn a degree, you won't receive a new version of your diploma. Your diploma shows only your original degree conferral date, so it wouldn't accurately reflect when you completed your additional major. The additional major notation will appear on your official transcript.
University of Iowa diplomas and certificates are 8.5" x 11". Graduates will receive diploma for each degree they complete. Diplomas are not issued for each major.
Please contact the commencement coordinator for your college to find out if they will provide diploma covers for their graduates. Some but not all colleges may be purchasing and distributing them in the future, or providing a way for students to purchase a diploma cover.
Commencement contacts can be found on the Commencement web page at: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremonies
The CeDiploma for UI graduates fall 2021 or earlier are available for purchase. For more information about our Legacy CeDiploma, visit our Duplicate Diploma webpage at: https://registrar.uiowa.edu/duplicate-diploma