Bellevue College Graduation Requirements: A Comprehensive Guide

Graduation is a significant milestone, and Bellevue College (BC) has specific requirements to ensure students are well-prepared for their future endeavors. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the graduation requirements, application processes, and other important details to help students navigate their path to graduation successfully.

Understanding General Education at Bellevue College

Bellevue College is committed to providing students with a comprehensive learning experience. The college's general education program incorporates the essential elements of liberal learning, aligning with the values articulated in the AAC&U’s “Statement on Liberal Learning.” This program ensures students develop intellectual resilience, a disposition toward lifelong learning, and a sense of responsibility for the ethical consequences of their ideas and actions.

The General Education program has undergone an extensive review to ensure that students’ learning experiences prepare them to build fulfilling and successful lives as individuals, workers, citizens, and life-long learners. BC has carefully formulated its General Education requirements to correspond with lower division and general requirements at other community colleges and at typical baccalaureate institutions, to ensure ease of student transfer.

Opportunities to develop skills in critical thinking, effective communication, and understanding connections within the social and natural world have been incorporated throughout the college curriculum. Different courses support different general education goals. Students in professional/technical Associate of Arts degree programs will fulfill the college’s general education requirements by completing the courses required for the particular program.

General Education Outcomes

Bellevue College has identified the following general education outcomes as college-wide outcomes for large-picture assessment for the transfer program:

Critical Thinking: The ability to utilize a range of thought processes to evaluate information and opinions, generate new ideas, and identify creative and successful outcomes.
Effective Communication: The ability to communicate effectively using written, oral, visual, and/or electronic means, as appropriate to a given situation.
Understanding Connections: The ability to identify and explore connections, themes, and patterns in the social and natural world, and to see commonalities within dissimilar circumstances.

Each course has a class-level outcome (or multiple outcomes) that is linked to one or more of the general education outcomes.

Core Graduation Requirements

To earn a degree or certificate from Bellevue College, students must meet both college-wide and specific program requirements. It is important to note that degree requirements may change periodically, and for Professional and Technical degrees, the catalog requirements expire after five years. To use older degree requirements, continuous enrollment is necessary, and students cannot use requirements from before they started their degree. If a degree is not completed within five years, the newer degree requirements must be met.

GPA Requirement

Students must earn a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average (GPA) to receive a diploma. This GPA is calculated using every class taken at BC, including those not used for the degree. The GPA displayed on the Degree Audit only includes courses applied to the degree.

Diversity Requirement

Students pursuing Associate Transfer Degrees must fulfill the college’s Diversity Degree Requirement. A complete listing of courses that meet this requirement is available.

First-Year Seminar (FYS) Requirement

Bellevue College students whose primary intent is to earn either the AAS-DTA or the Associate of Science Track I or II degrees must fulfill the First-Year Seminar (FYS) requirement to graduate. FYS 101 or an equivalent course is advised to be taken during their first or second quarter. Students who completed classes at Bellevue College prior to Summer 2021 are automatically exempted from this requirement. Students who started Summer 2021 or later may be required to complete the class.

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Personalized Pathway Requirement (PPR)

Personalized Pathway Requirements (PPR) are related courses that lead to a specific post-high school career or educational outcome chosen by the student based on their interests and High School and Beyond Plan. These requirements may include Career and Technical Education and are intended to provide a focus for the student’s learning.

Washington State History/Government Requirement

Successful completion of Washington State History/Government is a high school graduation requirement. In the Bellevue School District, this instruction occurs in the 7th and 8th grades. Students transferring into the Bellevue School District after 7th grade must satisfactorily complete the Washington State History/Government curriculum to meet the graduation requirement.

Applying for Graduation

The final step toward graduation is to apply. Bellevue College does not use the graduation application feature in ctcLink. Instead, students must apply for graduation via BC forms.

Application Process

Complete the Graduation Application: Fill out the graduation application form.
Transfer Credits: If you need to use credits from another school for your Bellevue College degree, submit a Transfer Credit Request in addition to your graduation application as soon as you register for your first quarter.
Application Deadline: If you missed the application deadline, you can still apply. However, your degree may be delayed by several weeks.
Application Fee: There is a fee to apply for graduation, which will be charged per application.

Changing or Canceling Your Application

You can change or cancel your graduation application anytime. To do so, submit another application and select the appropriate option:

Change My Application: Choose “I already applied. I need to change my application.” This will erase your previous application and replace it, while honoring your original application date.
Cancel My Application: Select “I already applied. Cancel my application.”

If you only need to change your degree or graduation quarter, submit another application and select “I already applied." If you change your graduation to the next immediate quarter, there is no additional fee. If you change your application more than one quarter, there may be another application fee.

Review Process

The Graduation Office will review your application after the end of the quarter, which usually takes several weeks after finals to review all degrees.

Tracking Your Progress

Bellevue College advises students not to use the “Degree Progress” reports in your ctcLink account. Instead, use the “What-If” report. Ensure you choose the correct degree and catalog requirements year. These reports are unofficial and may change without notice and do not guarantee graduation.

Diplomas

Diplomas are issued with the student’s name as it appears on the BC’s Student Records and official transcript. It must include the student’s legal first and last name. To indicate hyphens, spaces, lower/upper case letters, accents, or other special characters on your diploma, print it clearly on the degree or certificate application.

Diploma Issuance

Diplomas are not conferred to students at the commencement ceremony. Degrees are awarded daily, effective the last day of each month. Digital diplomas are issued within two weeks after the degree appears on your transcript, which may be a month or more after the end of the quarter.

Types of Diplomas

You can request a digital diploma, paper diploma, or both. Digital diplomas are free.

Diploma Replacement

Additional or replacement diplomas may be issued upon a student’s request. A fee is required for a diploma replacement. To request a replacement, submit a Diploma Replacement Request Form online.

Commencement Ceremony

The Commencement Ceremony is optional. Participation in the graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremony does not mean your degree has been conferred.

Honors

Students who have an honors GPA at the time of the Commencement Ceremony receive honors cords to wear with their caps and gowns. Honors will be estimated on Friday, December 5, 2025.

Regalia

The approved regalia consists of a black cap, a black gown for both men and women, and a tassel. Graduates receiving a Master's degree wear a Master's hood. Doctoral students will wear a doctoral hood and regalia for a formal hooding during the Doctoral ceremony. Those who have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces wear red, white, and blue cords in addition to their commencement regalia. If you wish to wear items other than the approved regalia, you will need to submit a written request to the Chief Academic Officer 60 days prior to the commencement ceremony.

Photography

Professional photographs are taken at the time you walk across the stage. Bellevue University partners with Ceremony Photos to ensure professional photographs of each graduate are taken and made available for purchase. Portraits will be taken immediately after exiting the stage. Photos will be posted online and will be available 2 - 3 weeks after the ceremony. Please visit www.ceremonyphotos.com/events-proofs to view the photos. There is no obligation to purchase.

Academic Concentrations

Students completing the Associate in Arts and Sciences DTA can choose to focus their coursework on a specific subject, known as an Academic Concentration. The official college catalog publishes a list of available concentrations and their requirements. Concentrations must be awarded in the same quarter as your Arts and Sciences DTA.

Key Resources and Contacts

Academic Advisor: Meet with your academic advisor to ensure you are on track to graduate.
Graduation Office: The Graduation Office will review your application after the end of the quarter.
ctcLink Account: View your unofficial transcript in your ctcLink account by clicking “Academics” in the blue Navigation pane on the left, then selecting “View Unofficial Transcript.” Expand the “Degrees” heading to see your degree.
Frequently Asked Questions: See the Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Additional Information

Bellevue College Cumulative GPA: Bellevue College uses your cumulative GPA, which includes every class you took at BC, even the classes you did not use for your degree.
Commencement Ceremony Program: If you miss the application deadline, you may still enter the ceremony and order your cap and gown at no extra charge, but your name may not appear in the commencement ceremony program.
Transfer Credit Request: If you need transfer credit to complete your degree, submit your official transcripts and a transfer credit request at least three months before the application deadline.

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