Moraine Valley Catalog 2026-2027

Graduation

Two women students posing with degree covers at graduation.

The graduation ceremony is held once a year at the end of spring semester for graduates from the previous summer and fall semesters and for current spring graduates.

Moraine Valley grants associate's degrees and various occupational certificates. Associate in Arts, Associate in Science and Associate in Fine Arts degrees are designed for Transfer Program students. The Associate in Applied Science degree and occupational certificates are designed for Career Program students.

Graduation Requirements for All Associate Degrees 

The following requirements must be met by students pursuing an associate degree.

  • A completed graduation petition must be submitted through the students portal page by the stipulated deadline: (Sept 15th for Fall, February 1st for Spring, June 1st for Summer).
  • A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0, which does not include developmental and remedial courses.
  • A “C” grade or better in COM-101 Composition I and a “C” grade or better in COM-102 Composition II when the course is required for a specific program or degree.
  • A minimum of 64 credit hours for the following degree: A.F.A. A minimum of 60 credit hours for the A.A., A.G.S. or A.S. degrees. Some Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees may require less than 62 semester hours. Required hours include courses that meet the general education and any specific program requirements for the degree.
  • Developmental and remedial courses cannot be applied toward an associate’s degree unless specified in the program description but can be applied to full or part-time student status. Developmental and remedial courses include, but are not limited to: COM-088 Introduction to Composition; IEL-011 Academic Reading I, IEL-012 Academic Writing I, IEL-013 Academic Communication I, IEL-014 Academic Language & Structure I, IEL-021 Academic Reading II, IEL-022 Academic Writing II, IEL-023 Academic Communication II, IEL-024 Academic Language & Structure II, IEL-030 Content Focus; MTH-060 Whole Numbers and Fractions, MTH-070 Decimals and Percents, MTH-080 Pre-Algebra Topics, MTH-081 Supplemental Math - Gen Ed Math, MTH-082 Supplemental Math - Prob & Stats, MTH-083 Supplemental Math - College Algebra, MTH-090 Developmental Math, MTH-095 Beginning Algebra, MTH-096 Mathematical Reasoning, MTH-097 Geometry, MTH-098 Intermediate Algebra; and RDG-088 Academic Reading Skills & Strategies, RDG-089 Critical Reading for College Content.
  • A student must earn at least 15 credit hours at Moraine Valley. Proficiency credit does not satisfy residency requirements.
  • All degrees and certificates will be conferred and transcripted with the date (December/May/August) all requirements for that degree/certificate were met.
  • Public Act 87-581, which states, “Programs shall at least: require each public institution of higher education to include, in the general education requirements for obtaining a degree, course work on improving human relations to include race, ethnicity, gender, and other issues related to improving human relations to address racism and sexual harassment on their campuses, through existing courses.” Students at Moraine Valley Community College satisfy the requirements of this law through COM-103 Speech Fundamentals, which is a required course in each of the degree programs (A.A., A.S., A.A.S., A.F.A., and A.G.S.).
  • Students must meet the degree or certificate requirements in effect at the time they first enrolled and earned credit (earned credit is defined as receiving a “D” or above in college-level or "C" or better in developmental courses) or the requirements in effect during any subsequent year until the degree or certificate is completed. However, if enrollment has been interrupted by six or more consecutive semesters (including summer semesters), the student must meet the degree or certificate requirements in effect at the time of re-enrollment with earned credit (earned credit is defined as receiving a “D” or above in college level or “C” or above in developmental courses) or the requirements in effect after re-enrollment until the degree or certificate is completed. Exceptions are the selective admission programs. Students who are readmitted to these programs must follow the requirements in effect at the time of their readmission to the program. In all cases, students must meet all degree or certificate requirements for the selected year. Requirements from more than one year cannot be combined. When a program is formally withdrawn due to curriculum changes, students have up to two years to complete the original program requirements. However, if a student does not have that program listed as their active program in the system at the time of its withdrawal, they can no longer be placed under the withdrawn curriculum.

Additional Requirements

Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.) and Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.)

See Transfer Programs section of this catalog for detailed program information.

Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)

See Career Programs section of this catalog for detailed program information.

Occupational Certificates

The college offers various programs of occupational specialization. Completion of one of these programs is recognized with a certificate.

The requirements are the following:

  • A completed graduation petition must be submitted through the students portal page by the stipulated deadline:  (Sept 15th for Fall, Februrary 1st for Spring, June 1st for Summer).
  • Successful completion of the specified courses for the certificate;
  • Minimum overall grade point average of 2.0 in the courses required for the certificate;
  • At least 50 percent of the certificate hours must be completed at Moraine Valley. Proficiency credit does not satisfy residency requirements.

Developmental and remedial courses cannot be applied toward a certificate unless specified in the program description. Developmental and remedial courses include, but are not limited to, the following: COM-088 Introduction to Composition; IEL-011 Academic Reading I, IEL-012 Academic Writing I, IEL-013 Academic Communication I, IEL-014 Academic Language & Structure I, IEL-021 Academic Reading II, IEL-022 Academic Writing II, IEL-023 Academic Communication II, IEL-024 Academic Language & Structure II, IEL-030 Content Focus; MTH-060 Whole Numbers and Fractions, MTH-070 Decimals and Percents, MTH-080 Pre-Algebra Topics, MTH-081 Supplemental Math - Gen Ed Math, MTH-082 Supplemental Math - Prob & Stats, MTH-083 Supplemental Math - College Algebra, MTH-090 Developmental Math, MTH-095 Beginning Algebra, MTH-096 Mathematical Reasoning, MTH-097 Geometry, MTH-098 Intermediate Algebra; and RDG-088 Academic Reading Skills & Strategies, RDG-089 Critical Reading for College Content.

Second Associate Degree

Moraine Valley will grant more than one associate degree to the same student provided all specified requirements are met for that particular degree.

Students may earn only one transfer program (A.A., A.S., A.E.S. or A.F.A).

Students may earn more than one Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree.

Students with an Associate in Applied Science degree who wish to complete the requirements for either an Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, or Associate in Fine Arts degree are advised to review the section of the catalog that outlines Transfer Program requirements. Students should meet with an academic advisor because not all courses required in the respective Associate in Applied Science programs are intended for or accepted as transfer credit to transfer institutions.

Students who have received an associate degree from another college may earn an associate degree from Moraine Valley by completing the program requirements for the degree and fulfilling the general graduation requirements.

Students who seek a second degree from Moraine Valley are subject to published petition deadlines.

Graduation Petition Deadlines

Candidates for completion of a certificate or degree must file a graduation petition. Graduation petition forms are available online via MVConnect under Student Resources. Click on Registration and Records for the online form.

Deadlines for filing petitions are the following:

  • Fall graduation (December)—Sept. 15
  • Spring graduation (May)—Feb. 1
  • Summer graduation (August)—June 1

Eight to Ten weeks is required for posting of degrees/certificates and mailing of diplomas.