Diplomas and Certificates
Congratulations, Graduate! You’ve reached a significant milestone in your academic journey. It’s time to celebrate your hard work and dedication. As you embark on this new chapter, Nova Southeastern University is proud to offer you two diploma options to commemorate your achievement: a digital diploma and a traditional printed diploma.
Digital Diploma
- Immediate Access: Emailed to your personal email on record with the university by Parchment, NSU's credentialing partner, once your degree has been awarded
- High-Resolution: Permanently accessible in your Parchment account
- Shareable: Easily share with employers and on social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc).
- Globally-Recognized: Accepted by many countries as an alternative to apostilles.
Printed Diploma
- Delivery: Mailed to the address on file or provided to the
- registrar’s office in response to the Diploma Name and Address Verification email sent once you have completed 90% of your degree requirements
- Timeline: Typically arrives within four to six (4-6) weeks of conferral
Printed Certificates
- Delivery: Mailed to the address on file or provided to the registrar’s office in response to the Diploma Name and Address Verification email sent once you have completed 90% of your degree requirements
- Timeline: Typically arrives within four (4) weeks of the conferral
- Note: Certificates are not available in digital format
Legal Name Requirements
The graduate’s name that appears on a Nova Southeastern University diploma or certificate must be a legal name. The following variations are permissible and must be requested upon receipt of the Diploma Name and Address Verification email sent once you have completed 90% of your degree requirements. In all cases, verification will be based on information that is in the student record and not provided verbally.
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Middle name may be complete, initialed, or omitted, but must match the student record (e.g., John Quincy Adams, John Q. Adams, or John Adams).
- A legal middle name may be used in place of a first name if that middle name has been recorded in the student record.
- Suffixes such as Sr., Jr., III, etc., may be used if included in the student record and documented on the student’s original application, transcript from another school, or birth certificate.
- Maternal surnames may be included if documentation is provided to the Office of the University Registrar. Proper documentation is a copy of a birth certificate indicating the maternal surname or the student’s original admission application indicating the surname.
- Hyphenated maiden-married last names may be used, provided the student record has documentation to verify the names. A Data Change Form will be required if a name change has not been processed since the marriage.
- A maiden name may be used in place of a married name if the maiden name has been recorded in the student record.
- Special accent marks may be requested. Recognized linguistic marks will be included in the diploma name.
- No prefix or suffix related to a title or credential is permitted (e.g., Dr., D.M.D., Esq., etc.).
Diploma and Certificate Delivery
Your diploma or certificate wil be mailed to the address you provide in response to the Diploma Name and Address Verification email sent from daqc@nova.edu once you have completed 90% of your degree requirements.
Address Updates
If your address changes after submitting your application, update your information with both the Coordinator of Degree Conferrals and Diplomas and in SharkLink. Updating SharkLink alone does not automatically update your diploma/certificate mailing address.
Not providing a correct address will cause a delay in receiving your diploma or certificate and may incur additional fees. Please provide your NSU ID number in all correspondence.
Timeline
You will receive an email confirmation to your NSU email address once your degree has been conferred. Expect to receive your diploma package within several weeks of the conferral date. Please note: Delivery times may increase during peak graduation months like May, August, and December.
See below for more information regarding mailing of diplomas and certificates.
- Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist, and Doctoral Diplomas: These are printed and mailed via U.S. Postal Service through our partner, Parchment.
- Delivery Timeline: Expect to receive your diploma within 4-6 weeks, depending on location and address type (domestic or international).
- Tracking Your Diploma: You can track your diploma shipment through your Parchment account under the "Orders" tab.
- Contacting Parchment: For inquiries on shipments delayed beyond 6 weeks, email diplomaprints@parchment.com.
- Include your Parchment Document ID (emailed/texted with your digital diploma).
- Need help finding your Document ID? Contact diplomas@nova.edu.
- Include your Parchment Document ID (emailed/texted with your digital diploma).
- Delivery Method: Certificates are mailed via FedEx by the Office of the University Registrar.
- Delivery Restrictions: Please note that FedEx cannot deliver to P.O. boxes or military APO/FPO addresses.
- If you require delivery to a P.O. Box or military APO/FPO address, please contact the Office of the University Registrar at diplomas@nova.edu. We will do our best to accommodate your request.
- Tracking Your Certificate: The Registrar's Office will send tracking information to your NSU email address upon shipment.
- If you cannot locate the tracking email, you can request a tracking number by emailing diplomas@nova.edu.
Financial Holds
Please be aware that outstanding holds on your student account may delay the mailing of your diploma or certificate. These holds can be due to various reasons including financial obligations, traffic fines, and library fines.
Specific Hold Information:
- Bursar Hold: This hold prevents access to all student services, including diploma distribution, registration, grade access, enrollment/degree verification, and RecPlex usage. To lift this hold, you must pay all outstanding balances.
- Diploma Hold: This hold specifically prevents you from receiving your diploma but does not affect registration or degree conferral. To lift this hold, you must resolve the outstanding balance.
To avoid delays, please log into SharkLink to check any holds on your account.
Replacement Diplomas/Request for a Digital Diploma
NSU’s longstanding policy is to have only one diploma extant. A replacement diploma can be provided upon the submission of an online Request for Replacement Diploma. Alumni who were issued a printed diploma and wish to request a digital diploma may do so by submitting a Request for Replacement Diploma.
All NSU replacement diplomas are provided in both printed and digital formats. Replacement diplomas and certificates show the date the degree/certification was awarded but bear the signatures of the current university administration and are issued from the college that currently houses the academic program. The notation “Diploma Re-Issued” appears at the bottom-right corner of the printed and digital replacement diploma.
A $50 payment, per copy, must accompany your request. Replacement requests will not be processed until all outstanding financial obligations to the university are satisfied.
A graduate wishing to have his/her name changed on a replacement diploma or certificate must follow the Name Change Procedure before it will be produced. Submit the Data Change Form along with official documentation either by email, fax (954-262-4862), or mail to:
Nova Southeastern University
Office of the University Registrar
Attn: Student Updates
3300 S. University Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328-2004
If you are an NSU employee, name changes are processed through the Human Resources website.
Please allow at least two weeks for receipt of a replacement diploma. Replacement diplomas requiring notarization will take more time for processing.
University Realignment and Replacement Diplomas
With an aim to better support students in achieving their academic goals, on July 1, 2015, NSU's sixth President Dr. George L. Hanbury II announced a realignment of academic programs by discipline throughout the university. Bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs of one discipline are now housed in the same college instead of in separate colleges. In addition, the names of NSU schools, centers, and institutes were changed to colleges. Accordingly, alumni conferred with NSU degrees prior to the realignment will notice changes to the college name on their replacement diploma, which is provided using the current alignment and administrative signatures.
Contact Us
Nova Southeastern University
Office of the University Registrar
3300 S. University Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33328-2004
Phone: (954) 262-7200
Fax: (954) 262-3256
One-Stop Shop Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.