UArizona Gears Up for 9 Days of In-Person Graduation Ceremonies

May 5, 2021

The scaled-back ceremonies will have a limited number of guests and several COVID-19 precautions in place.

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The University of Arizona will hold 18 scaled-back, in-person graduation ceremonies – with several public health measure in place – between May 10 and May 18.

Most of the ceremonies, which are grouped by programs, will take place at two locations: Arizona Stadium and the Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center. The Phoenix and Yuma campuses will have ceremonies in their respective cities.

Last year's UArizona Commencement was held in all-virtual format due the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person ceremonies were allowed to resume this year, thanks, in part, to low COVID-19 infection numbers on campus and the widespread availability of vaccines.

However, this year's ceremonies will look different from all-university Commencement ceremonies held at Arizona Stadium in the past. The series of smaller ceremonies will have limited attendance, with each student allowed only four guests.

Guests must have tickets to enter, and all attendees must follow the university's clear-bag policy, which prohibits purses, backpacks and large bags.  

Masks will be required, per the university's face coverings directive, and physical distancing will be in place. In addition, all participating students will be required to test negative for COVID-19 or upload proof of full vaccination to the Campus Health website within 72 hours of the event.

As always, student attendance at Commencement is optional. As of May 4, around 6,400 students had RSVPed to attend the in-person ceremonies, where more than 7,000 academic degrees will be conferred.

There will not be a single Commencement speaker this year. Instead, pre-recorded and live remarks will be offered by multiple speakers. To learn about this year's student award winners, read the UArizona News article "Outstanding Graduates Will Be Honored for Service, Academics and Perseverance."

Ceremonies will take place at the following dates and times. All events will also be livestreamed on the university's Commencement website and the UArizona YouTube page. Additional information and FAQs are available on the Commencement website.

Monday, May 10

  • College of Medicine – Phoenix, 8 a.m. at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus

Tuesday, May 11

  • Honors College, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium
  • James E. Rogers College of Law, 7 p.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center

Wednesday, May 12

  • College of Medicine – Tucson, 9 a.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center
  • College of Medicine – Tucson (undergraduates), Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and College of Applied Science and Technology, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium

Thursday, May 13

  • Arizona Athletics (student-athletes), 9 a.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center
  • College of Education and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium
  • University of Arizona Yuma, 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Yuma

Friday, May 14

  • College of Pharmacy, 9 a.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center
  • College of Engineering and College of Optical Sciences, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium

Saturday, May 15

  • College of Nursing, 9 a.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center
  • Eller College of Management, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium

Sunday, May 16

  • Interdisciplinary & Biomedical Sciences (graduate students), 9 a.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center
  • College of Humanities, College of Fine Arts, and College of Architecture, Planning, & Landscape Architecture, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium

Monday, May 17

  • College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (graduate students), 9 a.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center
  • College of Science, 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium

Tuesday, May 18

  • VETS Center (student veterans), 9 a.m. at Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center
  • College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (undergraduates), 7 p.m. at Arizona Stadium
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