BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech will hold in-person commencement ceremonies at Lane Stadium starting Wednesday and running through Sunday. The university will celebrate both graduating seniors and graduate students, along with their families.
The commencement ceremonies begin with the Graduate School’s ceremony in Blacksburg at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine will honor its public health graduates a little later at 7 p.m.
The remainder of the week will include in-person ceremonies for those receiving degrees. All commencement ceremonies will be held at Lane Stadium unless otherwise noted. Find the complete commencement schedule online.
On Friday, the University Commencement ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. ET at Lane Stadium. Jean Case, a digital pioneer and chairwoman of the National Geographic Society, accepted the university’s invitation and will deliver the commencement address.
Three students will serve as the speakers at the graduate school ceremony: Kayla Alward, who is earning a Ph.D. from the school of animal sciences (dairy); Megan Van-Spanje who is earning a master’s degree in forest resources and environmental conservation; and Mohannod Elhamod, who is earning a Ph.D. in computer science.
Virginia Tech will honor 6,804 bachelor’s degree candidates from all colleges throughout the week. This year, 3,813 graduating Hokies completed their baccalaureate degree programs with honors, having achieved cumulative GPAs of at least 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.
Here’s a look at the number of bachelor’s degrees being awarded from each college:
College of Engineering: 2,109
Pamplin College of Business: 1,319
College of Science: 1,108
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: 1,075
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: 575
College of Architecture, Arts and Design: 309
College of Natural Resources and Environments: 208
Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine: 101 *
*Note: The Bachelor of Science in Public Health is offered by the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.
In all, 1,177 students will be participating in the graduate school ceremonies, including 1,028 in Blacksburg and 149 in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. A total of 213 Ph.D. recipients are expected for hooding at the Blacksburg commencement with an additional 21 in the D.C. area.
Here’s a look at the number of graduate degrees being awarded: Master’s degrees: 1,205; Advanced graduate certificates: 182; Ph.D.’s: 284; Ed.D’s: 26; and Education specialists: 7.
The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine plans to hand out Doctor of Veterinary Medicines to 120 recipients on Friday. The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine honored 40 graduates at its ceremony May 6.
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is recognizing 255 graduates from its program. Of those, 169 will be entering service in the military as commissioned officers: 91 in the U.S. Army, 40 in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and 38 in the U.S Air Force. In addition, 51 are Citizen-Leader Track graduates.
In addition, Virginia Tech will be hosting multiple cultural achievement ceremonies throughout the week. Those include Aliyah (a celebration of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students); American Indian and Indigenous (for Native students); APIDA (for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American students); Donning of the Kente (for those of African American heritage); First Together (for first-generation undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. candidates); Gesta Latina (for student of Hispanic or Latino descent); Disabilities Community; Lavender (for LGBTQ+ graduates), Veterans (for student graduates who are veterans of military service), and Recovery Community (for student graduates who have overcome addictions).
For those with questions about commencement, please visit the university’s commencement FAQ web page. For other information related to commencement, please visit the university’s commencement site.
Margaret Ashburn for Virginia Tech
