ASU to celebrate graduation with both virtual, in-person events

If there is one word to describe this spring’s graduating class, it’s resilient.  

The pandemic has brought about major changes in the way we live life, but through it all Arizona State University students have shown us what it means to overcome and push forward, committed to their success and future. 

On May 3, ASU will confer degrees to nearly 18,000 students — an 8% increase from spring 2020 — including more than 5,200 ASU Online students, a 24% increase over last May; more than 700 of those online students earned their degree through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan partnership. 

MORE: Meet notable grads from across ASU

Of the overall student total, nearly 12,200 are undergraduates and more than 5,500 are graduate students. The totals for resident, nonresident and international students who are graduating are all up over last year: 5%, 13% and 10%, respectively. Nearly 6,900 students are graduating with honors, the most ever for an individual class and a 5% increase over last spring.

Sun Devils are finishing strong, and the university is ready to celebrate them.

The livestreamed commencement/convocations videos, which premiere at 9 a.m. (Arizona time) Monday and can be viewed at anytime after that, allow friends and families to celebrate their graduate regardless of where they are across the globe. Find the links to those ceremonies at graduation.asu.edu/virtual-ceremonies. The ceremonies will include a land acknowledgement, recognition of the original inhabitants of the land and the fact that the university campuses are situated in Indian Country, remarks by President Michael Crow and honor and award recipient recognitions.

And unlike last spring, when everything shifted remote, this time colleges will host a variety of in-person celebrationsAttendance is limited to graduating students only, for health protocol reasons. in addition to their virtual convocations. While not the traditional graduation celebration, their achievements will be celebrated in special ways with their college faculty and peers at a smaller scale as the nation continues its COVID-19 vaccination and mitigation efforts.

“We are incredibly proud of what our Sun Devils have accomplished during the past year of all-compassing changes and challenges wrought by the pandemic,” said Melissa Werner, executive director of the Office of University Events and Protocol and the Office of University Ceremonies. “Commencement is a such an important life milestone, and planners across the university have worked hard within health protocols to help students mark this special moment. Congratulations to all our new graduates!”

Celebrations by academic unit 

Barrett, The Honors College

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: Barrett will host in-person graduation appreciation events across the four metro Phoenix campus locations, including photo opportunities, medallion pickup and tokens of appreciation. Find dates and locations at the link below.
• More information: barretthonors.asu.edu/news-events/about-barrett-events/convocation.

College of Global Futures

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: On May 3, Global Futures will host a "Gather Town" watch party, followed by a meet-and-greet photo opportunity with its dean and directors.
• More information: collegeofglobalfutures.asu.edu/graduation.

College of Health Solutions

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: CHS will host in-person events for doctoral hooding, a white coat ceremony for Doctor of Audiology students, a physically distanced walk-through celebration where graduates’ names will be read as they cross the stage, with the event livestreamed for friends and families. Professional photos will be taken.  
• More information: chs.asu.edu/convocation.

College of Integrative Sciences and Arts

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: CISA will host in-person photo opportunities at the Polytechnic, Tempe and Downtown Phoenix campuses for undergraduate and graduate students, in-person hooding ceremonies for graduate students and in-person and virtual receptions.
• More information: cisa.asu.edu/graduation.

Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: In-person celebrations will take place throughout the day Monday and Tuesday, May 3 and 4. Each attending grad will have their name called, walk across the stage, receive their diploma cover and have their photo taken in their academic regalia. The celebrations will also include collection of rose or nursing pins and hooding of graduates. 
• More information: nursingandhealth.asu.edu/student-life/current-students/convocation.

Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: Multiple in-person outdoor celebrations, grouped by school, will be held in the mornings and evenings of May 4 and 5 on the Tempe campus; these will be livestreamed for loved ones to watch. In addition, the Herberger Institute will host a virtual viewing party of the convocation ceremony with a live chat on May 3 and hosted a hooding opportunity for candidates receiving a terminal degree the last week of April.
• More information: herbergerinstitute.asu.edu/graduation.

Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: The engineering schools will host multiple hybrid celebration events, including a “virtual pre-party” at 8:30 a.m. May 3 in which graduates and their guests will be able to celebrate with faculty, advisers and staff in two custom 3D virtual ASU environments — Old Main and Sun Devil Stadium. After virtually socializing with friends and family at Old Main, participants will automatically be “transported” to the virtual Sun Devil Stadium to watch the one-hour convocation ceremony “on the big screen.”
• More information: convocation.engineering.asu.edu.

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: The teachers college will host a hooding ceremony for graduate students and an in-person open house for all graduates. 
• More information: education.asu.edu/student-life/convocation/spring-2021.

New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: Graduating students are invited to attend an on-campus convocation watch party the morning of May 3 in small locations around the West campus, as well as a virtual reception after the video premiere. In addition, on April 28 graduating students were invited to walk through the Paley Gates, ring the bell and visit other historic campus locations in a celebration of West campus traditions, with professional photographers at each stop.
• More information: newcollege.asu.edu/graduation.

Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: In addition to completed in-person hooding video and photo opportunities, ASU Law will be hosting an in-person graduation viewing celebration on May 12. Rooms will be hosted by faculty members, and students will have the ability to select the room they would like to join, with physical distancing requirements and group limits to be followed. 
• More information: law.asu.edu/convocation.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: During the week of May 3, The College will host a series of small outdoor “meet and greet”-style gatherings for students that include photo opportunities and collection of their diploma case. 
• More information: thecollege.asu.edu/resources/student/graduation.

Thunderbird School of Global Management

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: Thunderbird will host receptions for their graduates, which will include a photo opportunity with classmates and the dean and the distribution of diploma cases. Friends and family watching remotely will be displayed on a jumbo video screen while graduates celebrate in person with classmates.
• More information: thunderbird.asu.edu/convocation.

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: The journalism school will host a graduation walk April 30, in which graduating students will have their name called and walk across the stage in the First Amendment Forum, receive their diploma cover and congratulations of the deans, and have their photo taken in academic regalia. This will be livestreamed for family and friends to watch. There will also be a virtual watch party on May 3.
• More information: cronkite.asu.edu/convocation-information.

Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: Watts College will host in-person viewing parties and an in-person processional (including doctoral hooding ceremony) on May 3. The processional will be livestreamed for family and friends to watch. 
• More information: connect.publicservice.asu.edu/content/spring-2021-convocation-faqs.

W. P. Carey School of Business

• Convocation: Virtual.
• Celebration: The school will host in-person celebrations for undergraduates in which they pick up their diploma cover, get snapshots of the business campus and more; and for graduate and doctoral students at program-specific events. In addition to the in-person activities, W. P. Carey will host Club Carey, a virtual dance party streamed live from Sun Devil Stadium with a DJ, fireworks and more on the evening of May 3. 
• More information: wpcarey.asu.edu/convocation and graduation.asu.edu/ceremonies/latest.

Lake Havasu @ ASU

• Convocation: Virtual. To personalize the experience further, at the end of the recessional, Lake Havasu will play music and switch the view to each student celebrating with friends and family. 
• Celebration: The Lake Havasu locaiton will host an informal, in-person, drive-thru car parade. During the parade, students can stop in front of the administration building (Santiago Hall), receive a celebratory welcome from faculty and staff, receive their diploma cover from a faculty member, and pose for a picture. Friends and family members in the car will remain in the car at all times and face coverings will be required. 

More resources

• The latest commencement information at the ASU graduation page.
• Backgrounds, social media filters and more on the virtual graduation toolkit page.
• Instructional videos on how to dress for graduation.

Top photo: Seth Nwosu flashes the pitchfork for his graduation portrait with GradImages outside Old Main on the Tempe campus on April 6. Nwosu, who is a student veteran, is earning his master's degree in legal studies and intellectual property. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News