Virginia Tech to honor 3,100 graduates at fall commencement
The university’s fall commencement ceremonies will be held Friday, Dec. 20, in Blacksburg.
More than 3,100 Hokies will graduate Dec. 20 during Virginia Tech’s fall commencement ceremonies, which will be held in Cassell Coliseum. The University Commencement ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Graduate School ceremony will follow at 2:30 p.m. ET. Both events will be available via livestream video from the university homepage for those unable to attend in person. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for the university ceremony and at 1:30 p.m. for the graduate ceremony.
The events will honor approximately 3,134 students who completed their academic degrees during the summer and fall terms. Use #HokieGrad for all social media posts related to commencement.
Margie Lee '82, DVM '86, who transformed poultry health research and broke barriers in veterinary medicine and is now associate dean for research and graduate studies at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, will deliver the keynote address at the university ceremony.
Two graduate students — Elle Smith, who is receiving a master's degree in public administration, and Juselyn "Jus" Tupic, who is earning a doctoral degree in biomedical and veterinary sciences — will speak at the Graduate School’s commencement, sharing their thoughts about their graduate education journeys. Their short remarks will be modeled on the Nutshell Games created by the Center for Communicating Science.
During the ceremony, 1,582 undergraduates will be recognized for earning bachelor’s degrees.
The College of Engineering will feature the most undergraduates receiving degrees with a total of 433. Additionally, Virginia Tech’s six other colleges and the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine will award the following bachelor’s degrees to summer and fall graduates:
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: 142
- College of Architecture, Art, and Design: 27
- Pamplin College of Business: 359
- College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: 276
- College of Natural Resources and Environment: 52
- College of Science: 267
- Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine: 26
Virginia Tech will recognize 1,552 summer and fall graduates who will receive an advanced, master’s, or doctoral degree.
The graduate degree candidates include 914 master’s degrees, 10 education specialist degrees, 298 Ph.D.s, and 10 doctors of education. In total, 220 master's degree students and 90 doctoral students are expected to attend the ceremony.
The Graduate School will also recognize its Alumni Achievement Award recipient during its ceremony. Col. Brian J. Novoselich, who earned a Ph.D. in engineering education from Virginia Tech, is an associate professor at the United States Military Academy who currently serves as the director of strategic plans and assessment. During his time at Virginia Tech, Novoselich studied shared leadership in mechanical engineering capstone design teams.
A total of 320 students will receive advanced graduate certificates.
For the latest details on commencement, visit vt.edu/commencement.
