In a change from past years, Columbia will now host two Commencement ceremonies to accommodate a large number of graduates across schools.

In an email to students on Monday evening, Columbia announced that the 2024 Commencement Ceremony will take place in two parts on May 15. 

From 9 am to 10:30 am, ceremonies will be held for the graduating classes of the four undergraduate schools—Barnard, Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and General Studies. Graduate programs, including Dental Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Teachers College, the School of the Arts, Journalism, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons will also hold their ceremonies at this time.

Other graduate programs will hold their ceremonies from 6:30 pm to 8 pm. The evening ceremonies will celebrate graduates from the following programs: Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Business, Climate, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, International and Public Affairs, Law, Social Work, and Professional Studies.

Columbia cites capacity and security considerations to be primary reasons for the change. “This year, we anticipate over 16,000 graduates,” the email read. “When added together with their guests, we have outgrown our space to celebrate all at once.” It added that the University Commencement Office opted to hold the ceremonies on the same day to maintain the “tradition of commencing on the same day and in community.”

Columbia made the decision to host two ceremonies after a “University-wide audit” and “exhaustive research,” according to the email. The University anticipates that the changes will make for “smoother graduate and guest experience.” In addition, they expect “easier ticket registration, fewer lines, and more direct communication regarding seating and viewing options.”

They ended the statement by stating that Commencement’s “grandeur…will remain at the heart of each ceremony.”

The email can be found in its entirety below.

Email sent to the Columbia community on Monday, January 29 at 6:28 pm: 

Dear Columbia University community, 

As we start the spring semester, planning is well underway for one of our most important academic events of the year—University Commencement. It is a time-honored tradition to honor our graduates’ accomplishments together on our Morningside campus. We strive to make this ceremony a moment of joy and celebration, not only for our graduates and their families, but for our entire community at large. 

Over the years, our student body has grown and continues to grow. This year, we anticipate over 16,000 graduates and, when added together with their guests, we have outgrown our space to celebrate all at once. To address our growth, this year we will host two University Commencement ceremonies on May 15th, preserving our tradition of commencing on the same day and in community. This decision follows a University-wide audit and exhaustive research to address the growing concerns of space limitations, security, and crowd management.

Two ceremonies will allow for a smoother graduate and guest experience on Commencement day. Easier ticket registration, fewer lines, and more direct communication regarding seating and viewing options are just a few of the improvements we expect with this enhancement to our schedule. This new schedule also will create a more compact event timeline for graduates and guests who are often participating in multiple programs over the course of the Commencement season. Each ceremony will include all of our Columbia traditions such as award presentations, student music performances, a presidential address, and deans’ remarks. The grandeur of University Commencement will remain at the heart of each ceremony, and we look forward to celebrating this momentous day with all of you.

Below is the University Commencement schedule: 

May 15, 2024 

9:00-10:30 a.m.

6:30-8:00 p.m.

For more information about your individual school ceremonies, where each graduate has the opportunity to be announced and walk across the stage, please visit the Schedule of Events and School Ceremonies pages on our University Commencement site. 

In celebration,

The University Commencement Office

Update made on Tuesday, January 30 at 8:26 pm:

This article was updated to reflect the Journalism School as graduating in the morning ceremony due to a corrected error in the University email.

Image via Bwog Archives