UCSD Commencement 2021 Ceremonies to be Held In-Person

UC San Diego’s Office of the Chancellor announced their intention to hold spring commencement ceremony in person on RIMAC field via email on April 14. Ceremonies for the Class of 2021 will take place on June 12 and June 13.

Students will have the opportunity to bring at most two guests to the in-person ceremonies.

In order to attend, participants must show proof of full vaccination or test negative for COVID one to three days prior to the ceremony.

“Commencement ceremony decisions were led by the University of California Office of the President, as well as state and county public health guidelines,” said Assistant Director of Communications, Erika Johnson, in an email to The Triton.

Separate ceremonies will be held for each undergraduate college and the Graduate Division, as well as Rady School of Management and the School of Global Policy and Strategy.

The six undergraduate college ceremonies will be held:

Muir College – 9:00 a.m., Saturday, June 12

Sixth College – 1:00 p.m., Saturday June 12

Revelle College – 5:00 p.m., Saturday June 12

Marshall College – 9:00 a.m., Sunday June 13

Eleanor Roosevelt College – 1:00 p.m., Sunday June 13

Warren College – 5:00 p.m., Sunday June 13

The graduation ceremonies will celebrate the Class of 2021, which includes students who completed their degrees in Fall 2020, Winter 2021, or will complete their degree in Spring 2021. Students who plan to complete their degree in Summer 2021 are also eligible. Graduates of the Class of 2020, who completed their degrees in Winter 2020, Spring 2020 or Summer 2020, are not eligible to participate in the festivities.

As an additional precaution, participants will be asked to continually wear masks throughout the ceremony and to complete a symptom screener prior to entry.

For students who cannot attend commencement in-person, the University will offer a virtual ceremony through a livestream.

According to the University, the keynote speaker for this year’s commencement will be civil rights activist, organizer, and Marshall College alumna Alicia Garza (‘02). Garza founded the Black Futures Lab and co-founded the Black Lives Matter Global Network. She is also credited with co-creating the “Black Lives Matter” hashtag.

Garza previously spoke at UCSD in 2019 for the Marshall College Speaker Series.

“Words of wisdom from a fellow alumna of Ms. Garza’s significance underscore the value of our mission and encourage our graduates to continue to boldly impact their communities and our nation far into the future,” said Chancellor Pradeep Khosla in a campus-wide email. 

Students can register for commencement until Wednesday, May 19.

Sarah Naughten is a staff writer for The Triton. Julianna Domingo is an Assistant News Editor for The Triton. You can follow her @coolyannaa.