UT To Hold 156th Commencement Ceremony on May 6

The University of Tampa will honor more than 1,800 students at its 156th commencement on Saturday, May 6, during two separate ceremonies at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

UT To Hold 156th Commencement Ceremony on May 6 The University of Tampa will honor more than 1,800 students at its 156th commencement on Saturday, May 6.

The ceremony for graduates of the Sykes College of Business and the College of Arts and Letters will take place at 9:30 a.m., and the ceremony for graduates of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education and the College of Natural and Health Sciences will follow at 2 p.m.

Between the two ceremonies, there are 1,622 bachelor’s degree candidates and 219 master’s degree candidates — 1,841 in all. The ceremonies also recognize the master’s candidates who will officially graduate in August.

At the morning ceremony, Jeff Drushal ’89, retired Army Major General and CEO of Drushal Leadership and Logistics Solutions, will give the address, and Emil Jacob Poovathoor ’23 will deliver the student challenge. In the afternoon ceremony, the Honorable Jane Castor ’81, mayor of Tampa, will give the address, and Savannah Williams ’23 will deliver the student challenge.

Here are some statistics about the graduates:

Total graduates: 1,841
Countries represented: 11
Percent of graduates from Florida: 45%

Undergraduate students
Total bachelor’s degree candidates: 1,622
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0): 18
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0): 233
Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75): 303
Top three most popular undergraduate majors in this class: allied health, finance and marketing

Graduate students
Total master’s candidates: 219
With highest honors (GPA 4.0): 13
With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0): 9
MBAs awarded: 46

In the days leading up to the ceremony, several departments will hold hooding ceremonies for their master’s degree candidates:

Thursday, May 4:

Master of Science in Nursing hooding ceremony, 2 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center

Friday, May 5:

Master of Science in Exercise and Nutrition Science hooding ceremony, 11 a.m., Plant Hall, Music Room
Sykes College of Business hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center
College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Plant Hall, Fletcher Lounge