UT to Host First-Ever Virtual Commencement on May 9, 11 a.m.

For the first time ever, due to the unprecedented circumstances that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon campus life, The University of Tampa will host a virtual commencement on May 9 at 11 a.m. (EST) to honor the 1,752 degree-seeking candidates at the University's 150th commencement. The event is free and available to view online by the students, their family members and friends, UT faculty and staff, and the general public.

Bedazzled graduation cap that says UT Even though commencement will be held virtually this semester, spring graduates can walk during December commencement.

The University is holding commencement virtually due to the ongoing global health crisis. At this time, public health officials are discouraging crowds and large gatherings to help prevent the transmission of the coronavirus. For the safety of the UT community, courses moved from face-to-face instruction to remote delivery on March 16 and continued virtually through the end of the spring semester.

The ceremony will include remarks by President Ronald Vaughn, special messages from the academic deans and student challenge speakers. A downloadable version of the ceremony will be available immediately after. In addition, each graduate will receive a personalized video commemorating their achievement. More information about the virtual ceremony can be found at ut.edu/classof2020 and ut.edu/commencement.

Degree-seeking candidates are encouraged to submit photos through social media by using the hashtag #UTampaGrad and tagging @uoftampa. Those who'd like to say "congratulations" to a new graduate are encouraged to do so on social media using the hashtag #UTampaGrad. For details, visit ut.edu/utampagrad.

May 2020 graduates may participate in UT’s December 2020 commencement ceremony in person, if they wish. That ceremony will take place on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Here are some statistics about UT's May 2020 graduating class.

UT Degree-Seeking Candidates:

Total: 1,752

Countries Represented: 59

% of graduates from Florida: 47

Undergraduates:

Total bachelor's degree candidates: 1,519

Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0): 6

Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0): 156

Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75): 211

Top three most popular undergraduate majors in this class: finance, marketing and psychology

Graduate Students:

Total master's degree candidates: 233

With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0): 9

With highest honors (GPA 4.0): 13

MBAs awarded: 62

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