December

Commencement by the (good) numbers

This year’s ceremony features President Davidson’s first Commencement address and lots of graduates who’ll transform the world.

December 14, 2017

Check out these impressive numbers from Fall Commencement. 

President Janine Davidson will give her first Commencement address since assuming her new post in August of this year.

This semester’s graduating class includes 356 students of color, led by 222 Latino students.

Friday’s graduation will see an estimated 1,087 bachelor’s graduates, which is below last fall’s total of 1,550. A total of 32 students completed master’s degrees: 22 in accountancy, 7 in teaching and 3 in social work.

Laura Kinney Albrecht, the fall 2017 President’s Award recipient, will deliver the student address during the afternoon ceremony and Sean Peters, the fall 2017 Provost’s Award recipient, will address the morning ceremony.

The fall 2017 class includes 11 ASSET graduates. The age range of MSU Denver’s fall 2017 graduates includes, from 20-year old speech communication major Tess Lindsay to 74-year-old accounting major Gary Broman. Consistent with national higher-education trends, women continue to outpace men, representing 55 percent of the graduates.

Transfer students make up 67 percent and veterans comprise 6 percent of the graduating class. Thirty-two percent of graduates are first-generation students and 27 percent secured STEM-focused degrees.

The graduates’ top five majors in order are:

• Psychology
• Biology
• Accounting
• Criminal justice and criminology
• Nursing

One-hundred and nine students are seeking teacher licensure.

To offer graduates and their guests the most enjoyable Commencement experience, MSU Denver will hold two ceremonies. The Denver Coliseum will be the site for both a 9 a.m. ceremony for the College of Business and College of Professional Studies, and a 3 p.m. ceremony for the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the School of Education on Dec. 15. Master’s graduates will participate in the ceremony that corresponds with their college of study.

For more information on MSU Denver’s fall 2017 commencement ceremony, visit msudenver.edu/commencement.