This spring, about 5,300 University of Iowa students will receive their degrees in livestreamed, virtual commencement ceremonies, beginning with the College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy ceremony on May 13 and concluding with the College of Dentistry’s ceremony on June 4. Other virtual ceremonies will take place between May 13 and May 22.
See the full list of virtual ceremonies here.
Use the hashtag #UIowaGrad21 to join the celebration on social media.
Dates, times, and livestreaming details for each ceremony are listed below. Learn more on the UI commencement website.
After the conclusion of the livestreamed ceremony, the video will be uploaded to the UI’s YouTube channel.
Information about in-person graduation celebrations can be found here.
Thursday, May 13
College of Pharmacy
Doctor of Pharmacy ceremony
10 a.m. CDT
University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Sherry A. Bates of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa; and Dean Donald Letendre will provide messages to students. Graduate Loc Nguyen will be the student speaker. Lucinda Maine, executive vice president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, will be the guest speaker.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-pharmacy-doctor-pharmacy-virtual-commencement-ceremony
College of Education
Undergraduate and Teacher Education Program ceremony
4 p.m. CDT
College of Education Dean Daniel Clay will deliver messages to students. The student speaker will be graduate Emily Yeomans, of Crystal Lake, Illinois, who is receiving a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics education, and a minor in computer science. Professor Nancy Langguth, associate dean for teacher education and student services, who is retiring this year, will be the faculty speaker.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/college-education-commencement-and-teacher-education-program-recognition-ceremony-0
Friday, May 14
Graduate College
Doctoral degree candidates
9 a.m. CDT
UI President Bruce Harreld; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, President Michael Richards; and Dean John Keller will deliver messages to students. An honorary degree will be bestowed upon Mark P. Mattson, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. The alumnus speaker will be Jamie Wilson (BSN ’09, DNP ’18). Graduate Alex Lange, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will be the student speaker.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/graduate-college-doctoral-virtual-commencement-ceremony
College of Law
2 p.m. CDT
UI President Bruce Harreld; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, President Michael Richards; and Dean Kevin Washburn will deliver welcome messages to students. Graduate Adam R. Lorenzana will be the student speaker. The Honorable Kevin Ross will be the guest speaker. Kregel will confer degrees.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-law-virtual-commencement-ceremony
Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine and Master in Medical Education
6:30 p.m. CDT
President Bruce Harreld and J. Brooks Jackson, vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, will deliver welcome messages to students, along with Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel and Sherry A. Bates of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. Christopher S. Cooper, senior associate dean for medical education, will provide introductory remarks. Sophia Williams-Perez will be the student speaker. Jane L. Miller, professor and director of the Master in Medical Education Program, will present the graduates of the Master in Medical Education Program. Justin Sipla, associate professor of anatomy and cell biology and associate professor of neurology, will provide the commencement address. Graduate Joyce Wahba, 2021 recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, will administer the Hippocratic Oath.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/carver-college-medicine-virtual-commencement-ceremony-doctor-medicine-and
Graduate College
Master’s degree candidates
7 p.m. CDT
UI President Bruce Harreld; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, President Michael Richards; and Dean John Keller will deliver messages to students. The alumnus speaker will be Trisha Welter (BA ’06, MPH ’08). Graduate Anders Frieberg of Bellevue, Iowa, will be the student speaker.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/graduate-college-masters-virtual-commencement-ceremony
Saturday, May 15
College of Nursing
9 a.m. CDT
UI President Bruce Harreld; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, President Michael Richards; and Dean Julie Zerwic will deliver messages to students. Graduates Christopher Neumann and Danielle Yonemura will be the student speakers.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-nursing-virtual-commencement-ceremony
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS)
9 a.m. CDT
This CLAS ceremony will recognize graduates majoring in African American studies; American studies; ancient civilization; anthropology; art; art history; athletic training; biochemistry; biology; biomedical sciences; chemistry; cinema; classical languages; computer science; economics; English; English and creative writing; environmental policy and planning; environmental sciences; gender, women’s, and sexuality studies; geography; geoscience; health and human physiology; informatics; science education; social justice; speech and hearing science; sport and recreation management; sport studies; and therapeutic recreation.
Dean Sara Sanders and UI President Bruce Harreld will confer degrees. President Harreld will confer an Honorary Doctorate of Science upon Mark Mattson, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University.
Ted Abel, director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, will introduce Mattson. The student speaker will be Britney Clingan, of Helotes, Texas, who will receive a degree in English and creative writing with a certificate in event management with highest distinction.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-liberal-arts-and-sciences-9-am-undergraduate-virtual-commencement
College of Public Health
10 a.m. CDT
UI President Bruce Harreld, Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, President Michael Richards; and Dean Edith Parker will deliver messages to students. Graduate Anna Correa, of Clive, Iowa, will be the student speaker.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-public-health-virtual-commencement-ceremony
University College
1 p.m. CDT
This ceremony will include University College graduates earning the Bachelor of Applied Studies and Bachelor of Liberal Studies degrees. President Bruce Harreld, Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel, and Associate Provost and Dean of University College Tanya Uden-Holman will deliver messages to the students. Wade Steenhoek, lecturer in the Tippie College of Business, will be the faculty speaker. Spring 2021 University College graduates Lindsey Ford of Oakville, Iowa, and Sandra Gonzales of Lombard, Illinois, will be the student speakers.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/university-college-virtual-commencement-ceremony
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS)
1 p.m. CDT
This ceremony will include CLAS graduates majoring in actuarial science; applied physics; astronomy; criminology, law, and justice; communication studies; dance; enterprise leadership; ethics and public policy; global health studies; history; interdepartmental studies; international relations; international studies; journalism and mass communication; linguistics; mathematics; microbiology; music; neuroscience; philosophy; physics; political science; psychology; religious studies; social work; sociology; statistics; theatre arts; and world languages (Asian languages and literature, comparative literature, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish).
Dean Sara Sanders and UI President Bruce Harreld will confer degrees. President Harreld will confer an Honorary Doctorate of Science upon Mark Mattson, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University.
Ted Abel, director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, will introduce Mattson. The student speaker will be Allison Meyer, of Iowa City, Iowa, who will receive a degree in political science and a degree in ethics and public policy with highest distinction.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-liberal-arts-and-sciences-1-pm-commencement-virtual-ceremony
Carver College of Medicine
Associated medical sciences degree candidates
2 p.m.
President Bruce Harreld and David Asprey, associate dean for medical education and professional programs, will deliver welcome messages to students, along with Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel and Sherry A. Bates of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The keynote speaker will be Colin Derdeyn, the Krabbenhoft Chair and professor and department executive officer of radiology, and professor of neurology. Sophie Banegas, of Norwalk, Iowa, graduate of the Master of Clinical Anatomy Program; Megan Anderson, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a graduate of the Master of Clinical Nutrition Program; and Elizabeth McElmeel, of Waterloo, Iowa, a graduate of the Radiation Sciences Bachelor of Science Program, will be the student speakers. Jillian York, senior radiation therapist in radiation oncology, will provide the charge to students. President Harreld will confer degrees.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/carver-college-medicine-associated-medical-sciences-virtual-commencement
Tippie College of Business
5 p.m.
UI President Bruce Harreld; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, President Michael Richards, and Dean Amy Kristof-Brown will deliver messages to students. Alumnus Kyle Krause (BBA ’85), CEO of the Krause Group, will be the guest speaker, and graduate Jessica Tse, of Iowa City, Iowa, will be the student speaker.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/tippie-college-business-undergraduate-virtual-commencement-ceremony
Sunday, May 16
College of Engineering
Noon CDT
UI President Bruce Harreld; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Sherry A. Bates of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa; and Dean Harriet B. Nembhard will deliver messages to students. Marissa Mueller, of Petrolia, Ontario, Canada, will be the student speaker. The guest speaker will be Timothy J. Lafond, a UI alum and award-winning technical consultant at Responsible Battery Coalition.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-engineering-undergraduate-virtual-commencement-ceremony
Saturday, May 22
Tippie MBA Programs
10 a.m. CDT
UI Interim President John Keller; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, President Michael Richards; and Dean Amy Kristof-Brown will deliver messages to students. Alum Sue Taylor (MBA ’01), chief information officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be the guest speaker.
Live video stream: https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/iowa-mba-virtual-commencement-ceremony
Friday, June 4
College of Dentistry
3 p.m. CDT
UI Interim President John Keller; Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel; Board of Regents, State of Iowa, member Sherry A. Bates; and Dean David Johnsen will deliver messages to students. Trystan Wiedow, of Spirit Lake, Iowa, will be the student speaker. Faculty members Galen Schneider, Steven Fletcher, and Sherry Timmons will present honors and awards.
Live video stream:
https://commencement.uiowa.edu/ceremony/spring-2021/college-dentistry-virtual-commencement-ceremony
Streaming and broadcast
See ceremony details above for live video stream links. Streaming pages will go live 24 hours before the ceremonies, and archival videos will replace livestreams on these pages shortly after the ceremonies conclude.
Social media
Social media users can join the celebration online by using the hashtag #UIowaGrad21 with UI graduation-related posts on their favorite platforms. Some posts will be shared via UI social media channels.