Family and friends of Virginia Tech's graduating students will travel to Blacksburg and Fairfax, Virginia, this week to attend the university's commencement ceremonies.

Candidates planning to participate in Friday's procession must arrive at the staging area on the corner of Beamer Way and Southgate Drive in the parking lot adjacent to the outdoor track no later than 7:30 a.m. Signage designating the location for lineup for each college's candidates will be posted.

Approximately 30,000 people are expected to come to Blacksburg for commencement ceremonies May 10-12. 

  • The Graduate School Commencement Ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10, in Cassell Coliseum.
  • The University Commencement ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 11, with the procession into Lane Stadium. Gates to the stadium will open at 7 a.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to avoid traffic delays.
  • Virginia Tech’s 36th National Capital Region Commencement Ceremony will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 13, at the George Mason Center for the Arts in Fairfax.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam will deliver the keynote address at the University Commencement Ceremony Friday morning.

Virginia Tech will offer live-stream video of both the Graduate School Commencement and University Commencement ceremonies from the university homepage.

Beginning at 12:30 p.m. Friday, 28 college and departmental ceremonies will be held across campus, continuing through Saturday afternoon. A complete schedule of all departmental and college convocation ceremonies may be found on the commencement website.

Approximately 38 associate degree candidates from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and 4,850 bachelor’s degree candidates from all the colleges will be honored at the ceremony.

This year, 1,976 graduating seniors will complete their baccalaureate degree programs with honors, having achieved an accumulative grade point average of at least 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.

As it was last year, this year's most popular major among graduating seniors is mechanical engineering. The next four most popular majors are business information technology; human nutrition, foods and exercise; computer science; and finance.

Bachelor’s degrees to be awarded to students from each of Virginia Tech’s seven undergraduate colleges:

  • College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: 589.
  • College of Architecture and Urban Studies: 279.
  • College of Engineering: 1,411.
  • College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: 816.
  • College of Natural Resources and Environment: 172.
  • Pamplin College of Business: 856.
  • College of Science: 727.

At a ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday in Burruss Hall Auditorium, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets will honor 250 students graduating from its program. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson will be the keynote speaker.

At the same Corps of Cadets ceremony, 74 students will be commissioned in the U.S. Army, 46 will be commissioned into the U.S. Air Force, 34 will be commissioned into the U.S. Navy, and three will commission into the U.S. Marine Corps.

Virgil Wood, church leader, educator, and civil rights activist, will speak at the Graduate School Commencement Ceremony. Approximately 1,320 students will be honored at the ceremony: 897 master’s degree candidates, seven education specialist degree candidates, seven Ed.D. candidates, 136 advanced graduate certificate candidates, and 273 Ph.D. candidates.

The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine Commencement Ceremony will be at 6 p.m. Friday in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre of Moss Arts Center. The college will award 123 DVM degrees.

University Distinguished Professor Karen Roberto will give the keynote address to approximately 150 graduates at the National Capital Region Commencement Ceremony on Sunday.

2018 marks the Virginia Tech's 146th year. More information on all commencement and convocation activities may be found online.

In the event of inclement weather, the University Commencement ceremony in Lane Stadium may be delayed. If heavy rain or dangerous conditions prevail, the university may cancel the ceremony. Once a decision has been made, details will be posted on the Virginia Tech homepage and the Virginia Tech News page. Information will also be recorded on the University Weather Line (540-231-6668), shared with area news outlets, sent using campus-wide email and VT Alerts, and posted to the VT News page on Twitter and the Virginia Tech page on Facebook.

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