Mississippi college graduations: What to know about the ceremonies
Mississippi's public colleges are holding commencement ceremonies starting this week and continuing into the middle of the month.
Jackson State University already held its ceremonies at the end of April.
Here are details of when and where commencement will be held across the state colleges and universities. The schools that appear first are having their ceremonies this week, and ones that appear later will have theirs next week.
University of Mississippi
A ceremony for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College took place Wednesday and the School of Pharmacy, School of Law and Graduate School doctoral hooding ceremonies took place Thursday.
Several commencement events will take place this week. Here is the full schedule:
- School of Business Administration Master's ceremony: Friday, 10 a.m., The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts on campus, 351 University Ave., Oxford
- School of Education, Friday, 12 p.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
- College of Liberal Arts Master's ceremony: Friday, 1 p.m., The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts on campus, 351 University Ave., Oxford
- School of Business Administration: Friday, 4 p.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion on campus, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
- School of Journalism and New Media: Friday, 7 p.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
- Celebration of Achievement: Friday, 7 p.m., The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts on campus, 351 University Ave., Oxford
- Convocation: Saturday, 8 a.m., The Grove on campus, 1848 University Ave. (In case of inclement weather, it will be held at 8:30 a.m. in the pavilion)
- Patterson School of Accountancy: Saturday, 10:30 a.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
- School of Engineering: Saturday, 2 p.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
- General Studies: Saturday, 5 p.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
- College of Liberal Arts: Sunday, 9 a.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
- School of Applied Sciences: Sunday, 1 p.m., Sandy and John Black Pavilion, 762 All American Dr., Oxford
Delta State University
Undergraduate and graduate ceremony: Friday, 10 a.m., Walter Sillers Coliseum, 1006 Coliseum Drive, Cleveland
Each graduate will receive five tickets for guests. A ticket is required to attend.
Attendees are asked to arrive at least 45 minutes before the ceremony begins.
The ceremony will be livestreamed at livestream.com/deltastateuniversity. The ceremony will also be available to watch at a later time.
Mississippi University for Women
Several commencement events will be held on campus for undergraduate and graduate students.
- Bachelor and associate nursing program ceremony: Friday, 2 p.m., Rent Auditorium, Whitfield Hall, 1100 College St., Columbus
- College of Arts and Sciences and College of Business and Professional Studiescommencement: Saturday, 11 a.m., Rent Auditorium, Whitfield Hall, 1100 College St., Columbus
- School of Education and College of Nursing and Health Sciences commencement: Saturday, 2 p.m., Rent Auditorium, Whitfield Hall, 1100 College St., Columbus
Students from the Tupelo campus in the Bachelor of Nursing program, graduate nursing programs and all other health science programs will attend the 2 p.m. Saturday ceremony in Columbus.
There will be no commencement speakers, a university spokesperson said.
Each graduate will receive six tickets for guests. There will be no extra tickets or general seating.
Doors will open an hour before the ceremonies begin and close 15 minutes before they start. Face masks or coverings are encouraged but not required. This may be subject to change.
The Nissan Auditorium in Parkinson Hall will be open on campus to watch a livestream of commencement. People can also tune in online at www.muw.edu.
Mississippi Valley State University
Undergraduate and graduate ceremony: Saturday, 8 a.m., Rice-Totten Stadium, Fannie Lou Hamer St., Itta Bena.
The commencement speaker is Ifa Bayeza, who is a playwright, composer, director, novelist and educator.
Tickets are not required for commencement. Doors to the stadium open at 7 a.m. and all guests will sit in the bleachers on the visitor's side.
Alcorn State University
Several commencement events will take place. Here is the full schedule:
- School of Education and Psychology teacher induction: May 11, 1 p.m., Oakland Memorial Chapel on campus, 1000 ASU Drive, Lorman
- School of Nursing pinning ceremony: May 12, 1 p.m., MBA Lecture Hall, Natchez Campus, Campus Drive
- Department of Military Science commissioning ceremony: May 13, 1:30-3 p.m., ballroom of the James L. Bolden Campus Union on campus, 1000 ASU Drive, Lorman
- Baccalaureate ceremony: May 13, 3:30 p.m., Oakland Memorial Chapel on campus, 1000 ASU Drive, Lorman
- Undergraduate and graduate ceremony: May 14, 9 a.m., Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium on campus, 1000 ASU Drive, Lorman
The baccalaureate speaker is Bishop Joseph Warren Walker III of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nashville.
Gloria J. McEwen Burgess, an inspirational speaker and educator, will be the commencement speaker.
Tickets are not required to attend the event. Gates to the stadium will open at 6 a.m.
In case of inclement weather, commencement will move to the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex on campus. An announcement will be made no later than May 13.
The ceremony will be livestreamed at sites.alcorn.edu/commencement/watch-the-ceremony/ and the university's Facebook and YouTube pages.
Mississippi State University
Several commencement events will take place. Here is the full schedule:
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine commencement: May 11, 11:30 a.m., Humphrey Coliseum, on campus, 55 Bailey Howell Drive, Starkville. An awards ceremony will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. Contact the Vet School for more information at 662-325-1078
- Doctoral graduation and hooding ceremony: May 11, 3 p.m., Bettersworth Auditorium in Lee Hall on campus, 262 Lee Blvd., Starkville. Invitation only event for the graduates and their guests. Contact The Graduate School about the ceremony at 662-325-7400
Three commencement ceremonies will be held for undergraduates, master's graduates and educational specialists at the main campus:
- College of Education and College of Business: May 12, 3:30 p.m., Humphrey Coliseum on campus, 55 Bailey Howell Drive, Starkville
- College of Arts and Sciences and College of Architecture, Art and Design: May 13, 9:30 a.m., Humphrey Coliseum on campus, 55 Bailey Howell Drive, Starkville
- Bagley College of Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Forest Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, Academic Affairs: May 13, 3:30 p.m., Humphrey Coliseum on campus, 55 Bailey Howell Drive, Starkville
Meridian Campus commencement: May 12, 11 a.m., MSU Riley Center, 2200 5th St. For more information contact Skye Hamilton at shamilton@meridian.msstate.edu
Tickets are required to attend commencement, and there is a limit of eight guests per graduate.
Doors will open an hour and a half before the ceremonies start.
Professional photographer will be at commencement to take portraits and photos of graduates on stage. They can be purchased after the ceremonies at www.MSUphotos.com
The ceremonies will be livestreamed at livestream.com/mstv/live and the university's Facebook page.
University of Southern Mississippi
There will be four graduation ceremonies:
- Graduate commencement: May 12, 6 p.m., Bernard Reed Green Coliseum on campus, 112 M.K. Turk Circle, Hattiesburg
- Undergraduate commencement for all schools except the College of Arts and Sciences: May 13, 9 a.m., Bernard Reed Green Coliseum on campus, 112 M.K. Turk Circle, Hattiesburg
- College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate commencement: May 13, 2 p.m., Bernard Reed Green Coliseum on campus, 112 M.K. Turk Circle, Hattiesburg
- Coast-based undergraduate and graduate commencement: May 14, 3 p.m., Mississippi Coast Coliseum, 2350 Beach Blvd., Biloxi
More: College graduations around the Pine Belt: What to know about the ceremonies
University of Mississippi Medical Center
Commencement ceremony: May 27, 10 a.m., Mississippi Coliseum, 1207 Mississippi St., Jackson
There will not be a commencement speaker, a university spokesperson said.
No tickets are required and the event is open to the public.
The ceremony will be livestreamed likely on UMMC's Facebook page.
Reporter Mina Corpuz can be reached by email at mcorpuz@gannett.com. You can follow her on Twitter @mlcorpuz.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi public colleges, universities graduation schedules 2022
