The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) celebrates its newest graduating class at its spring commencement ceremonies May 3-4, inside the Bank of Colorado Arena. This class includes the largest percentage of first-generation students receiving a bachelor’s degree in the past five years and the most diverse classes of graduate and undergraduate students during that same timeframe.  

Overall, the College of Natural and Health Sciences is awarding the largest number of bachelor’s degrees this year, and the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences is awarding the largest number of master’s, specialist and doctoral degrees. 

Graduate Commencement, recognizing approximately 389 students who will receive a doctoral, specialist or master’s degree, will take place on Friday, May 3, at 6 p.m. 

Undergraduate Commencement will include three ceremonies on Saturday, May 4, recognizing approximately 843 students receiving bachelor’s degrees.

• The ceremony for graduates of both the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Performing and Visual Arts begins at 9 a.m.
• The ceremony for graduates of the College of Natural and Health Sciences begins at noon.
• The ceremony for graduates of both the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business begins at 3 p.m. 

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RELATED: Celebrating the Class of Spring 2024

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An additional 309 students are expected to complete their degree requirements this summer and are eligible to participate in the spring ceremonies. 

All ceremonies will be held at UNC’s Bank of Colorado Arena. Tickets are required for entry and are distributed to graduates electronically via their BearMail accounts. Guests must obtain tickets before the ceremony as they are not available at the door. 

The ceremonies can be viewed in many ways, including livestream via UNC’s website and on social media platforms for family and friends watching from home. The university also offers live Spanish-language interpretation services and viewing spaces on campus for people who want a less crowded viewing space. 

More information about tickets, parking locations and a campus map are available on UNC’s commencement website. 

Meet Our Spring Graduates 

• The spring undergraduate class is the most diverse one in the past five years with the number of students identifying as Hispanic/Latine (24.3%), Multiracial (5%) and Black or African American (4.3%) at some of the highest percentages over that timeframe.  
• This year marks the highest percent of graduate students who identify as Hispanic/Latine graduating in a spring ceremony in the past five years, more than doubling from 7% in 2020 to 16.7% in 2024.  
• Undergraduate students graduating this spring received over $24.4 million in combined merit-based and private scholarships and grants (aid that doesn’t need to be repaid) throughout their UNC education.  
• The spring class has the highest percentage of undergraduate students in the past five years (42.9%) who are the first in their families to earn a college degree.   

With the spring 2024 graduating class, UNC now has more than 141,600 living alumni living and working in all 50 states and more than 89 countries. 

Data about UNC’s spring 2024 class is preliminary and based on demographics of students who have applied to graduate as of April 12, 2024. Degrees are officially conferred June 2024.