The U of A will celebrate its spring graduating class with a full slate of ceremonies on Friday, May 12, and Saturday, May 13, in Bud Walton Arena and Barnhill Arena. The School of Law will conduct its ceremony on Saturday, May 20, at the Fayetteville Town Center.

A total of 4,374 students are scheduled to participate in this semester’s commencement, with each college or school recognizing their graduates at their respective ceremonies. Only graduate students will be recognized at the all-university commencement. 

Former NCAA track champion and Olympic gold medalist Veronica Campbell Brown will receive an honorary doctorate from the U of A during the all-university commencement on May 13. Cambell Brown is an alumna of the U of A, previously graduating from the Sam M. Walton College of Business in 2006 with a degree in business administration.

Live streaming of all ceremonies will be available on the U of A YouTube channel.

GUEST INFORMATION

Doors will open 60 minutes prior to each ceremony, and guests are encouraged to be seated 15 minutes prior to the ceremony’s start. 

For ceremonies on campus, all guests will be required to enter through the south entrance of Bud Walton Arena and the north and upper-south entrances of Barnhill Arena. 

Tickets are not required at any ceremony, but bags will be checked for security purposes. Compact umbrellas are allowed, but balloons, wrapped packages and strollers are not allowed in either arena. A full list of prohibited items is available online.

Printed program books will not be distributed to guests, but they will be handed out to graduates and be available online.

Free parking is available in any unrestricted parking lot on campus. Download a map of all parking areas here.  

Disabled drop-off on campus is located at the south entrance of Bud Walton with disabled parking available in lot 60. At Barnhill Arena, disabled parking can be found in lot 45A and 45B on the west and south sides of the arena, respectively.

COMMENCEMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, May 12, 2023

Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences – 2 p.m. (Bud Walton Arena)
Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences – 3:30 p.m. (Barnhill Arena)

Saturday, May 13, 2023

All University (only graduate students recognized) – 8:30 a.m. (Bud Walton Arena)
College of Engineering – 12 p.m. (Barnhill Arena)
Sam M. Walton College of Business – 12:30 p.m. (Bud Walton Arena)
Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design – 3:30 p.m. (Barnhill Arena)
College of Education and Health Professions – 5 p.m. (Bud Walton Arena)

Saturday, May 20, 2023

School of Law – 2 p.m. (Fayetteville Town Center)

More information for families and guests can be found at commencement.uark.edu. 

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.