Photo Credit: Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA

As long as it's safe to gather in large groups again, the University of Georgia will hold commencement ceremonies for spring 2020 graduates this fall.

Undergraduate commencement is scheduled for Oct. 16 at Sanford Stadium (the Dawgs have an away game that weekend). Graduate students' commencement will be held Dec. 18 at Stegeman Coliseum, in conjunction with the fall 2020 ceremony. The ceremonies will take place "only if it is deemed safe to do so at that time by the CDC and state health officials," UGA President Jere Morehead said.

Morehead also plans to send a congratulatory online message acknowledging the conferral of degrees on May 8.

“We do not want to let this important moment pass by without acknowledging its significance. It is truly a long-awaited culmination of your efforts, and for some of you it may be your sole chance to celebrate this accomplishment,” he said. “We look to the fall as a time when we will hopefully be ready and able to gather once again. I trust that you and your classmates, whose love for the University of Georgia is unmatched, will return in force to Athens when the time is safe to do so.” 

UGA, like many universities, canceled its commencement ceremonies in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic.