We first met the Class of 2025 in August 2021. Many arrived at the University of Virginia wearing masks, having spent their last several high school months in quarantine because of the coronavirus.
This weekend, they will be wearing mortarboards and gowns as they process down the Lawn, able to proclaim, “I have worn the honors of Honor. I graduated from Virginia,” as reads the famous last line of the poem, “The Honor Men.”
The class comes from 111 countries, 50 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories.
111
Countries
50
States, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories
Final Exercises weekend gets underway Friday afternoon with Valedictory Exercises. Actor and 1994 alumnus Jason Winston George will deliver the keynote address at John Paul Jones Arena, where the graduating class will also distribute class awards and present the class gift to UVA President Jim Ryan.
Saturday, members of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences will walk the Lawn with students in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the School of Education and Human Development and hear from Michael Suarez, director of Rare Book School. Cedric Rucker, UVA’s retiring dean of students, will speak to graduates of UVA’s remaining schools Sunday.
In the event of severe weather, like lightning, high winds or hail, Final Exercises will be moved to the John Paul Jones Arena. The last time ceremonies were moved inside was 1976. Officials will decide by 5:30 a.m. each morning whether the ceremony will take place outdoors as planned or be moved indoors.
Degrees Conferred
UVA will bestow nearly 8,000 degrees this weekend. Of those, 4,655 are baccalaureate degrees; the remainder are graduate degrees. The College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, UVA’s largest school, will confer 3,209 degrees.
7,988
Total Degrees
4,655
Bachelors Degrees
Undergraduate Degrees by School
Nearly 450 graduate degrees are professional diplomas in law or medicine.
Sixty-seven percent of undergraduate degree-earners in the Class of 2025 come from Virginia. More than 1,100 graduates are first-generation college students; of those, 502 come from Virginia.
Virginians Come From 80 of the State’s 95 Counties and 31 of the State’s 39 Cities
The youngest member of the class is 18. The oldest is 80. Nine undergraduate students are expected to graduate in two or fewer years. More than 250 undergraduates will earn their degrees in three or fewer years.
Top 5 Degrees
- Economics (College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences)
- Business Administration (Darden School of Business)
- Commerce (McIntire School of Commerce)
- Computer Science (College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences)
- Juris Doctor (School of Law)
Donate Your Balloons
Students are encouraged not to bring balloons. If they do, officials say please, bring just one.
UVA’s Balloon Brigade will be on the Lawn Saturday and Sunday, collecting donated balloons from graduates as they take their seats for Final Exercises. They will deliver the balloons to UVA Health Children’s and other community organizations next week.
