Final Exercises 2021

From Friday to Sunday, UVA will confer about 7,500 degrees in five ceremonies featuring commencement speaker Alexis Ohanian, a 2005 graduate and cofounder of Reddit.

Alexis Ohanian co-founded the social media platform, valued at $6 billion, in 2005, the year he graduated from UVA. Professor Melody Barnes leads UVA’s Democracy Initiative and served in the Obama administration.

Students must reserve Final Exercises tickets for themselves and up to two guests between Friday morning and May 2.

Celebrations for the Class of 2020 will take place May 16. Class of 2021 celebrations will be spread across three days, May 21-23, in five individual ceremonies.

This open letter to the Class of 2021 was written as a unified effort of the University's Black Alumni and developed after over 200 alumni, led by Gregory Jackson and Cameron Webb, took action "to support the efforts in Charlottesville in order to strengthen the community that helped to shape our individual characters over the years."

A look at UVA’s final Final Exercises in 2021 – for the Darden School of Business, School of Law and McIntire School of Commerce – which took place Sunday at Scott Stadium.

UVA President Jim Ryan offered opening and closing remarks at Final Exercises ceremonies held Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

2005 alumnus, Reddit co-founder, venture capitalist and “Business Dad” Alexis Ohanian gave a video address during the University of Virginia’s 2021 Final Exercises.

Dove, a former U.S. poet laureate and the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia, read her new poem, “Daffodil,” for the Class of 2021.

UVA Rector James B. Murray Jr. urged graduates to always seek new knowledge, and to come back to UVA to share what they have learned.

A look at the twin Final Exercise ceremonies for the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, which took place Saturday at Scott Stadium.

A look at UVA’s first day of Final Exercises for the Class of 2021, which took place Friday in two ceremonies at Scott Stadium.

The recorded event, aired online and in Scott Stadium featured Jay Pharoah and announcements of class and University award winners.

The University of Virginia’s Class of 2021 celebrated Valedictory Exercises Thursday night with class and University awards and remarks from comedian Jay Pharoah.

Take a look back at some special moments from Sunday’s celebrations, as the University of Virginia’s Class of 2020 reunited to walk the Lawn and celebrate after a long pandemic year.

A year in the making, Sunday’s ceremonies were full of touching moments, joyful reunions and some fun surprises.

See photos from a special Final Exercises, starting with a walk down the Lawn and ending with a ceremony in Scott Stadium.

Melody C. Barnes, co-director of the University of Virginia's Democracy Initiative, addressed the Class of 2020 during a special Final Exercises ceremony held one year after original celebrations were postponed.

The members of the Class of 2020 faced an unexpected end to their time at the University of Virginia, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced an abrupt exit from Grounds and a shift to online courses. However, their contributions to UVA will last far beyond their final semester, and their contributions to the world are just beginning. Meet some of the members of this extraordinary class.