UNR awarding 2,454 degrees in two days of ceremonies

The University of Nevada, Reno is holding its spring commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday, when 2,454 degrees and certificates will be conferred — 1,908 bachelor degrees, 476 advanced-degree certificates (master’s and doctoral degrees and education specialist certificates) and 70 University of Nevada School of Medicine degrees. The University awarded 2,251 degrees last spring and has seen a 37 percent increase in degrees awarded since 2007 due to increased enrollment and improved graduation rates. When combined with the Winter Commencement, more than 3,500 degrees are awarded by the University annually.

The commencement exercises will take place in three ceremonies on the University’s historic Quadrangle, located on the southern part of campus. Each ceremony focuses on particular colleges and, for the first time, confers both undergraduate and graduates degrees for each of those colleges.

Processional times:

Friday morning, with line-up at 7:45 and procession at 8:15 a.m., will be the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, College of Business and the Division of Health Sciences.

Friday early evening, with the procession at 4:55 p.m., will be the College of Engineering and the College of Science.

Saturday morning, with line-up at 7:45 and procession at 8:15 a.m., will be the Reynolds School of Journalism, College of Liberal Arts and College of Education.

Students receiving dual degrees may participate in more than one ceremony.

Media badges and media relations: If you need a media badge or need assistance, please contact Natalie Savidge or Nicole Shearer. Also, photos from prior Commencement ceremonies are available for view on the University’s online Media Kit page. If your outlet or station would like permissions to use any of the photos, please send the photo link to a member of the Communications Office.

Parking for media: Limited media parking will be available in an area adjacent to the Quad. Please park in the lot south of the Jones Center (silver 1 zone) and display your media ID or business card on the dashboard. Overflow parking for media will be in the North Center and Ninth Street parking lot (marked as silver 6 zone).

General parking: The public should expect and plan for traffic congestion before the events. Free public parking is available on the top two floors of the Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex and in the West Stadium Parking Complex, both accessible off Virginia Street. Disabled parking will be available in the Joe Crowley Student Union metered area. Shuttles will be available to transport disabled guests to the ceremony location. Attendees are asked to follow directional signage from Virginia Street to access the disabled parking area. Shuttle service will be available 90 minutes prior to each ceremony to transport guests from their parking location to the Virginia Street Gym.

Inclement weather information: In case of inclement weather, the Commencement ceremonies will be moved to Lawlor Events Center. Media parking will be available in the first two rows of the Lawlor parking meters, south of the building.

A livestream of all three ceremonies will be available at http://imedia.unr.edu/live_event/. Live streaming will be mobile-friendly. Closed captioning on mobile devices for the hearing impaired will also be available and can be accessed through a QR code provided at the event.

University graduates and their families are encouraged to join the conversation online by using the hashtag #PackPride when posting to social media. Those interested can also check out an infographic about the Class of 2015.