Graduating students in Bartow Arena for commencement in December.The University of Alabama at Birmingham will recognize doctoral graduates and those earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees with five commencement exercises this spring.
Approximately 3,373 students are eligible to graduate from UAB this semester, and 2,331 students are expected to participate in the ceremonies.
This semester, the UAB Graduate School will confer the university’s highest degrees on 84 doctoral students from 14 states and 13 countries, representing 39 disciplines. At least 73 doctoral graduates will be recognized in a doctoral hooding ceremony at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, in the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Associate Professor Bertha Hidalgo, Ph.D., associate dean of Access and Engagement in the School of Public Health, will be the mace bearer and featured speaker. Watch a livestream of the doctoral hooding ceremony.
Students earning doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in the UAB School of Nursing will be recognized in a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 1, in Bartow Arena. Watch the livestream.
Those earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from all other schools and colleges will have three graduation ceremonies May 1 and 2 in Bartow Arena. Watch each ceremony streamed live on Facebook or YouTube.
- Students graduating from the Collat School of Business and the School of Education and Human Sciences will be recognized at 2 p.m. Friday, May 1. Watch the livestream.
- Students graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences will be recognized at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2. Watch the livestream.
- Students graduating from Joint Health Sciences, the School of Engineering, School of Health Professions, School of Public Health and the Graduate School will be recognized at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2. Watch the livestream.
Doors will open one hour prior to each ceremony. There is no limit on the number of guests who can attend the ceremonies. Bartow Arena enforces a clear bag policy. Strollers must be left in the concourse area. Visit the UAB commencement website for full details. Use the hashtags #UAB and #UABClassof2026 on social media.
Free public parking is available in the 12th Street Parking Deck. Before and during the ceremonies, 13th Street South will be closed to through traffic to accommodate pedestrians around Bartow Arena. Parking for persons with valid state handicap permits or tags is available in Lot 24 on the south side of the Bartow Arena Lot. A campus map and more information is available at www.uab.edu/commencement/travel.
The Alabama Pipes and Drums will lead the procession for each ceremony, and the Department of Music’s Faculty Brass Quintet will perform. The national anthem and the UAB alma mater will be performed by students Cara Parisi, Austin Green, Lena West and Caleb Gosnell, respectively.
Mace bearers for the May 1-2 ceremonies will be:
- University Professor Linda Moneyham, Ph.D., R.N., recipient of the 2025 UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in the School of Nursing.
- Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Professor Ashita Tolwani, M.D., recipient of the 2025 Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching.
- Assistant Professor Brandon Blankenship, J.D., in the Frank Barefield Jr. Department of Criminal Justice, recipient of the 2025 UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in the College of Arts and Sciences.
- Professor Emeritus George Howard, DrPH, in the UAB School of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics, winner of the 2025-2026 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award, the highest honor bestowed by UAB’s academic health center on a faculty member.