UC Irvine sees 8,200-plus students across 4 commencement ceremonies

Over the course of four days, the University of California, Irvine said goodbye to its latest graduating class. Commencement ceremonies all took place at the Bren Events Center, with the first day, Friday, featuring the rites of passage for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the university’s School of Social Sciences.

Engineering dean Magnus Egerstedt takes a selfie with the graduates from the stage at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering’s commencement in the Bren Events Center Friday.

(Steve Zylius / UCI)

Subsequent graduations continued through Tuesday. In total, the university reported 8,966 degrees were given to 8,507 undergraduate students this year. Roughly 46% of those collecting their diplomas were first-generation college graduates.

The university also handed out 1,815 master’s degrees and 393 doctoral degrees over the weekend. In May, UCI conferred in separate ceremonies 167 law degrees and 100 medical degrees.

“This graduating class highlights how well UCI is serving the people of our state by offering a world-class education to the best and brightest students, regardless of their financial circumstances, and acting as a powerful engine of upward economic mobility,” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman in a statement earlier this month.

Graduates from the Henry Samueli School of Engineering walk from Crawford Hall to the Bren Events Center at the 2023 commencement Friday.

(Steve Zylius / UCI)