Published on Feb. 25, 2021

Updated on April 13, 2023

Dear Campus Community,

It is our pleasure to share with you that the University of Missouri will host in-person commencement ceremonies for May and August 2021 graduates and the Class of 2020 over three weekends in April and May. Although details are still being finalized, please mark your calendars: 2021 graduates will be invited to ceremonies over the weekends of May 7-9 and May 14-16, while all 2020 graduates will be celebrated during the weekend beginning April 23.

As we have shared previously, we have been diligently working to resume in-person commencement ceremonies. Commencement is among our most beloved traditions and is the culmination of years of perseverance and hard work. Using a variety of strategies, and in consultation with our public health experts, we are developing plans to ensure we can safely hold these ceremonies for our graduates and their families.

Although details are being finalized, the ceremonies will likely be held in Mizzou Arena and the Hearnes Center. Students will receive tickets to invite up to six visitors who will be grouped in “pods” that are socially distanced from others while following health and safety protocols, such as wearing face coverings. To provide additional access for friends and families, the ceremonies will be livestreamed.

Commencement dates for May and August 2021 graduates are listed online, and 2020 information will be updated soon. We will share specific information as more details are available. Please check commencement.missouri.edu for more information.

We could not be more proud of our students who have displayed astounding resilience and grit to progress academically in their fields of study despite the many challenges they have had to overcome. While being careful and cautious, we are excited to celebrate our recent alumni and new graduates in April and May after a year that has tested all of us.

We would like to publicly thank our team of dedicated faculty, staff and university leaders that has been meeting for months to prepare for an in-person commencement, including representatives from space planning, the University Registrar’s Office, Academic Affairs, Athletics, Communications and Marketing and MU’s Incident Command Team, which includes public health experts.

Best wishes to each of our graduates.

MIZ!

Mun Choi, Ph.D.
President, University of Missouri

Latha Ramchand, Ph.D.
Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs,
University of Missouri