Watch Live: UK Honors December Graduates
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 17, 2021) — Today, the University of Kentucky honors its graduates at the December 2021 UK Commencement Ceremonies. All ceremonies will be livestreamed on the university's YouTube channel. Approximately 1,200 graduates will participate in the Commencement Ceremonies.
The graduates represent 99 Kentucky counties, 40 U.S. states, and 31 countries.
Overall, the UK Board of Trustees approved the conferral of 1,973 degrees at its meeting this week, including 1,409 undergraduate, 551 graduate and 13 professional degree candidates for December 2021. August 2021 degree recipients are also eligible to participate in the December ceremonies. More than 800 degrees were conferred for August.*
In the interest of health and safety, masks are required for all graduates and their guests who attend.
The ceremony schedule is as follows:
10 a.m. ceremony
- College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
- College of Education
- College of Engineering
- College of Fine Arts
- College of Medicine
- College of Pharmacy
- College of Public Health
- College of Social Work
- Martin School of Public Policy and Administration
- Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce
3 p.m. ceremony
- College of Arts and Sciences
- College of Communication and Information
- College of Design
- College of Health Sciences
- College of Nursing
- Gatton College of Business and Economics
Student Speakers
Two student representatives have been selected by UK President Eli Capilouto to address the audiences at their respective ceremony. Given limitations on the number of people allowed on the stage, the speeches have been pre-recorded.
- Peyton Schroeder, from Germantown Hills, Illinois, who will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony. She is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in mathematics and evaluation from the UK College of Engineering and the Lewis Honors College.
- Bisimwa “Jack” Nzerhumana, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and now a Lexington resident, is graduating with two bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience and psychology from the UK College of Arts and Sciences and is also a Lewis Honors College member.
Full video of each ceremony will be available within two weeks after Commencement on the university’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/universityofkentucky.
Social media users are encouraged to use the hashtag #UKgrad.
For more information about UK Commencement, visit www.uky.edu/commencement.
*These numbers reflect degree candidates, not individual graduates (some graduates earn more than one degree, thereby being counted as a degree candidate multiple times). Degrees will be certified by the UK registrar, ensuring individuals have satisfactorily completed all requirements. The most up-to-date information is available through UK and Institutional Research, Analytics and Decision Support.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.