Important Graduation Update: New Location for SIPA Class Day
Dear SIPA Community,
We are looking forward to celebrating the remarkable achievements of the Class of 2024. Please refer to the announcement below from the University (link), which notes that the date and time of SIPA’s Class Day remain unchanged but that it will be hosted at a new location:
- Monday, May 13, 7:30pm
- Location: Baker Athletics Complex (map)
- Tickets required for guests.
- Student ID and regalia required for graduates.
- The ceremony will be broadcast via livestream for those unable to attend in person.
We will be in touch with graduating students, faculty, staff, and volunteers in the coming days with additional details. Information about SIPA’s Class Day may be found here.
For graduate questions, please contact SIPA’s Office of Student Affairs (OSA).
Thank you.
Keren Yarhi-Milo
Dean, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA)
Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Relations
* * *
University Announcement:
May 6, 2024:
Our graduating students, their families, and their loved ones are very focused on our upcoming Commencement celebrations. We are as well. We are determined to give our students the celebration they deserve, and that they want. Our Deans and other colleagues who work directly with our students have been discussing plans with student leaders, and, most importantly, listening. Based on their feedback, we have decided to make the centerpiece of our Commencement activities our Class Days and school-level ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers, rather than the University-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15.
Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families. They are eager to cross the stage to applause and family pride and hear from their school’s invited guest speakers. As a result, we will focus our resources on those school ceremonies and on keeping them safe, respectful, and running smoothly. A great deal of effort is already underway to reach that goal, and we understand the Deans and school teams are looking forward to working with their students to incorporate the most creative and meaningful ideas to celebrate this extraordinary moment.
To ensure we will have the best conditions and resources for a meaningful experience, we have decided to relocate our Class Days and school ceremonies scheduled for the South Lawn of Morningside campus. The majority of these ceremonies will be hosted at Columbia’s Baker Athletics Complex, the timing will remain the same (with the exception of the Columbia College Class Day and Columbia Climate School), and there is no need for a change in travel plans for families. Please see below for the full list of school ceremonies, times and locations.
Tickets are still required, and guests can use the tickets they already have. All qualifying graduates will receive a follow-up email with more details. Students and families who have not yet registered should make sure to do so.
These past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for our community. Just as we are focused on making our graduation experience truly special, we continue to solicit student feedback and are looking at the possibility of a festive event on May 15 to take the place of the large, formal ceremony. We are eager to all come together for our graduates and celebrate our fellow Columbians as they, and we, look ahead to the future. We will share more in the coming days.
School Ceremonies Schedule
Friday, May 10
8:30 a.m. – Professional Studies, Morning Ceremony | Baker Athletics Complex
12:30 p.m. – Professional Studies, Afternoon Ceremony | Baker Athletics Complex
4:30 p.m. – Social Work | Baker Athletics Complex
5:30 p.m. – Columbia Climate School | The Forum
Saturday, May 11
8:00 a.m. – Business School, EMBA & PhD Candidates | Baker Athletics Complex
11:30 a.m. – Business School, MBA | Baker Athletics Complex
Architecture, Planning and Preservation | St. Paul’s Chapel
Your school will communicate the time and further details
Sunday, May 12
8:00 a.m. – Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, PhD | Baker Athletics Complex
10:00 a.m. – Baccalaureate Service | St. Paul’s Chapel
11:00 a.m. – Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, MA | Baker Athletics Complex
3:00 p.m. – The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Graduate Ceremony | Baker Athletics Complex
Monday, May 13
8:00 a.m. – Columbia School of General Studies | Baker Athletics Complex
11:45 a.m. – The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Undergraduate Ceremony | Baker Athletics Complex
3:30 p.m. – Law School | Baker Athletics Complex
7:30 p.m. – International and Public Affairs | Baker Athletics Complex
Tuesday, May 14
9:30 a.m. – Columbia College | Baker Athletics Complex
10:00 a.m. – School of Nursing | The Armory
10:00 a.m. – Physical Therapy | Alumni Auditorium, CUIMC
3:30 p.m. – Genetic Counseling | VEC 201, CUIMC
4:00 p.m. – Mailman School of Public Health | The Armory
5:00 p.m. – Business School, MS | David Geffen Hall, Manhattanville Campus
Teachers College | United Palace Theatre
Varying times
Wednesday, May 15
12:00 p.m. – Journalism School | Roone Arledge Auditorium, Lerner Hall
2:00 p.m. – Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons | The Armory
4:00 p.m. – Barnard College | Radio City Music Hall
7:00 p.m. – School of the Arts | Roone Arledge Auditorium, Lerner Hall
Teachers College | United Palace Theatre
Varying times
Thursday, May 16
10:00 a.m. – Occupational Therapy | Alumni Auditorium, CUIMC
10:30 a.m. – Dental Medicine, Predoctoral | The Armory
2:00 p.m. – Institute of Human Nutrition | Alumni Auditorium, CUIMC
4:00 p.m. – Dental Medicine, Postdoctoral | The Armory