Rice University’s 110th commencement ceremonies will be held May 5 and 6, concluding with the undergraduate ceremony at Rice Stadium the night of May 6 featuring an address from Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary and assistant to the president.
The two days of events will be spread across the historic Rice Stadium and Tudor Fieldhouse. In January, Rice President Reginald DesRoches announced major changes to the commencement festivities, including the removal of the “all-student” plenary ceremony traditionally held on the Saturday morning of commencement weekend. The change was made to minimize the event attendance burdens for graduates’ families, due to the growing size of Rice’s undergraduate and graduate student bodies and the impending redesign of the central Academic Quadrangle where the universitywide commencement ceremony typically took place, DesRoches said in a previous message to campus.
Saturday evening’s undergraduate commencement ceremony will feature remarks from Jean-Pierre, a longtime adviser to President Joe Biden who has served in a variety of senior communication and political roles in his administration and that of former President Barack Obama, on Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign and on Biden’s staff when he was vice president.
All 2023 Rice graduates along with their families and guests, as well as all members of the university community, are welcome to attend the undergraduate commencement to hear Jean-Pierre’s remarks.
Undergraduates will complete their ceremonial walk through Lovett Hall’s Sallyport just before that evening’s ceremony. Due to the removal of the universitywide plenary commencement ceremony, all degrees will be formally conferred at each of the four ceremonies.
Each commencement ceremony will be broadcast online for those who are unable to attend in person. Streaming video will be available at commencement.rice.edu.
May 5
- Jones School (MBA) Commencement Ceremony
- 7 p.m.
- Rice Stadium
May 6
- Doctoral Commencement Ceremony
- 9 a.m.
- Tudor Fieldhouse
- Advanced Degrees Commencement Ceremony (includes Bachelor of Architecture, as well as Jones School MAcc and MA degree recipients)
- 2 p.m.
- Tudor Fieldhouse
- Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony
- 7 p.m.
- Rice Stadium
A full listing of all commencement-related events across campus this week is available by visiting commencement.rice.edu/all-events. For more information on Rice’s 110th commencement, visit commencement.rice.edu.