This year Fresno State will celebrate more than 6,000 graduating students with ceremonies all day Friday and Saturday, May 19 and 20 (with two earlier celebrations, noted below). 

About 6,086 class of 2023 graduates will be eligible for degree conferral, pending final certification of spring degrees.

Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval will preside over the ceremonies for each of the university’s eight schools and colleges. Two students selected from the undergraduate and graduate deans’ medalists will receive top academic honors at their school or college ceremony — the President’s Undergraduate Medalist and the President’s Graduate Medalist. These two recipients will be announced at the President’s Recognition Reception on Thursday, May 18.

Fresno State will also honor 10 faculty members with Provost’s Awards, which recognize outstanding teaching, research and service. Dr. Tamás Forgács was selected for the university’s 2023 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. 

“Commencement is a time of the year when we not only celebrate our students’ success but also recognize the family, friends, faculty, mentors and community members who have provided the support necessary for our students to succeed,” said Dr. Kent Willis, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Fresno State. 

Ceremonies for the colleges and schools and several affinity celebrations will take place according to the following schedule. Degrees are conferred at the college commencement ceremonies, indicated in bold in the list below:

Friday, May 19:

Saturday, May 20:

  • Lyles College of Engineering, 8 to 9:30 a.m. May 20.
  • College of Health and Human Services, 10:15 to 11:45 a.m. May 20.
  • American Indian Graduation Honor Ceremony, 12:30 to 4 p.m. May 20, The Ruiz ballroom (Resnick Student Union, first floor).
  • Asian American and Pacific Islander Graduation Celebration, 12:30 to 2 p.m. May 20, Save Mart Center.
  • International Convocation, 12:30 to 2 p.m. May 20, Satellite Student Union.
  • African American Student Recognition Ceremony, 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 20, Save Mart Center.
  • Rainbow Graduation Celebration, 5 to 6 p.m. May 20, Peters Education Center (Student Recreation Center, just west of Save Mart Center).
  • Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration, 7 to 9:30 p.m.,  Save Mart Center.

The college and school ceremonies will be livestreamed on the Fresno State commencement webpage for guests who are unable to attend an in-person ceremony.

Two celebrations took place on May 12 — Renaissance Scholars Program and Educational Opportunity Program.

Answers to other frequently asked questions about commencement can be found here.

CLASS OF 2023 BY THE NUMBERS

Fresno State’s class of 2023 consists of:

  • 5,176 students who received a degree in summer or fall 2022, or are pending final review in spring 2023 for their baccalaureate degrees.
  • 910 who received a degree in summer or fall 2022 or are pending final review in spring 2023 for their post-baccalaureate degrees.

The doctoral cohorts and candidate breakdowns are:

University officials say about 61.6% of the graduating students in the class of 2023 are first-generation students whose parents do not have bachelor’s degrees, while many others continue a proud family legacy of being  second- or third-generation Bulldogs.

By sheer numbers of the 2023 graduating class, the College of Science and Mathematics is the largest with 1,075 graduates, followed by the College of Health and Human Services (1,032), College of Social Sciences (945), Kremen School of Education and Human Development (875) and Craig School of Business (736).

The following areas are the top five majors of students in the 2022 graduating class:

  • Business Administration (626)
  • Psychology (566)
  • Liberal studies (488)
  • Criminology (367)
  • Kinesiology (295)

Additional details and updates when they become available can be found on the Fresno State commencement webpage.

Please review the Save Mart Center visitor entry requirements in advance. Only clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags that do not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″ will be allowed at Save Mart Center. Small clutch bags, 4.5″ x 6.5″ x 2″, can be taken into the arena in addition to one of the approved clear bags. An exception will be made for any necessary medical items, but such items are subject to inspection.

Guests who need accessibility accommodations should visit the Save Mart Center accessibility webpage for information on available resources.

The commencement website will have the latest communications and updates.