Fresno State News

This year Fresno State will celebrate more than 6,000 graduating students with ceremonies all day Friday and Saturday, (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.

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.

Friday, May 19:

• Craig School of Business, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
• College of Social Sciences, 10:15 to 11:45 a.m.
• College of Arts and Humanities, 12:30 to 2 p.m.
• Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, 2:45 to 4:15 p.m.
• College of Science and Mathematics, 5 to 6:30 p.m.
• Kremen School of Education and Human Development, 7:15 to 8:45 p.m.

Saturday, May 20:

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

Class of 2023 by the Numbers

• 5,176 students received a degree in summer or fall 2022, or are pending final review in spring 2023 for their baccalaureate degrees.
• 910 received a degree in summer or fall 2022 or are pending final review in spring 2023 for their post-baccalaureate degrees.
• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), five awarded and 37 pending.
• Doctor of Educational Leadership (Ed.D.), two awarded and 25 pending.
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), five pending.
• 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.
• The College of Science and Mathematics has the largest graduating class with 1,075, 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).

Top Five Majors:

• 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.