History Commencement

In 2001, the Department of History began conducting its own baccalaureate graduation ceremonies during the May commencement weekend. Professor Alan Tully (History's Chair in 2002-2014 and 2022-2023) realized that students might want to hear from someone who had been in their shoes, graduating from The University of Texas and wondering what direction their life would take. We started the tradition of inviting a Texas Ex who had earned their bachelor’s degree with a major in history to speak each year. In 2023, we began collaborating with the Department of English to hold our convocation ceremony.

History Ceremony 2026 - information forthcoming

• 2026 English & History Convocation
• Speaker: Juliette Seive, Class of '15 and '17
  • BA (2015), Humanities & History with High Honors; Liberal Arts Honors; Phi Beta Kappa;
  • MS (2017), Information Studies
  • Current: Managing Director for Games Audience Insights, The New York Times
• Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026
• Time: 8:00am
• Location: Bass Concert Hall
• Livestream link: https://virtualmeeting.la.utexas.edu/meet/2026-history-english-commencement
• Contact: humanitiescommencement@utlists.utexas.edu

UT Ceremony

• Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026
• Time: 7:00pm
• Location: Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (DKR-TMS)
• Complete Information & Contact: https://commencement.utexas.edu/

The university-wide commencement ceremony takes place following the college ceremonies and is the culmination of Commencement weekend. The ceremony includes a distinguished speaker, conferring of degrees by the president and the traditional lighting of the Tower in orange to honor graduates. The celebration concludes with a fireworks display.