State universities celebrate thousands of students earning degrees this spring

Iowa’s public universities are celebrating thousands of undergraduate, graduate and professional students earning their degrees this spring as commencement draws near.

More than 11,000 students represent the spring 2024 graduating classes at the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University, and ceremonies honoring these accomplishments will take place this weekend and throughout the month.

University of Iowa

More than 5,300 UI students are celebrating the completion of their degrees this month, with 3,632 undergraduate and 1,732 graduate and professional degree applicants, according to a news release.

The spring graduating class is made up of students from 81 Iowa counties, 41 U.S. states and territories and 60 countries, according to the release. Nearly 20% of degree applicants identify as a member of a minority group, one-fifth of undergraduates are first-generation college students and 137 graduates identify as veterans.

With an average cumulative grade-point average of 3.32, 16% of undergraduate students graduating were enrolled in multiple majors.

The bulk of UI commencement ceremonies will take place this weekend, and will be livestreamed online.

More than 5,400 UI students applied for degrees last spring, 96% of which either found employment, continued their education or “are not seeking employment,” according to the release. Median salary of the 2022-2023 graduating class is $54,000.

University of Northern Iowa

Students representing 27 states and 17 countries will earn their degree from UNI this spring, with 1,410 students having applied to graduate. Of the 1,208 undergraduate and 202 graduate students graduating, 1,271 are residents of Iowa, according to numbers provided by UNI spokesperson Adam Amdor in an email.

In-state graduates came to UNI from 93 counties, according to a news release, and four out of five UNI students remain in Iowa after earning their degrees.

Nearly 400 degree applicants self-identify as first-generation students and 33 self-identify as veterans, Amdor said. The average cumulative grade-point average for graduating undergraduate students is 3.44.

UNI will host three commencement ceremonies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which will be livestreamed.

Just under 1,350 students graduated from UNI last spring. The university is seeing record graduation rates for the third year in a row, the news release stated, and the 51% four-year graduation rate this spring is an increase of four percentage points from last year,

Iowa State University

At ISU, 4,598 students will celebrate graduation this weekend, including 3,866 undergraduates, 575 graduate students and 157 veterinary medicine candidates, according to a news release.

The 2024 graduating class is slightly smaller than last year’s graduate pool, which totaled around 4,681 students.

Crayton Mitchell, a senior earning an industrial design degree this spring, will walk the commencement stage in university mascot Cy’s feet as part of a new tradition. Graduating Iowa State University Mascot Squad members will now get to wear the mascot feet for commencement, according to the news release, in recognition of the identity they’ve kept secret while on the squad.

“I am very excited and proud to be the first Cy to wear the feet for commencement,” Mitchell said in the release. “Being Cy has been one of the greatest college experiences.”

Commencements and receptions are being held by the university’s colleges Thursday through Saturday, and livestreams of the events can be found online.