Alabama's next ceremony is Friday 11 December 2026 at Coleman Coliseum, and it is two ceremonies in one day rather than one: 3:00 p.m. for Barefield Arts and Sciences, Capstone Nursing, Community Health Sciences, Human Environmental Sciences and Social Work, then 7:00 p.m. for Communication and Information Sciences, Education, Culverhouse Business, the School of Law and Styslinger Engineering. A 7 p.m. finish is an overnight for almost everybody. Spring 2027 spreads five ceremonies across Friday 7 and Saturday 8 May, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Culverhouse Business is split by surname rather than by subject. Summer is Friday 6 August 2027, all colleges together. Coleman Coliseum is confirmed for December and is named for nothing in 2027.
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December is one day and two ceremonies
Until this audit this cluster showed nothing at all for December, and carried a single May date with a note saying the college schedule had not been released. Both of those were wrong. Alabama publishes more detail than almost any university on this site.
| Friday 11 December 2026 | Colleges |
|---|---|
| 3:00 p.m. | Barefield Arts and Sciences, Capstone Nursing, Community Health Sciences, Human Environmental Sciences, Social Work |
| 7:00 p.m. | Communication and Information Sciences, Education, Culverhouse Business, School of Law, Styslinger Engineering |
Both at Coleman Coliseum, 1201 Coliseum Drive, which the university names for this round specifically.
The two times are not interchangeable. A 3 p.m. ceremony is over by teatime and a family within a few hours’ drive can go home the same evening. A 7 p.m. ceremony finishes at night, and essentially nobody drives home afterwards. The evening group needs the night of the ceremony; the afternoon group may only need the night before. Same building, same Friday, different bookings.
Spring is five ceremonies, and Business splits by surname
| Day | Time | Colleges |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 7 May 2027 | 1:30 p.m. | Communication and Information Sciences, Social Work, Styslinger Engineering |
| Fri 7 May 2027 | 6:00 p.m. | Barefield Arts and Sciences |
| Sat 8 May 2027 | 8:30 a.m. | Culverhouse Business I, surnames A to K |
| Sat 8 May 2027 | 12:30 p.m. | Culverhouse Business II, surnames L to Z |
| Sat 8 May 2027 | 4:30 p.m. | Capstone Nursing, Community Health Sciences, Education, Human Environmental Sciences |
The surname split is the trap here. Culverhouse Business graduates are divided alphabetically, not by major, into two ceremonies four hours apart. Two students who sat next to each other for four years can graduate in different ceremonies, and a family checking “when does Business graduate” will find two answers, both correct.
The Saturday runs from 8:30 in the morning to past five in the evening. That is a full day of arrivals and departures rather than a single surge, which is worth knowing when you pick a check-out time.
The per-college schedule for 2027 is published, and is set out above.
No Sunday round, and we checked on purpose
Alabama has used a Sunday in past spring rounds, and this is worth stating explicitly because the evidence for one is still lying around.
Coleman Coliseum’s own events calendar lists Spring Commencement on a Friday, a Saturday and a Sunday. Those entries sit under recent events, not upcoming ones: they are spring 2026, dated 1, 2 and 3 May. Read as a list of dates without noticing the heading, they look exactly like a three-day 2027 round.
There is no Sunday ceremony in spring 2027. Friday and Saturday, five ceremonies, as above.
What Alabama has not published
The gap on this cluster is narrow but specific: the 2027 venue.
The university names Coleman Coliseum for December. It names no venue for the spring round, none for summer, and the Coliseum’s own events calendar had no 2027 bookings at all when we checked, which is why the building cannot be confirmed by name for those dates yet.
Coleman Coliseum is where Alabama graduates. It is a reasonable expectation and it is not a published fact for 2027, so it is not printed as one here.
Summer 2027 is Friday 6 August, listed as “All Colleges”, with no time and no venue.
Two stale pages that will keep looking current
Both sit at stable URLs and neither prints a warning:
calendar.ua.edu/event/spring_commencementstill serves a ceremony dated Friday, May 1, 2020.- The Coleman Coliseum venue calendar’s Spring Commencement entries are spring 2026, under a “recent events” heading.
Alabama’s own future-ceremonies page is the source that is current, and it is linked below.
What we checked, and what we could not
Every date, time and college assignment on this page comes from the University of Alabama’s own future-ceremonies page, re-fetched on 17 August 2026, with the December venue confirmed separately on ua.edu/commencement. Weekdays verified: 11 December 2026 Friday, 7 May 2027 Friday, 8 May Saturday, 6 August 2027 Friday.
This cluster is the Tuscaloosa campus. UAB in Birmingham, UAH in Huntsville, Alabama A&M and Alabama State all graduate separately and their dates are not these.
Unestablished: the spring and summer 2027 venues, the summer start time, ticket limits, guest allocations and parking. Alabama’s registrar academic calendar would not render through either fetch method, so the commencement office’s pages are the working source on this cluster.
Where to stay, and why the on-campus hotel is not a plan: where to stay.
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Frequently asked questions
When is Alabama's next commencement?
Friday 11 December 2026, at Coleman Coliseum, 1201 Coliseum Drive. Two ceremonies that day, at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., with five colleges in each. The weekday checks out against the calendar.
Which December ceremony is mine?
The 3:00 p.m. ceremony is Barefield College of Arts and Sciences, Capstone College of Nursing, the College of Community Health Sciences, the College of Human Environmental Sciences and the School of Social Work. The 7:00 p.m. ceremony is the College of Communication and Information Sciences, the College of Education, Culverhouse College of Business, the School of Law and Styslinger College of Engineering.
What is the spring 2027 schedule?
Five ceremonies across two days. Friday 7 May: 1:30 p.m. for Communication and Information Sciences, Social Work and Styslinger Engineering; 6:00 p.m. for Barefield Arts and Sciences. Saturday 8 May: 8:30 a.m. for Culverhouse Business I, surnames A to K; 12:30 p.m. for Culverhouse Business II, surnames L to Z; 4:30 p.m. for Capstone Nursing, Community Health Sciences, Education and Human Environmental Sciences.
Culverhouse Business is split by surname?
Yes, and it is the detail most likely to catch a family out. Business graduates are divided A to K and L to Z across two ceremonies four hours apart on the Saturday. Two friends in the same programme can be in different ceremonies, so check the letter rather than the department.
Is there a Sunday ceremony in spring 2027?
No. We checked explicitly, because Alabama has used a Sunday in past years and a venue calendar still shows one. The 2027 round is Friday and Saturday only.
Where are the 2027 ceremonies held?
Alabama has not said. Coleman Coliseum is named by the university for the December round and appears against nothing in 2027, and the Coliseum's own events calendar carried no 2027 bookings when we checked. It is the standing venue and very likely right, but it is not published for those dates.
Is there a summer ceremony?
Yes, Friday 6 August 2027, listed as "All Colleges", so a single combined ceremony rather than sessions. No time and no venue published.
Why does the evening ceremony change our booking?
Because a 7:00 p.m. December ceremony ends at night. Almost nobody drives home afterwards, so the 7 p.m. group needs the night of the ceremony while the 3 p.m. group may only need the night before. Same day, same building, opposite bookings.
How we verified this
Last verified:
- The University of Alabama, Future Ceremonies (all three rounds with times and the college assigned to each session; no venue named on this page and no Sunday round in spring 2027)
- The University of Alabama, Commencement ("The University of Alabama will hold fall commencement ceremonies on Friday, December 11 at Coleman Coliseum.")
- Visit Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama Graduation Visitor Guide (hotels "fill quickly for commencement weekend")
This page is verified in two stages. Every fact is checked against the primary sources listed above, then the page is reviewed and signed off by our editor, A. Hassan. Corrections and enquiries: hello@graduationstay.com