UGA Commencement Weekend: Ceremony Schedule and Venues

Two ceremonies, two venues, two days

The University of Georgia (UGA), in Athens, GA, doesn’t fit everyone into one ceremony. Graduate Commencement — covering master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees — is confirmed for Thursday, May 6, 2027 at Stegeman Coliseum, UGA’s on-campus arena. Undergraduate Commencement follows the next day, Friday, May 7, 2027, at Sanford Stadium, the football stadium. Both dates come from UGA’s own academic calendar.

Convocations are a separate layer

Beyond the two main Commencement ceremonies, individual colleges and schools hold their own convocation ceremonies where graduates are recognized by name — a common pattern at large universities, and one worth knowing about if you’re trying to plan around a specific graduate’s actual moment on stage rather than the broader Commencement ceremony. Some convocations are held at the Classic Center in downtown Athens, GA, off campus entirely, which has its own logistics implications for parking and hotel proximity.

If you’re attending both days

Because Graduate and Undergraduate Commencement fall on consecutive days at different venues, families with graduates in both categories — or attending for a graduate degree recipient one day and staying for an undergraduate sibling’s ceremony the next — are effectively planning around a two-night minimum in practice, even without a hotel publishing that as a formal policy.

Where this fits with your hotel plan

If you’re still deciding where to stay, see where to stay for why the Georgia Center’s small room count creates real scarcity, or sold out, now what for Madison and Gainesville as fallback options.