VCU runs two rounds, and unusually for this site the nearer one is months away rather than a year. DECEMBER 2026 is published in full on the university's own commencement site: Saturday 12 December 2026, 10 a.m., at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. Date, time and venue together is a completeness most records here do not have, so if that is your round there is nothing left to wait for. MAY 2027 is confirmed as to dates from VCU's academic calendar: the university-wide ceremony is Saturday 15 May 2027, with departmental ceremonies running Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 May. All weekdays cross-checked against the calendar's own day codes. The spring VENUE is not published, and the Siegel Center should not be assumed for it — VCU has used a different venue for the larger spring ceremony.
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Two rounds, and one of them is close
Almost every record on this site describes a ceremony the better part of a year away. VCU’s December round is not one of those, and that changes the advice.
December 2026 is published in full. VCU’s own commencement site gives Saturday 12 December 2026, 10 a.m., at the Stuart C. Siegel Center — date, time and venue together, which is a completeness most clusters here cannot offer. The weekday was cross-checked: 12 December 2026 is a Saturday.
If that is your round, nothing is outstanding. Book it.
May 2027 is confirmed as to dates. VCU’s Spring 2027 academic calendar records the university-wide ceremony as “Sa 15” — Saturday 15 May 2027 — and departmental ceremonies as “R-Sn 13 - 16”, Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 May. Every weekday was checked against those single-letter codes and all three agree.
The one thing not to assume
The May 2027 venue is not published. The commencement site had not rolled over past December when this page was built.
It would be easy to carry the Siegel Center across from December, and it would be wrong to. VCU has used a different and larger venue for the spring ceremony, so the December location is not evidence about May. This page records the December venue where it belongs — on the December round — and leaves May open until VCU says.
What is different about a December graduation
Two things that never apply to a May ceremony:
The holidays. Mid-December sits close enough to the holiday travel period that flights price and fill on a different curve than they would in spring. The gap between booking now and booking in November is larger than the equivalent gap for a May ceremony.
Weather. A Virginia December weekend can be fine or it can not be. When you are weighing a hotel twenty minutes out against one downtown, weigh the drive as well as the distance — an interstate run from the airport cluster can be a safer bet than a shorter trip across the city.
The May window is four days
Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 May 2027, with the university-wide ceremony on the Saturday in the middle.
If your graduate has both a departmental ceremony and the university-wide one, check whether those fall on the same day before assuming two nights covers the trip. That schedule was not published when this page was built.
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Frequently asked questions
When is VCU's December commencement?
Saturday 12 December 2026 at 10 a.m., at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. All three details are published on VCU's own commencement site, and the weekday was cross-checked: 12 December 2026 is a Saturday.
When is the May 2027 commencement?
The university-wide ceremony is Saturday 15 May 2027. Departmental ceremonies run Thursday 13 May to Sunday 16 May. Both come from VCU's own Spring 2027 academic calendar, which records them as "Sa 15" and "R-Sn 13 - 16"; every weekday was cross-checked against those codes.
Where is the May 2027 ceremony held?
Not published at this check — the commencement site had not rolled over past December 2026. Do not carry the Siegel Center across from the December round: VCU has historically used a different, larger venue for the spring ceremony, so assuming would be worse than waiting.
Which round should we plan for?
Whichever your graduate is in, but the planning problems differ. December is fully specified and close, so you can book it now with confidence — and should, because there is less slack to fix a mistake a few months out than a year out. May has more time but one unresolved detail, the venue.
Does the December date bring any particular risk?
Two worth naming. It sits close enough to the holidays that flights price accordingly and fill early. And it is a mid-December weekend in Virginia, so weather is a live variable in a way it never is for a May ceremony — when comparing hotels, weigh the drive as well as the distance.
How long is the May window?
Four days, Thursday to Sunday, with the university-wide ceremony on the Saturday in the middle. If your graduate has both a departmental ceremony and the university-wide one, check whether they fall on the same day before assuming a two-night trip covers it.
How we verified this
Last verified:
- Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement ("December 12, 2026", "10 a.m. EST", "Stuart C. Siegel Center")
- VCU academic calendar, Spring 2027 (departmental ceremonies "R-Sn 13 - 16"; university-wide ceremony "Sa 15")
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