Students standing during the 2022 Commencement ceremony in Wallace Wade Stadium.
Students standing during the 2022 Commencement ceremony in Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke to Award 6,600 Degrees at 2023 Commencement Sunday

Duke to Award 6,600 Degrees at 2023 Commencement Sunday

Duke University will award more than 6,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees during its annual commencement ceremony Sunday, May 14.

Duke President Vincent E. Price will preside over the 9 a.m. ceremony at Wallace Wade Stadium, and Adam Silver, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, will deliver the commencement address.

An expected 1,784 undergraduates will receive their degrees Sunday, including nearly 400 from North Carolina. While Duke’s Sunday commencement ceremony is the signature event of graduation weekend, it follows several days of smaller events celebrating graduates of individual schools, programs and campus groups.

Commencement is open to the public and Duke will stream the event live on the university’s YouTube channel. Follow commencement and contribute to the conversation on social media using the hashtag #Duke2023.

Silver is a 1984 Duke graduate with a degree in political science. He was appointed to the Duke University Board of Trustees in 2015 and serves as vice chair. He has been NBA commissioner since 2014.

Two students will also give welcome greetings -- senior Kyle-Brandon “KB” Denis, who is graduating with a double-major in English and political science, and graduate student Dylan Eiger, who earned a combined medical degree and Ph.D. from the Duke School of Medicine.

Erika Weinthal, a professor of environmental policy and public policy and chair of Duke’s Academic Council, will give brief remarks as well.

Duke will also award four honorary degrees Sunday. The recipients are:

  • Branford Marsalis, an award-winning saxophonist, band leader, featured classical soloist and a composer for film, television and Broadway. He has won three Grammys and was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. Marsalis has lived in Durham for the last 20 years, teaching at North Carolina Central University and maintaining a long partnership with Duke Performances.
  • Deborah Rutter, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. As leader of the national cultural center, Rutter oversees programming across all genres, as well as a global network of education initiatives. Rutter is a graduate of Stanford University and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California. Her daughter graduated from Duke in 2020. 
  • Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her scientific papers have provided key data and theoretical understanding regarding ozone destruction. Solomon earned her bachelor’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, both in chemistry.
  • Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. with an endowment of $16 billion. An international organization focused on social justice, the Ford Foundation invests in civil rights, education, arts and culture, human rights, poverty reduction and urban development. A member of the first class of Head Start in 1965, Walker earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from The University of Texas at Austin.

On Sunday, there will be ample general parking available in close proximity to Wallace Wade Stadium, the majority of which will be in the Science Drive Parking Garage. Graduates should park and drop-off in the Blue Zone. Additional guest parking will be available in the Blue Zone, PGIV & Chemistry lots. A parking map is available on the Commencement website.

Guests with mobility impairments can park in the Grounds Lot. Duke will provide overflow parking on Level 2 in the Science Drive Garage. Both lots are accessible via NC-751. ADA vans will be available to transport guests with mobility issues from these areas to the respective entrances to Wallace Wade Stadium. In addition, park-and-ride shuttles will be available from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Other ceremonies:

At 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday, May 12, Dean Judith Kelley will address 2023 graduates of the Sanford School of Public Policy in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The hooding ceremony for master’s and Ph.D. students will be held at 10 a.m., followed by a recognition ceremony for undergraduate public policy majors at 1 pm. Both events are open to graduates, families, and friends, and will be livestreamed and recorded on Duke Sanford’s YouTube channel.

At 5 p.m. Friday, May 12, Michael Prince, president and CEO of USPA Global/U.S. Polo Assn., will address graduates of The Fuqua School of Business’ Master of Management Studies: Foundations of Business Class of 2023 and Master of Quantitative Management: Business Analytics Class of 2023 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Graduates, families, and friends are invited to attend. The services will be livestreamed on Fuqua’s YouTube channel.

At 7 p.m. Friday, May 12, the MD Program in the Duke University School of Medicine will hold its Hippocratic Oath Ceremony in Duke Chapel. Watch the livestream on the school’s YouTube channel.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, May 13, Jeb Stenhouse, chief of program development for clean air markets at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will address graduates of the Nicholas School of the Environment's Master of Environmental Management, Master of Forestry, International Master of Environmental Management, and Duke Environmental Leadership Master of Environmental Management programs in a private ceremony at Wilson Recreational Center.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, May 13, Mark Reuss, president of General Motors Co., MBA ’90, will address graduates of The Fuqua School of Business’s Global and Weekend Executive MBA Class of 2023 and Master of Science in Quantitative Management: Business Analytics Class of 2023, Accelerated Master of Science in Quantitative Management: Business Analytics Class of 2022, Master of Science in Quantitative Management: Health Analytics Class of 2023. There ceremony will take place in Cameron Indoor Stadium and are open to graduates, families and friends. Watch the livestream on Fuqua’s YouTube channel.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, the Graduate School will hold its Ph.D. hooding ceremony for humanities and social sciences doctoral students. Watch the livestream on the school’s YouTube channel.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, the Master of Biostatistics program within the Duke School of Medicine will recognize and celebrate graduates in a private ceremony in Durham.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13th, the Master of Biomedical Sciences program in the Duke University School of Medicine will hold a reception and diploma distribution at a private ceremony.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, Genevieve Lipp, assistant professor of the practice in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, will address graduates of the Pratt School of Engineering’s Biomedical Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Photonics & Optical Sciences, and University Program in Materials Science & Engineering Master’s Programs Class of 2022 and 2023 in Page Auditorium. The event is open to graduates, families and friends, and will be streamed live on Duke Engineering’s YouTube channel.

At 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Friday, May 12, Baccalaureate Services will be held at Duke Chapel and livestreamed.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Mark Reuss, president of General Motors Co., MBA ’90, will address Fuqua School of Business’s Daytime MBA Class of 2023 and Ph.D. program graduates. The ceremony will take place in Cameron Indoor Stadium and is open to graduates, families and friends. Watch the livestream on Fuqua’s YouTube channel

At 1 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Luis Morales, executive director, Master of Engineering Management, will address graduates of the Pratt School of Engineering’s Artificial Intelligence for Product Innovation, Cybersecurity, Engineering Management, and Financial Technology Master’s Programs Class of 2022 and 2023 in Page Auditorium. The event is open to graduates, families and friends, and will be streamed live on Duke Engineering’s YouTube channel.

At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, the Graduate School will hold its Ph.D. hooding ceremony for graduates in the biomedical sciences, physical sciences and engineering. The school will also honor Marti Head as its 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. The ceremony will be livestreamed.  

At 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Kate Adams, general counsel and senior vice president of Legal and Global Security for Apple, will address the Class of 2023 at Duke Law School’s Convocation ceremony in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The event is open to graduates and their families and friends, and also will be livestreamed on Duke Law School’s YouTube channel and recorded.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, May 13, the Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the Duke University School of Medicine will hold its graduation ceremony at the Washington Duke Inn.

At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, the 97th Baccalaureate of the Divinity School will take place in Duke University Chapel. Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric will preside and the Rev. Dr. Warren Smith, professor of historical theology and director of the Th.D. Program, is the invited preacher for the service. Graduates will be individually named and hooded. The event is open to the Divinity School community and can be viewed live on YouTube.

On Sunday, May 14 at 6 p.m., N.C. State Sen. Gale Adcock will address the Spring Class of 2023 ABSN, MSN, DNP, Ph.D., and certificate graduates of the Duke University School of Nursing in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The in-person event is for graduates and their families and friends; the event will also be livestreamed. 

At 4 p.m. Friday, May 19, Ruibin Chen, senior vice president of GIC, will address graduates of The Fuqua School of Business’ Master of Management Studies: Duke Kunshan University Class of 2023. The ceremony will take place in the Academic Building’s Duke Kunshan Auditorium.

DEGREES TO BE CONFERRED

Duke will award degrees to about 1,784 undergraduates and 4,833 graduate and professional students who finished their course work in September or December 2022 or this spring.

Among undergraduates receiving their degrees Sunday, 379 are from North Carolina.

The estimated degree breakdowns for the graduates are as follows:

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES:

  • Trinity College of Arts & Sciences -- B.A. 636; B.S. 856.
  • Pratt School of Engineering -- B.S.E. 292.

GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES:

  • School of Nursing -- M.S.N. 227; D.N.P. 93; B.S.N: 149
  • Duke Divinity School -- M.Div. 100; Th.M. 8; M.T.S. 33; M.A.C.P. 20; Th.D. 7; D.Min. 41.
  • Fuqua School of Business -- MBA 715; MSQM 309; M.M.S. – 223.
  • Graduate School -- M.A. 247; M.S. 502; M.F.A. 18; M.A.T. 20; Ph.D. 428.
  • School of Law -- J.D. 240; LL.M. 135; S.J.D. 1.
  • Nicholas School of the Environment -- M.E.M. 208; M.F. 7.
  • Pratt School of Engineering -- M.Eng.M. 266; M.Eng. 218.
  • Sanford School of Public Policy -- M.I.D.P. 34; M.P.P. 113; M.N.S.P. 8.
  • School of Medicine -- M.D. 118; M.H.S. 98; M.H.S.-R 27; D.P.T. 92; M.B.S. 48; M.M.C.I. 33; M.S.B.S. 47.