The original headline contained an error, and the original version of the article contained information that was unclear. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
Starting today at 12 p.m., graduating students in the College of Letters and Science can begin reserving tickets for one of the two June 14 commencement ceremonies.
As graduation returns to Pauley Pavilion this year, the ceremonies for the College will be split in two, and students can begin reserving up to four tickets on MyUCLA until May 14, said Betty Glick, the associate vice provost of undergraduate academic support.
The deans of the College decided to split the ceremony into two ceremonies – 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. – as a way to provide students with more tickets for friends and family, Glick said. Graduating seniors can reserve four tickets, and can be put on a waitlist for two additional tickets, she added.
Each department in the College has a limited number of tickets available for the two commencement ceremonies, Glick said.
The afternoon ceremony has spots for 400 humanities students, 795 life science students, 265 physical science students and 1,100 social science students, Glick said. The College also reserved spots for 370 humanities students, 735 life science students, 245 physical science students and 1,030 social science students at the evening ceremony. In addition, all of the 210 students graduating from interdepartmental programs within the UCLA International Institute will attend the 7 p.m. ceremony.
Even with the possible influx of graduating students logging onto MyUCLA to reserve their spots, Christian Spreitzer, the director for undergraduate information technology, said he does not anticipate any website problems.
Students expressed mixed feelings about the split between the two ceremonies and the limited seats available for each department.
“I didn’t realize there was a limit on the seats (for each major),” said Roy Akarakian, a fourth-year psychobiology student, who plans to sign up for the 2 p.m. ceremony. “I am going to make sure to (reserve) tickets as soon as (the site) opens up.”
David Bromberg, a fourth-year political science student, said he is disappointed that he probably will not be able to graduate with all of his friends because of the limit on seats for each department.
But, he said he was excited that more of his family could see him graduate because of the increase in the number of tickets available to each student.
“Having more family there to see me makes it worth it,” he said.
Ann Meyers Drysdale, a former UCLA basketball player and the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship at the university, will deliver the same commencement speech at both ceremonies on June 14, Glick said.
Correction: Ticket reservations opened up at 12 p.m.