February 12, 2026
Dear Members of the UC Santa Barbara Community,
Over the past several months, we have been meeting with deans, faculty, staff, students, and parents to explore opportunities to reimagine our Commencement. We have heard so many great ideas already, including the possibility of developing a campus-wide ceremony in the future, and we are looking forward to more discussion and planning.
I am pleased to announce the 2026 Commencement schedule, which was developed with extensive consultation across the campus. This year’s Commencement ceremonies at the Lagoon will include two additional College of Letters and Science ceremonies to create smaller student cohorts to appropriately recognize the achievements of our students.
Looking forward to 2027, our goal is to continue to enhance our Commencement in order to create a shared community experience for our students. To that end, in consultation with the Academic Senate, I will be appointing an advisory group of faculty, students, and staff to explore options for 2027, including a campus-wide ceremony that brings all our graduating students together in a significant and memorable event that reflects the prestige of earning a degree from UC Santa Barbara and the ethos and culture of our unique academic community.
Commencement is a defining moment in one’s life, acknowledging and validating the hard work, dedication, and academic achievements accomplished by our undergraduate and graduate students, supported by our dedicated faculty and staff. Eleni and I are so excited to join with the rest of our community to celebrate and congratulate our graduating students this June.
Sincerely,
Dennis Assanis, Chancellor