Notre Dame confers 3,335 degrees over 2026 Commencement Weekend

Check out the full recaps of Notre Dame’s undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies, including speaker remarks and additional photos, on Notre Dame News.

The University of Notre Dame’s 181st Commencement Ceremony took place at Notre Dame Stadium on May 17. More than 20,000 people attended the ceremony at which 2,120 degrees were conferred on undergraduate students.

Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., president of the Pontifical Commission and Governorate of Vatican City State, was the principal speaker and received an honorary degree. Timothy P. Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics, received the 2026 Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics. A total of seven honorary degrees were conferred throughout the ceremony.

Allison Elshoff, a business analytics major from Valencia, California, with minors in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service, the Business Honors Program, and impact consulting, offered the invocation. Martin Soros—a civil engineering major with minors in theology and education, schooling, and society, and a native of Bethesda, Maryland—delivered the valedictory address. Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., offered the benediction.

The Graduate School Commencement Ceremony took place on Saturday, May 16, at which 548 students received their master’s and doctoral degrees. The University also celebrated 462 master’s degree students at the Mendoza College of Business ceremony and 203 graduates at the Law School ceremony.

Throughout the course of Commencement Weekend, an impressive 3,335 degrees were awarded in total.

It is a blessing to witness thousands of students realize their dreams each year throughout Commencement Weekend. Gifts to financial aid make milestones like these possible, empowering accomplished scholars to go out and change the world.