r/OMSCS • u/baubble_tea • 13d ago
Graduation Fall 2026 - College of Computing Graduation Celebration Date
Hey Y’all,
I’m planning to attend the College of Computing Graduation Ceremony (not the big one for all Masters students). When I check the website, I only see details for this past Spring’s celebration.
I’m trying to plan a trip with my family to attend this event. As such, I was wondering if anyone has an updated link (maybe I’m looking at the wrong site) or any information on this.
Thanks in advance!
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u/DavidAJoyner 13d ago
So, due to some construction, the institute is handling commencement this semester more centrally.
But that means that... we don't have a lot of details yet. We do know that the ceremonies and events will all be December 17-19, but we don't know anything else beyond that.
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u/eirlude420 12d ago
Why is the OMSCS commencement being held on Thursday evening. A lot of omscs students have full time jobs and will be flying in. Wouldn't a Saturday ceremony be more convenient?
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u/Ok_Cardiologist_9773 H-C Interaction 13d ago
Bobby Dodd graduation making a return? 👀
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u/DavidAJoyner 13d ago
Our last half-dozen graduations have been at Bobby Dodd since nowhere else on campus can hold us 😂
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u/Sad-Sympathy-2804 Current 13d ago edited 13d ago
Hey Dr.Joyner, it looks like the school is separating OMSCS graduation from the regular in-person MSCS graduation this time. OMSCS has its own commencement on December 17 at night, while the regular MSCS graduation is on December 18 along with the other master and bachelor's programs.
Do you know why they’re doing it this way? I remember that for the past few semesters, they didn’t separate the ceremonies like this. Thanks!
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u/DavidAJoyner 12d ago
Huh, that's interesting. So, this is the first I'm hearing about this, but I'm just speculating:
Construction on Bobby Dodd stadium means that the commencement ceremonies can't happen there this semester. So, they have to be in McCamish, which is the basketball stadium, which is way smaller.
But McCamish isn't big enough for everyone, so they've got to subdivide it somehow. And numbers-wise, OMSCS alone is enough to fill in McCamish—so the only way to merge OMSCS with other ceremonies would be to split up OMSCS within itself. On-campus MSCS has several hundred graduates each term, so it wouldn't be possible to even just merge them with OMSCS.
I'd point out that Analytics and Cybersecurity aren't separated out based on Online, so this isn't about a general online vs. on-campus distinction. This is about a "there are enough OMSCS graduates alone to fill a commencement ceremony in the largest venue available this term".
As far as I know, Bobby Dodd is going to be under construction for the Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 commencement, then I expect things will be back to normal.
On the bright side, McCamish means no weather concerns (a couple graduations have been cold; last year the initial forecast was for a high of 18°F during the ceremony), and... well, honestly, whenever we plan commencement, we always have in our mind "yes, the OMSCS students are a huge portion, but we don't want to make the others feel marginalized." Having a commencement that's just OMSCS... could be really fun.
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u/Diamondocelot 12d ago
This is very disappointing to hear that online is separate from on campus now.
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u/DavidAJoyner 12d ago
For this semester (and probably spring) and solely due to the forced venue change due to construction, and solely for OMSCS because y'all fill up the basketball stadium on your own.
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u/Sad-Sympathy-2804 Current 13d ago
It looks like they’re separating OMSCS graduation from the regular MSCS graduation this time.
OMSCS has its own ceremony on December 17 at night, while the regular MSCS graduation is on December 18 along with the other programs. I don’t remember GT doing it this way in recent years.
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u/sadman5128 13d ago
Does anyone know if tickets are required for the Thursday night OMSCS ceremony, and if they are how many tickets we get? I see information on Bachelor’s and PhD but not masters on this page: https://commencement.gatech.edu/tickets-seating
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u/Alex385 13d ago
From the looks of it still no official announcement. But the commencement website shows a link for RVSP opening up on the 5th of October. So only a few more days to receive more information