Florida State University will hold its fall commencement ceremonies on Friday, December 12. The events will take place at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, with President Richard McCullough presiding over all three ceremonies.
The university expects to award a total of 2,982 degrees this fall. This includes 1,946 bachelor’s degrees, 811 master’s and specialist degrees, 112 doctoral degrees, five Juris Doctor degrees, 106 Juris Master’s degrees, and two LLM degrees. More than 2,000 graduates are anticipated to participate in the ceremonies.
The schedule begins with a doctoral hooding ceremony at 9 a.m., followed by two additional ceremonies for bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degree recipients at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
State Representative Lawrence McClure of House District 68 in Hillsborough County will speak at the afternoon ceremony for graduates from several colleges including Hospitality, Entrepreneurship, Applied Studies, Motion Picture Arts, Engineering (FAMU-FSU), Social Sciences & Public Policy, Business, Music and Education/Health/Human Sciences. According to the university: “McClure…was first elected to the Florida House in 2017. He began his career as a summer intern at the Tampa-based Streamline Environmental…before rising to become a partner in the firm. He later continued this work as a consultant…Known for practical problem-solving and bipartisan cooperation, he led the House through a difficult budgeting process this year. He currently chairs the House Budget Committee and serves as the alternating chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission.”
At the evening ceremony, retired FSU Head Men’s Basketball Coach J. Leonard Hamilton will address graduates from Medicine; Fine Arts; Communication and Information; Law; Nursing; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Social Work; and Arts and Sciences colleges. The university notes: “Hamilton retired following the 2024-2025 season after 23 years as head coach of the FSU men’s basketball program…He is the winningest coach in program history…Known for his focus on developing strong student-athletes…His career has been defined by leadership, consistency and a connection to young people on and off the court.”
All new graduates automatically become members of the FSU Alumni Association. Additional details about commencement events are available at commencement.fsu.edu.
