Cal Poly is combining the College of Architecture and Environmental Design and the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics into one ceremony to make room for two College of Engineering ceremonies. The change is in response to the growing number of eligible graduates.
In 2025, the number of eligible engineering graduates was 1,956 students, according to a University Communications and Marketing press release. 1,750 engineering students are expected to participate in the June 2026 ceremonies, according to Keegan Koberl.
Splitting the College of Engineering ceremony into two ensures that each graduate will still receive 10 tickets for their supporters and that all attendees can be accommodated in Spanos Stadium safely, according to the Cal Poly Commencement website.
In 2025, BCSM had 851 eligible graduates while CAED had 522. Combining the two smallest ceremonies eliminated the need to create a seventh ceremony which would necessitate additional staffing and funding, according to the 2026 Commencement Website.
Engineering graduates can check the 2026 Commencement website to see if they will be assigned to Ceremony A or B. Ceremonies A and B will be held at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14.
Since 2020, Commencement has consisted of six ceremonies, one for each of the six colleges at Cal Poly. Prior to 2020, ceremonies were combined, according to Koberl.
The decision to combine BCSM and CAED ceremonies came after much deliberation led by the Commencement Office. The university consulted the President’s Cabinet, Provost Al Liddicoat, university leadership, the academic deans and Terrance Harris, Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, according to the Commencement Office team.
Students react to the change
Architecture Senior Alex Jenkins said the choice to combine the BCSM and CAED ceremonies is interesting considering the colleges are so separate.
The architecture program at Cal Poly is five years long, giving students considerable time to bond with their peers. Jenkins said the last three years have mostly been spent around other students in CAED.
“It’s interesting that now this experience will be shared with a very different group,” he said.
Gabe Hurcomb, also an architecture senior, will be participating in the combined BCSM and CAED ceremony this year. Despite architecture not having its own ceremony, Hurcomb doesn’t feel affected by the decision to combine the ceremonies.
“My initial reaction is that it doesn’t really matter to me at all,” he said. “I think we’ll all have a good graduation day.”
Hana Kayali says she wishes the school had more communication with the students this change would affect before the decision was made.
While the combined graduation is not a huge deal to Kayali, the architecture senior feels like adding a seventh ceremony would’ve been the best choice, especially since winter commencement ceremonies no longer exist.
“[The combined ceremonies] gives the College of Math and also the College of Architecture and Environmental Design less credit,” Kayali said.
The university aims to honor all students
The BCSM and CAED ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, 2026. Hosting a combined mid-day ceremony allows for better managing of traffic, parking, and volunteer distribution throughout the day.
Despite BCSM and CAED no longer having their own dedicated ceremonies, the university is dedicated to making sure each college gets the recognition, according to the Commencement office. During the ceremony, the deans of each college will make remarks as well as separate student award recognition and processional moments, according to the 2026 Commencement website.
As the number of students at Cal Poly continues to grow, so does graduation. This year’s commencement will see the highest rates of student participation ever, according to the 2026 Commencement website.
“Looking forward, the university will continue to assess how to best deliver successful commencement ceremonies to honor and celebrate our graduates each year,” Koberl said.