Congratulations to the Class of 2026!
In historic downtown Charlottesville on Saturday, May 16, the UVA Batten School will host family and friends to celebrate our 207 new graduates:
- 118 students will have earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership (BA)
- 89 students will have earned a Master of Public Policy (MPP)
Schedule
Friday, May 15
UVA Batten School Reception
Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen and Brewery, 520 2nd St. SE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. MPP Graduates and guests
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. BA Graduates and guests
Saturday, May 16
UVA Lawn Ceremony & Batten Graduation Ceremony
UVA Lawn Ceremony, The Lawn at UVA
- Batten BA and MPP graduates will attend UVA’s procession on the Lawn and graduation ceremony that follows. *Six tickets will be provided per graduate by the Office of Major Events.
Batten School Graduation Ceremony, The Paramount Theater, 215 East Main St., Charlottesville, VA 22902
BA Graduation Ceremony: 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
- Batten BA graduates and their guests will gather at The Paramount Theater for a Graduation School Ceremony featuring processional, opening remarks, student remarks, degree presentations, and recessional. Celebrate your accomplishments with Batten faculty and staff. Note: Batten BA graduates will begin lining up at 2:30pm.
MPP Graduation Ceremony: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Batten MPP graduates and their guests will gather at The Paramount Theater for a Graduation School Ceremony featuring processional, opening remarks, student remarks, degree presentations, and recessional. Celebrate your accomplishments with Batten faculty and staff. Note: Batten MPP graduates will begin lining up at 5:30pm.
Celebrating the 2026 Winners of the Legacy Awards
Each year, the Batten Undergraduate Council invites students, faculty, and staff to make nominations for its Legacy Awards, given in five categories to honor graduating Bachelor of Arts students who have demonstrated leadership at the Batten School. Each of these awards reflect the virtues and experiences that distinguished Frank Batten, Sr. throughout his inspirational life.
Celebrating the 2026 Winners of the Pilot Awards
The Pilot Award is named for The Virginian-Pilot, the newspaper Frank Batten, Sr. helmed in his early career. The Batten Graduate Council annually invites students, faculty, and staff to nominate graduating Master of Public Policy students for one of five Pilot Awards. The awards recognize the recipients’ leadership, impact, and service within the greater university and policy communities.
Important Information
Please use this link to indicate any special needs, including dietary restrictions, that you or your guests might have if they are attending Batten’s School Graduation Ceremony.
Saturday Lawn Ceremony: As you can imagine, parking is tricky during Finals Weekend. This website will show you the various options available around Grounds.
Saturday Batten School Ceremonies: Please follow the links below to learn more about parking options that are in close proximity to the Paramount Theater, which is where both Batten undergraduate and graduate students’ School Ceremony will take place. Students or guests who have mobility needs should click here.
Graduates who did not meet with Dean Rockwell during Batten’s Graduation Fair on March 9 should complete this form to share their names as they (1) would like them printed in the Batten School Graduation Ceremony program and (2) pronounced during the ceremony.
We want you to remember your graduation day for years to come! Please help us ensure that we pronounce your name correctly. Complete this link with the phonetic pronunciation of your name.
For your actual diplomas, the deadline to correct or update your name as it will appear on your diploma is May 1, 2026. Complete the “SIS Primary Name Update” form on UREG’s website.
Attire for the entire weekend for graduates and their guests is business casual—or whatever will allow you to stay cool and comfortable, particularly while wearing black graduation gowns. Jackets and ties are welcome but not required. Given the amount of walking on grass or historic brick, spiky heels are not advisable!
Because students will be asked to unzip their gowns before entering the Lawn for security purposes for the UVA ceremony, graduates should be fully clothed. Graduates should wear their regalia to both the Lawn and the Batten School’s events at the The Paramount Theater in Charlottesville.
While there are three different UVA-wide weather contingencies, know that if something dramatic happens, we will email you with timely updates and make updates to our website. You also can check UVA’s homepage or call the weather hotline at 924-SNOW. In short, unless the weather is quite extreme, events will take place on the Lawn and at the Paramount Theater as scheduled.
Stay tuned to your email for last-minute changes—changes to our Batten events will NOT be posted on the greater UVA website or hotline, but will be sent to students via email and posted at batten.virginia.edu.
We have a professional photographer to capture UVA Batten’s graduation events. These photos will be available for download and we will send out a link when the images are available online.
There will be security checks/metal detectors at the Lawn ceremony for EVERYONE participating in graduation — from guests to the graduates themselves — with the “clear bag policy” in effect. The greater UVA administration has asked us to let students know that any unauthorized items, including alcohol, will be confiscated. Given related safety concerns, security officials are instructed to remove visibly intoxicated students from all graduation processionals. For more information on UVA’s graduation-related security policies, including specifically prohibited and permitted items, click here.
UVA Batten graduates will receive six guest tickets to their Batten School Graduation Ceremony at the Paramount Theater on Saturday, May 16.
Graduates will receive communication from the Office of Major Events with details on acquiring guest tickets for UVA’s Lawn Ceremony. More information can be found here.
Batten undergraduate and graduate students who were unable to pick up their regalia during the UVA Bookstore Grad Fests, should send an email to gradinfo@virginia.edu and request to pick up their cap and gown. They will need to include their computing ID, height, and when they’d like to pick up their regalia. Request must be made two days prior to the anticipated pick-up date.