Graduation Celebration
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2025 Graduation Celebration: Friday, June 13, 2025
The Allen School cordially invites family and friends to join us on the evening of Friday, June 13 to honor the accomplishments of our 2025 graduates. Graduates and their guests are also invited to join us for an open house earlier that day, where they will have a chance to explore the Allen Center and Gates Center and meet our faculty and staff.
More details for attendees are below; detailed registration instructions, information on how to purchase graduation stoles and swag, and relevant deadlines for participants are available on the Information for Participants page.
Allen School Open House for Graduates & Families
- Friday, June 13, 2025
- 12:00 – 2:00 pm PDT
- Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering
- Graduates, Faculty, Staff, Photos!
The Allen School invites graduates and their families to join us on campus for an open house to kick off the graduation festivities. Meet our faculty and staff, explore our buildings, and take commemorative school photos on Friday, June 13, between 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm. We hope to see you there!
Formal Graduation Celebration
- Friday, June 13, 2025
- 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm (tentative end time) PDT
- Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion
- Doors open at 5:00 pm; all graduates must be on the arena floor by 5:30 pm
Classmates, family, and friends are invited to join us in formally recognizing the members of the graduating class of 2025. During the celebration, we will distribute souvenir diplomas to our bachelor’s and master’s graduates, conduct the traditional hooding ceremony to honor our Ph.D. graduates, honor alumni who are using their Allen School education to change the world and recognize our award recipients for their academic excellence, leadership and service. We are in awe of our soon-to-be graduates and look forward to seeing you go out there and make the Allen School proud!
Note: This event will be live-streamed on the Allen School’s YouTube page and a recording made publicly available for later viewing for the benefit of those who cannot join us in person.
UW Commencement
The UW is holding its 2025 commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 14. Details here.
Information for Event Attendees
Parking permits for a wide variety of campus lots may be purchased by graduates when they fill out the UW Registration/Order Form beginning on May 7. Permits are available for parking on Commencement Day, June 14, or for school, college and departmental ceremonies that take place on other days around Commencement, such as the Allen School’s events on June 13. Disability parking is available on any day and can be selected by the graduates when they complete the registration/order form. For more information visit the UW parking page.
Review the Approved Items List
The Allen School is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. For disability accommodations, please contact Amber Cochran at amberlco@cs.washington.edu as soon as possible and no later than May 24.
Information for Graduation 2025 TBD. Will update here.
While we gather details for 2025, click below to see last year’s event program.
Graduation Celebration 2024 Event Program
2024 Welcome Speech
Magdalena Balazinska, Professor and Allen School Director
Commencement Speaker
Andy Jassy, President and CEO, Amazon.com
Andy Jassy is President and CEO of Amazon.com and also serves on the Board of Directors. He founded and led Amazon Web Services (AWS) from its inception and served as its CEO from April 2016 until July 2021. He joined Amazon in 1997 and, before founding AWS, held various leadership roles across the company, including both business-to-business and business-to-consumer. He serves on the Trust of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, on the Board of Trustees for Rainier Scholars, and as Chair of Rainier Prep’s Board of Directors. He has an AB from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Hooding of Doctor of Philosophy Recipients
Presented by: Anna Karlin, Professor and Associate Director of Graduate Programs
Allen School Alumni Impact Awards
Presented by: Ed Lazowska, Professor, and Bill & Melinda Gates Chair Emeritus, and Magdalena Balazinska, Professor, and Allen School Director
Honorees:
John Colleran (B.S., ’87) and Karen Liu (Ph.D., ’05)
Hooding of Doctor of Philosophy Recipients
Presented by: Anna Karlin, Professor and Associate Director of Graduate Programs
Master of Science Processional
Presented by: Richard Anderson, Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator, Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Program, and James Wilcox, Professor
Student Recognition
Undergraduate Teaching Awards
- Presented by: Kianna Bolante, COM^2 Chair
Undergraduate Service Award
- Presented by: Crystal Eney, Director of Student Services, and Chloe Dolese Mandeville, Assistant Director for Student Engagement & Access
Outstanding Undergraduate Honors Thesis Award
- Presented by: Maya Cakmak, Professor
Master’s Thesis Award
- Presented by: Maya Cakmak, Professor
Outstanding CSE Senior Awards
- Presented by: Magdalena Balazinska, Professor and Allen School Director
Bob Bandes Memorial Excellence in Teaching Awards
Presented by: Justin Hsia, Teaching Professor
Bachelor of Science Processional
Presented by: Dan Grossman, Professor and Allen School Vice Director, and Arvind Krishnamurthy, Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Closing Remarks
Dan Grossman, Professor and Allen School Vice Director
Participant Information & Registration
Questions about the Allen School Events?
For all other questions, email graduation-celebration@cs.washington.edu..
For disability accommodations, please contact Amber Cochran at amberlco@cs.washington.edu as soon as possible and no later than Friday, May 24.