Congratulations are in order for the more than 1,400 students who are gearing up to graduate from the University of Northern Iowa this weekend. Ninety-one percent of the students are Iowa residents, and nearly a third identify themselves as first-generation college graduates. 

Panthers who will be earning their undergraduate or graduate degrees include:

• 474 College of Humanities, Arts & Sciences students
• 339 College of Education students
• 292 College of Social & Behavioral Sciences students
• 257 College of Business students
• 45 interdisciplinary students

UNI will welcome friends and family to celebrate our graduates at three Commencement ceremonies in the McLeod Center. Each will be available via livestream:

• Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m.
  College of Business
  College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
   
• Saturday, May 13 at 10 a.m.
  Continuing Education 
  College of Education
   
• Saturday, May 13 at 2 p.m.
  College of Humanities, Arts & Sciences 

For two years in a row, UNI has achieved record-high graduation rates. The four-year graduation rate increased by 5% over last year and is nearly 20 percentage points above similar universities. 

Overall, four of five UNI graduates and nine of 10 UNI transfer student graduates stay in Iowa to work after degree completion. One in 12 UNI students graduate in just three years. The increase in timely graduation contributes to UNI graduates holding the lowest average student loan debt of all public universities in Iowa.