University of Pennsylvania Commencement

Franklin Field on Monday, May 19, 2025

The University of Pennsylvania's 269th Commencement ceremony will be held on Monday, May 19, 2025, in Franklin Field. The ceremony will feature the conferral of degrees, the awarding of honorary degrees, greetings by University officials, and remarks by the Commencement speaker, Elizabeth Banks, actor, director, producer, and Penn alumna.

Livestream of Penn’s Commencement Ceremony

The University of Pennsylvania's Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 19 will be live-streamed. Family members and friends who are unable to attend Penn’s 269th Commencement may watch or listen to the ceremony live. Coverage of the ceremony from Franklin Field will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 19, 2025. The livestream will be available on this page - check back on that day to watch or listen. It will be recorded and remain available for later viewing as well.

commencement livestream and multimedia archives

Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients

Elizabeth Banks

Actress and director of film and television; Co-founder of Brownstone Productions, an American film and television production company

2025 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Doctor of Arts

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Lonnie G. Bunch III

Historian, educator, curator, author; Fourteenth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters

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Lene Vestergaard Hau

Physicist and pioneer in quantum optics; Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics at Harvard University

Honorary Doctor of Sciences

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Barbara D. Savage

Historian, scholar of twentieth century African American history; Geraldine R. Segal Professor Emerita of American Social Thought, Department of Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania