Missouri State University will confer 2,631 degrees to students at its 2018 spring commencement. Three ceremonies will be held at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. May 18 at JQH Arena.  

First ceremony 

Students graduating from the College of Business, the William H. Darr College of Agriculture and interdisciplinary academic programs will participate in the first ceremony. Sen. Claire McCaskill will receive the Governmental Excellence Award and speak at this ceremony.  

Second ceremony 

Students graduating from the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and the College of Health and Human Services will participate in the second ceremony. Nixa Public Schools superintendent Stephen Kleinsmith will receive an honorary doctorate and speak at this ceremony. 

Third ceremony 

Students graduating from the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Education and the College of Natural and Applied Sciences will participate in the third ceremony. Roseann Bentley, former Greene County Commissioner, will receive an honorary doctorate and speak at this ceremony. 

Keep up with commencement 

All three ceremonies will be streamed live. The Missouri State commencement hub features ceremony details for graduates, guests, faculty and staff. You can also follow what is happening live with #BearGrads and share your story using the social media kit. 

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About the graduates 

MSU will confer 2,005 bachelor’s degrees, 531 master’s degrees, 91 doctorate degrees and four specialist degrees.  

Past the standard expectations, the university will recognize 112 students for their work with a more rigorous curriculum in Missouri State’s Honors College. 

The university will also recognize students who will graduate with a GPA of 3.5 or higher:  

• 140 students who will graduate summa cum laude (with grade point averages of 3.9-4.0 on a 4.0 scale) 
• 175 who will graduate magna cum laude (with GPAs of 3.75-3.89) 
• 352 who will graduate cum laude (with GPAs of 3.5-3.74).