2017: By the Numbers
Number of graduates: 1,873 total (May graduates only)
| 1,030 | Undergraduates |
| 179 | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences |
| 195 | School of Law |
| 259 | Schools of Business (graduate programs) |
| 196 | School of Medicine (including Physician Assistant Studies) |
| 33 | Divinity School |
Commencement: Past and Present
| 4 | Number of graduates in first graduating class, 1839 |
| 12,500 | Number of chairs set up on Hearn Plaza |
| 3 hours | Approximate length of commencement |
| 1964 | The year the first black student (Edward Reynolds) graduated |
| 2 | Number of honorary degrees awarded this year |
| 1966 | First year commencement was held on the Quad, now known as Hearn Plaza; (from 1957 to 1965 commencement was held in Wait Chapel) |
| 4 | Number of times rain has forced commencement inside (2010, 1991, 1983, and 1973) |
| 1957 | First class to graduate on the “new” campus |
| 2 hours | Length of commencement speech delivered in 1858 by Solomon Satchwell |
| 1981 | Last class to receive sheepskin diplomas |
Post Graduation Statistics:
In 2016, 98% of Wake Forest students who responded to the first-destination survey reported being employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.