2021: By the Numbers

Number of graduates: 2,004 total (May graduates only)

1,184	Undergraduates
59	Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
240	School of Law
300	Schools of Business (graduate programs)
221	School of Medicine (including Physician Assistant Studies)
0	Divinity School

Commencement: Past and Present

4	Number of graduates in first graduating class, 1839
13,000	Number of chairs set up on Hearn Plaza
3 hours	Approximate length of commencement
1964	The year the first black student (Edward Reynolds) graduated
5	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)
5	Number of times commencement has been held inside — 2010, 1991, 1983, and 1973 for rain and 2021 for COVID-19.
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 2018, 98% of Wake Forest students who responded to the first-destination survey reported being employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.