Number of graduates: 2,128 total (May graduates only)

NumberSchool
1,150Undergraduates
18School of Divinity
180Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
241School of Law
314School of Business (graduate programs)
225School of Medicine

Commencement: Past and Present

NumberNote
4Number of graduates in the first graduating class, 1839
13,000Approximate number of chairs on Hearn Plaza
3 hoursApproximate length of Commencement
1964Year that the first black student (Ed Reynolds) graduated
1966First year that Commencement was held on the Quad (now known as Hearn Plaza); from 1957-1965, Commencement was held in Wait Chapel
4Number of times rain has forced Commencement inside (2010, 1991, 1983 and 1973)
1957First class to graduate on the "new" campus
2 hoursLength of Commencement speech delivered in 1858 by Solomon Satchwell
1981 Last class to receive sheepskin diplomas
2020Only class to have two Commencement events: a virtual conferring of degrees in May of 2020 and an in-person ceremony on Sept. 18, 2021
4The class of 2021 was awarded diplomas in four separate ceremonies in Joel Coliseum, then gathered for a celebration at Truist Field

Post Graduation Statistics:

In 2021, 98% of Wake Forest students who responded to the first-destination survey reported being employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.