2023 Undergraduate Commencement

By Tyra Watts | Published May 5, 2023

As the 2023 Kean University Undergraduate Commencement is rapidly approaching, the university and students are preparing for arguably one of the most important milestones in their life. 

“Everything got real when I got the link to order my cap and gown,” Amanda Saintina, a graduating senior majoring in Communication said. “But I feel like it will really feel like the finish line during the graduation expo where we pick up our caps and gowns. We’ll also get to see our graduating class.”

The 2023 Undergraduate Commencement will occur on May 18 at 8:30 a.m. at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and is expected to last approximately two hours. A live stream of the ceremony will be available on the kean.edu website for those who are unable to attend.

In preparation for the ceremony, the university is hosting a grad fair on both its Union and Ocean campuses for students to collect their cap and gown. The Union Campus Grad Fair will be held on Wednesday, May 3, and Thursday, May 4 at the Miron Student Center in room 228. Meanwhile, the Ocean Campus Grad Fair will be held on Thursday, May 4 at the Gateway Building.

Those who missed the order deadline for pickup at the grad fair have the opportunity to order their cap and gown online by April 22 for delivery to their home address for the big day. Students also order class rings and a yearbook as well.

In addition to their big day on May 18, students graduating with honors have the opportunity to participate in the honors convocation on May 5 at 2 p.m. in Harwood Arena. The Department of Africana Studies is also hosting its 36 annual African Heritage Graduation Ceremony on May 6 at 4 p.m. in Wilkins Theater.

Not only that, but Kean is also holding a Senior Formal, ‘A Roaring 20’s Soiree’ for graduating seniors only on Friday, May 5 from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Hilton Short Hills. 

Meanwhile, students who are graduating are getting ready for the day they walk on that stage and embark on a new journey, and Saintina is excited about new beginnings. 

“I haven’t experienced life without school in it and I can’t wait to see how I adjust,” Saintina said. “I’m excited to have more free time most importantly.”

In terms of the graduation process, Saintina stated that applying for graduation was fairly simple and that she double-checked that she completed all the credits for her degree. 

Now that Saintina is graduating from Kean, she said that her most memorable moment at the university was Homecoming back in the Fall 2022 semester. She arrived at Kean as a transfer student and did not take part in campus activities, and she made a promise to herself that before she graduated, she would leave no stone unturned. 

“I did not want to leave with any regrets,” Saintina said. “This was my first homecoming as a Top Knotch Doll (Kean’s majorette dance team) and a N’Sister (NCNW). I truly felt cougar pride that day and I’ll never forget the bonds I’ve created with the women I met on this campus.”

As for any post-graduation plans, Saintina says that she will still be working as a Production intern at ABC News, hopefully transferring over to a full-time position. She also plans on attending everyone’s graduation parties. 

In the past, there has been a growing number of students that have graduated from Kean, according to Kean’s Student Success Dashboard, titled “What Are Our Historical Persistence and Graduation Rates?” 

The dashboard takes into consideration all Kean US campuses with first-time/full-time students, as well as retention years going from one to six and years of graduation ranging from three to seven.

According to the Chart FAQ, the chart “provides statistics on a historical perspective on the graduation rates for all students at the selected campus, as well as graduation rates observed for historically underserved student populations and their counterparts.” 

With the most recent statistics being from 2020, the chart shows that the 2020 1st Year Graduation Retention Rate was 71.4% (1,182 students). This goes on to show that Kean students are graduating at a consistently higher rate, with the hopes that the numbers will continue to rise as the years go by.

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