Four graduation-related ceremonies on Thursday, Dec. 11, and Friday, Dec. 12, will celebrate the 1,060 Columbus State University students comprising its Fall 2025 graduating class. The festivities will include three college-specific ceremonies throughout the day on Friday, marking the university’s 130th commencement exercises.

Each of the Dec. 12 ceremonies will spotlight young alumnus and Columbus native Curtis Walker, who will address graduates on the topics of resilience and timing. Walker is a 2022 political science graduate, a two-term Student Government Association president, and a current Mercer University School of Law student.

Columbus State conducts commencement exercises and related events at the end of each fall and spring semester. Since its founding as Columbus College in 1958, the university has bestowed degrees and certificates on more than 43,000 students. As alumni, they become automatic members of the CSU Alumni Association upon graduation.

Notable facts and figures:

• The 1,060 graduates will receive a total of 1,078 degrees and certificates.
• 6.7% will graduate with honors, having earned cumulative GPAs of 3.4 or higher.
• More than 80% of graduates hail from Georgia, representing 111 of Georgia's 159 counties. The remaining graduates represent 19 other U.S. states and territories, with 2% of total graduates hailing from outside the United States.
• More than 14% of this fall's class are active-duty soldiers or veterans.

Additional statistics are available on the university's website.

Event information

Graduation events—all located in the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]—include:

• Thursday, Dec. 11, 6:00 p.m., Graduate Hooding Ceremony
• Friday, Dec. 12, 9:00 a.m., College of the Arts and D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology Commencement Ceremony
• Friday, Dec. 12, 12:30 p.m., College of Letters & Sciences Commencement Ceremony
• Friday, Dec. 12, 4:00 p.m., College of Education & Health Professions Commencement Ceremony

All commencement events are open to the public and do not require tickets. Graduates are not limited in the number of guests who can attend. Guests attending in person are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations of the Lumpkin Center, including the university’s clear-bag and bag-check policies, and items that are restricted in the Lumpkin Center. 

Free parking for the ceremonies is available throughout Main Campus, with limited accessible parking located in the parking lots nearest to the Lumpkin Center. Parking attendants will direct guests to available parking locations, and shuttles will also move through campus parking lots to assist guests with limited mobility.

All four ceremonies will be livestreamed from the Graduation website, which also provides additional information for graduates and their guests attending the events.