MURFREESBORO, TN - Middle Tennessee State University will salute more than 2,500 new Blue Raider alumni during May 8-9 commencement ceremonies for the spring Class of 2026. The university is scheduled to hold three separate ceremonies at the historic Murphy Center, inside Monte Hale Arena.
The graduation schedule begins Friday, May 8, at 3 p.m. for students in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and University College. Ceremonies continue Saturday, May 9, starting at 9 a.m. for the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts. The final event takes place at 2 p.m. that afternoon for the College of Education, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment.
Of the 2,564 students set to graduate, 2,171 are undergraduates and 393 are graduate students. The graduate candidates include 341 master’s candidates, 26 education-specialist recipients, and 26 doctoral candidates. Additionally, 10 students will receive graduate certificates.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee will briefly address each group of graduates after welcoming them and their guests. State Sen. Dawn White, an MTSU alumna representing District 13, will address graduates in the Friday ceremony. Stuart C. McWhorter, deputy governor and commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, will speak at the Saturday morning ceremony. Delivering keynote remarks for the final ceremony will be Scott Borchetta, founder and CEO of Big Machine Records.
For those attending in person, a clear bag policy is in effect at Murphy Center. Bags must be clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC and may not exceed 12 x 6 x 12 inches. Small clutch purses no larger than 4.5 x 6.5 inches are also permitted.
Each ceremony is expected to last approximately two hours, and all graduating students are required to remain for the entire event. For those unable to attend, the events will stream live at mtsu.edu/live and on the university’s Facebook channel. The graduation will also be broadcast on True Blue TV. Closed-captioning and American Sign Language interpretation will be provided for all ceremonies.
MTSU spring semester classes concluded on April 29, with final examinations ending this week. Summer 2026 full-term classes are scheduled to begin May 18.
Need Details? A campus map with parking details for guests is available at https://bit.ly/MTSUparkingmap. A seating chart of Murphy Center, including access for guests with mobility issues, is available at https://www.mtsu.edu/murphycenter/facilities/.
Driving directions, along with complete graduation details for students and guests, are available anytime at https://mtsu.edu/graduation.
