Rausser College of Natural Resources Commencement Information

The next opportunity for RCNR students to participate in a commencement ceremony will be the all-campus Winter Commencement taking place on December 20, 2025, at Haas Pavilion.  Rausser College does not host a separate college-specific ceremony in Fall.  The next RCNR-specific ceremony will take place in May 2026 at the Hearst Greek Theatre  Rausser College will not know the specific date and time of the ceremony until closer to November/December 2025.  Students are eligible to participate in either or both ceremonies.

The RCNR Commencement ceremony will include graduate and undergraduate students from the following departments: Agricultural & Resource Economics, Environmental Science, Policy & Management, Nutritional Sciences & Toxciology, and Plant & Microbial Biology. 

The Energy & Resource Group will host a separate, intimate ceremony for their students.  It is by invitation only.  Please reach out to ergdesk@berkeley.edu if you would like to attend or want more information.

Undergraduate majors included in the RCNR ceremony are:

  • Conservation & Resource Studies
  • Ecosystem Management & Forestry
  • Environmental Economics & Policy
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Genetics & Plant Biology
  • Microbial Biology
  • Molecular Environmental Biology
  • Nutrition & Metabolic Biology
  • Nutritional Sciences - Physiology & Metabolism
  • Nutritional Sciences - Toxicology
  • Society & Environment 

Graduate programs included in the RCNR ceremony are:

  • Agricultural & Resource Economics, PhD
  • Comparative Biochemistry, PhD
  • Endocrinology, PhD
  • Environmental Science, Policy & Management, PhD
  • Metabolic Biology, PhD
  • Microbiology, PhD
  • Nutritional Sciences & Dietetics, MNSD
  • Plant Biology, PhD
  • Forestry, MF
  • Rangeland & Wildlife Management, MS

The Energy and Resource Group will host a separate, intimate ceremony for their students.  It is by invitation only.  Please reach out to ergdesk@berkeley.edu if you would like additional information.

All Rausser students who graduated or will graduate in the following semesters are invited to participate:

  • Summer 2025
  • Fall 2025
  • Spring 2026
  • Summer 2026
  • Fall 2026

Students who participated in the Spring 2025 ceremony are not eligible to participate again in the Spring 2026 ceremony.

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL, interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media, etc.) or informtation about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, more information will be posted here after we learn the date, time, and location of the 2026 Commencement ceremony.

Additional ceremony information can be found at the links below:

Ticketing Information
Student Information
Guest Information

Keynote Speaker: TBD

 

Student Speaker: TBD

Department Citations and Award Winners

MAJOR CITATIONS: Awarded to the top graduating senior in each major.
TBD

DEPARTMENT CITATIONS: Given in recognition of distinguished undergraduate work by the department
TBD

KENNETH L. BABCOCK PRIZE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: Awarded to outstanding graduating seniors in the field of Environmental Science
TBD

The Honors Melis Medal
TBD

Please direct any questions to commencement.rcnr@berkeley.edu

Website Update: 7/21/2025