The Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering annually holds a ceremony to celebrate graduates from across our academic programs and recognize select students with awards for academic excellence, leadership, innovation, and contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Graduating students may invite their friends and family; tickets are not required.
2026 Graduation & Awards Ceremony
Friday, June 12
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Husky Union Building (HUB) Ballroom, UW Seattle
Agenda
| 9 a.m. | Graduating student check-in begins |
| 9:30 a.m. | Doors open for families and friends |
| 10 a.m. | Graduation ceremony + Welcome remarks by HCDE Professor & Chair Julie Kientz + Graduation address by Ram Shankar Siva Kumar + Recognition of graduates + Presentation of awards |
| 12 p.m. | Conclusion |
2026 Graduation speaker
Ram Shankar Siva Kumar
Data Cowboy at Microsoft | Author of "Not With A Bug"
Ram Shankar Siva Kumar is a leading expert at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. At Microsoft, he founded the AI Red Team, an interdisciplinary group that proactively identifies and mitigates risks in AI systems through adversarial testing and security research.
He is the author of NOT WITH A BUG, a book on attacking AI systems that has been praised by industry leaders and policymakers. Ram donates all proceeds from the book to Black in AI. His work has been presented at major industry and academic venues, including RSA, Black Hat, NeurIPS, ICML, and IEEE Security & Privacy, and has been featured by Bloomberg, Wired, VentureBeat, and GeekWire.
Ram founded the Adversarial ML Threat Matrix, a widely adopted framework for understanding threats to machine learning systems. He is currently a Tech Policy Fellow at UC Berkeley, an affiliate of Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, and serves on the Technical Advisory Board for the University of Washington.
Information for graduating students
RSVP for the HCDE graduation ceremony
The HCDE Graduation RSVP form is open. BS, MS, and PhD students graduating Autumn 2025 through Autumn 2026 can still complete the form by 10am June 11th to:
- Confirm participation in the ceremony
- Have a statement read out about them as they make their way down the stage
Graduate degree & MyGrad deadlines
- MS students
Students graduating in spring quarter must have requested their degree in MyGrad by April 17. The Spring graduation request opens March 30. - PhD students
PhD students must have scheduled their doctoral exam in MyGrad by April 17.
Regalia
Wearing regalia is traditional but not required. Students may order regalia through the UW regalia order form (available May 11 - 24). Need help? Watch this video for instructions on how to wear your cap, gown, and hood.
- Engineering undergraduates wear orange tassels.
- Master’s students wear orange hoods.
- MS and PhD graduates carry their hood draped over their left arm and hand it to a faculty member during the ceremony.
Information for guests
Directions & Parking
Plan your visit to the HUB by car, transit, or bike. The closest public parking is in Padelford Garage.
Guest entry
- No tickets are required — students may invite as many guests as they’d like. Seating is first come, first served, and guests are encouraged to arrive early. Available seats may fill and guests may be asked to stand off to the sides of the room.
- Ushers will guide guests to seating. For safety reasons, standing room is not permitted along the back of the room unless accommodations were requested in advance by the graduates.
- Accessible seating is available near the front of the venue for guests with a disability. One additional guest may sit with each person who requires disability seating.
Order of ceremony
- Student check-in begins at 9 a.m. in the HUB South Ballroom
- Guest entry begins at 9:30 a.m. through the main ballroom doors
- Graduates will be seated together in the center of the ballroom, grouped by degree program (BS, MS, PhD)
- Please note: No food or refreshments will be provided. There is a convenience store and coffee shop on the HUB ground floor.
Prohibited items
- Bullhorns, megaphones, whistles, or other sound amplification devices.
- Signs larger than 24” x 24.”
- Guests with signs or balloons are asked to stay near the back of the room to avoid blocking views.
Ceremony recording
A captioned recording of the ceremony will be posted on HCDE’s Youtube channel by Wednesday, June 17.
CLASS GIFT CAMPAIGN
Honor the HCDE Class of 2026
Support future students with a gift to the HCDE Fund for Excellence — the graduating Class of 2026’s selected class gift fund. This flexible fund helps the department respond quickly to opportunities that enrich student learning, research, and community.
Make a gift today