Commencement


UCLA Linguistics Commencement 2023

Please join the Linguistics Department on

Sunday, June 18, 2023

5:30 PM

Royce Hall

 

For our Department Graduation Ceremony celebrating our Graduating Class of 2023!

The UCLA Department of Linguistics welcomes you and your family and friends to the Class of 2023 Linguistics Graduation Commencement Ceremony, on Sunday, June 18, 2023, at 5:30 PM in Royce Hall

We look forward to celebrating our graduating undergraduate seniors (majors and minors) and MA and PhD graduate students at our department ceremony and making this day as special as it can be for those participating.

Ceremony Program
Class of 2023 List 

 

Keynote Speaker

Erika Varis Doggett
Senior Research Scientist, Disney Research Studios
BA in Linguistics & Spanish, UCLA Linguistics
PhD in Linguistics, USC

Dr. Erika Varis Doggett is a Senior Research Scientist at Disney Research Studios, focusing on a variety of topics within machine learning, with special attention to computer vision and natural language processing (NLP) techniques. Recent areas of interest include natural language generation, neural style transfer, inpainting, and anomaly detection. Prior to Disney Research, Dr. Varis Doggett managed an applied research and development AI/machine learning team at Walt Disney Studios and worked in a social media startup as a computational linguist. She received her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Southern California and lectured at the University of Nevada Reno before transitioning to industry in NLP.

Undergraduate Student Speaker

Roniyah Shasanmi

Roniyah Shasanmi is a second-year transfer student graduating with a B.A. in Linguistics and Anthropology and a Minor in French. She hopes to become a visual ethnographer because she is passionate about mixing creativity with education. She decided to pursue linguistics and anthropology because of her desire to understand people and cultures. She believes that learning about communication will help her understand why people behave the way they do and thus will help her better relate to people across cultures. Growing up, her family created an atmosphere that fostered a love of anything artistic. To this day, she enjoys drawing, dancing, singing, writing poetry, photography, and more. In her free time, she likes to do things with friends and family, from visiting museums to playing board games.

  • A Message from Our Chair

    Dear Linguists from the Class of 2023,

    Congratulations on receiving your UCLA degree. You triumphed over our rigorous and challenging program with all your hard work and talent! You crushed COVID zoom classes! You even triumphed over the awkward return to campus 18 months later! You are more than prepared for anything this universe can throw at you!

    We – all your faculty, TAs, and staff – are thrilled to host the second Royce Hall Commencement ceremony for you. I hope to see you, and everyone who contributed to your success, at the UCLA Linguistics Graduation event.

    We wish you every success in this world. And don’t be strangers. We want to know what you are doing with your degrees. So, please join us on the burgeoning UCLA Linguistics LinkedIn group. A fellow Bruin Linguist awaits, wherever life takes you.

    With best wishes,

    Megha Sundara
    Department Chair and Professor

  • General Information for Students

    Eligibility to participate:

    Undergraduate Students

    To be eligible to participate, undergraduate students must have a declared degree expectancy term for Fall 2022 through Summer 2023 in one of our Linguistics majors or minors.

    Fall 2023 undergraduate candidates interested in participating in 2023 commencement ceremonies must complete a Special Inclusion Petition with the College of Letters and Science. Please complete the petition on my.ucla.edu to participate in the 2023 Humanities commencement ceremonies. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that these requirements are met.

    For details on the College of Letters and Sciences Ceremony, please visit the LS Commencement event website.

    Undergraduate Students should contact Leigh Bagood at leigh@humnet.ucla.edu for any questions regarding the ceremony. 

     

    Graduate Students

    Students filing or who have filed their doctoral dissertation or MA thesis in Summer 2022 through Spring 2023 may participate.

    You can find more information on the UCLA Doctoral Hooding Ceremony for 2022-2023 doctoral candidates on the UCLA Graduate Division website.

    Graduate Students should contact Kate Aquino at kate@humnet.ucla.edu for any questions regarding the ceremony. 

    Student Regalia Ordering (Both undergraduate and graduate students): Students must wear regalia to take part in the ceremony (this is your ticket into the ceremony when you check-in). Students should order regalia through Graduation Etc. It is recommended that a student order their regalia by the beginning of May 2023.

    Ticketing:

    Both undergraduate and graduate students

    1. The ticketing window for students for department events is scheduled for Friday, May 12 – Friday, May 26 at 11:59 PM via my.ucla.edu. (Tickets to the College Commencement Ceremony can be requested starting Thursday, May 4. See the LS Commencement Website for College Commencement ticketing information).
    2. Participating students are eligible for 4 free guest tickets. Additionally, students have the option to purchase up to 4 additional tickets at $20/each (charged to your student BAR account).*
    3. Guest tickets will be distributed to your email address (as indicated in MyUCLA) between Tuesday, May 30, through Thursday, June 15. It will be sent from the Central Ticket Office (tickets@cto.ucla.edu) and will contain a link for you to receive your electronic tickets. Please be sure to check that your email account is accurate in MyUCLA, and also check your email account’s SPAM folder frequently, to be sure you do not overlook these important messages.

    *Please note that as a student you do not need a graduate ticket, your regalia and online RSVP is all that is needed to check in at the department ceremony.

    If students have any issues with ticketing or need any accommodations related to disabilities for the event, please contact Leigh Bagood (leigh@humnet.ucla.edu) with your UID number and further details.

     

  • COVID Protocols and Parking

    Parking:

    Students and guests attending 2023 Commencement ceremonies are able to purchase a parking permit online and in advance through the Bruin ePermit Event Parking (link is external) portal beginning Monday, May 1.

    For full details and instructions on Commencement Parking, please visit the UCLA Transportation website: https://www.transportation.ucla.edu/campus-parking/commencement-parking.

    COVID Protocols:

    As of May 2022, the UCLA campus does not require event attendees to provide a COVID-19 clearance check. For all guests and attendees, we ask that you do not attend the event if your are experiencing COVID-related symptoms in order to protect the health and safety of all attendees. Masking is strongly recommended but not required indoors.

    Please visit the Information for visitors – COVID-19 and vaccine resources page for more information on UCLA’s guidance for non-affiliated guests invited to campus. We ask and appreciate that everyone be considerate and respectful of one another’s decisions.

     

  • Keep in touch

    To keep in touch with the latest UCLA Linguistics Department news, please join our mailing list. If you have updates on your accomplishments and journey, feel free to email us.