Commencement has arrived at Swarthmore. The weekend events will mark the culmination of four years of exploration and growth for seniors, spirited instruction from and collaboration with faculty, and multifaceted support from staff from across the campus.

Before final touches are made and regalia is adorned, let’s examine Swarthmore’s Commencement — its 152nd — by the numbers.

• 413: Graduating seniors
• 413: Roses that will be given to seniors by the Scott Arboretum
• 427: Degrees conferred, with 399 bachelors of arts and 28 bachelors of science 
• 14,000: Capacity of the Mann Center, where Commencement will take place
• 3,000: Commencement programs printed for the event
• 1: Last Collection taking place in the Scott Outdoor Amphitheater prior to Commencement
• 11: Seniors who competed to speak at Commencement, including first-place finisher Nora Sweeney
• 2: Retiring faculty members attending their last graduation “send-off”
• 1,356: Days since students began classes in Fall 2020
• 19: Writing Associates (WAs), who cumulatively served as WAs for 51 different courses
• 16: Resident Assistants
• 3,000+: Fireworks set off at Senior Send-Off
• 2: Sets of twin siblings graduating from the class: Alex ’24 and Carter Strauch ’24, and Ethan ’24 and Olivia Marotte ’24
• 12: Centennial Conference titles won by members of the class
• 51: Countries traveled to by members of the class during their time at Swarthmore. Over 50% of the graduating class participated in an overseas experience and 28% of graduates had more than one.
• 300+: Gift bags given by Alicia Liu ’24 to workers in EVS, Dining, Public Safety, Grounds, and Facilities, a practice she started as a sophomore.

• 89: Students who are the first in their family to attend college
• 68: Students receiving Honors
• 199: Written exams administered across 96 different courses in 26 disciplines
• 268: Oral Honors exams taken, including 98 in social sciences, 84 in humanities, 76 in engineering and natural sciences, and 10 in interdisciplinary courses
• 129: External Honors examiners, including 2 from Canada
• 1: Cohort — the sixth — of Swarthmore Summer Scholars to graduate
• 87: Students with the most popular major, computer science
• 89: Students with special majors
• 12: First-time special majors, including one each in human rights and Africana literature
• 190: Students with double majors
• 183: Students with a minor
• 1: Student graduating with a minor in Asian American Studies, Xiao Wei (Serena) Yang ’24, the first in College history
• 76: International and permanent-resident students from 34 countries
• 33: Students with dual citizenship (U.S. plus another country)
• 40: States represented by students, in addition to Washington, D.C.
• 25: Students with at least one parent who is an alum
• 7: Students with at least one grandparent or great-grandparent who is an alum
• 5+: National award winners, including two Watson fellows, a Schwarzman awardee, and two Fulbrights
• 1: Participant, Erica Stutz ’24, in the upcoming NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Individual Championships
• 4: Students who are on track to earn Pennsylvania teaching certifications
• 6: Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows
• 5: Lang Opportunity Scholars
• 3: Languages in which the livestream of Commencement will be available (English with Spanish and Mandarin subtitles)