Spring 2018 Convocation

Thousands of UVic students and their families and friends will gather on campus this June to celebrate the achievement of an academic milestone. During Spring Convocation from June 11–15, ceremonies will be held to confer 3,776 degrees, diplomas and certificates. Congratulations, grads!

Convocation ceremonies will be webcast live and available for six weeks following Convocation. View the schedule.

Featured convocation stories

• Political science grad hopes to shape Indigenous law - Carolyn Belleau, BA Political Science
• Diploma by distance enables new perspective - Sabrina Curtis, Graduate Diploma in Evaluation
• Building the business case for water - Nuha Omer Elgindi, Master of Global Business
• Chisasibi group's mission to help Cree language and culture flourish - Margaret Fireman, Certificate in Aboriginal Language Revitalization
• Biology grad builds community with STEM - Yamila Franco, BSc Honours Biology, co-op
• A love of objects and a passion for art history - Josie Greenhill, BA Honours Art History & Visual Studies, co-op
• Bright lights, big city for English grad - Iona Lister, MA English
• Father-in-law - Will McClary, Law
• Supporting seniors' access to fresh air and exercise - Carson Sage, MA Kinesiology
• Labwork builds the brain, literally - Tia Sojonky, BENG Honours Biomedical Engineering, co-op
• Custom MBA for TELUS tailor-made for savings - Moutie Wali, Master of Business Administration
• A passion for sociology - Qwisun Yoon-Potkins, BA Honours Sociology/Diploma in Social Justice

Honorary degree recipients

Honorary degrees—the university’s highest academic honour—will be presented to four exceptional individuals during the Spring Convocation ceremonies:

• Joseph Arvay, QC, Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD)
• Amb. Nicholas Kuhanga, Honorary Doctor of Education (DEd)
• Sandra Richardson, Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD)
• Robert Waisman, Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD)

Read more about our honorary degree recipients.

Spring 2018 major medal winners

• Governor General’s Gold Medal: Tianhaozhe Sun—PhD, Earth & Ocean Sciences
• Governor General’s Silver Medal: Connor Bracewell—BSc, Computer Science & Mathematics
• Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal (thesis): Jiayi Chen—MASc, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal (other than thesis): Yan Xu—MSc, Mathematics
• Jubilee Medal for Humanities: Emily-Anne Wiesenthal—BA, Gender Studies
• Jubilee Medal for Science: Lauren Wotton—BSc, Biology
• Jubilee Medal for Social Sciences: Veronica Plihal—BA, Psychology       
• Maxwell A. Cameron Memorial Award (two awards): Hayley Atkins—BEd, Secondary Teacher Education and Melissa Rickson—BEd, Elementary Teacher Education
• Victoria Medal in Fine Arts: Kyron Basu—BMus, Voice
• The Law Society Gold Medal and Prize: Raya MacKenzie—JD, Law
• Certificate of Outstanding Academic Distinction in the Faculty of HSD: Auden Neuman—BSc, Nursing
• The Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering Medal: David Bernard—BEng, Mechanical Engineering
• Department of Computer Science Graduation Medal: Heng Liu—BSc, Computer Science & Mathematics
• IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal in Biomedical Engineering: Ryan Chan—BEng, Biomedical Engineering
• IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal in Computer Engineering: Graeme Lyall—BEng, Computer Engineering
• IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal in Electrical Engineering: Rylan Heise—BEng, Electrical Engineering
• IEEE Victoria Section Gold Medal in Software Engineering: Heather Cape—BENG, Software Engineering