UW Tacoma gets ready to celebrate the Class of 2026
Graduate students will be recognized in smaller hooding ceremonies before UW Tacoma’s larger Commencement celebration at the Tacoma Dome.
By Syed Huzaifa Bin Afzal
UW Tacoma’s 36th Commencement ceremony is scheduled for June 12, at the Tacoma Dome. The event will celebrate and honor the graduating Class of 2026, with eligible students having the opportunity to walk across the stage before family members, friends and guests.
The university’s hooding ceremonies page describes the presentation of the academic hood to master’s degree candidates as a special moment for candidates and faculty. Each school holds its own ceremony so there is more time to recognize each degree candidate, and master’s degree candidates are encouraged to attend both their hooding ceremony and the larger Commencement ceremony.
For Masters Of Cybersecurity and Leadership (MCL) students, the School of Engineering and Technology hooding ceremony is scheduled for June 6 at 11 a.m. in William W. Philip Hall. The ceremony includes graduate programs in computer science, cybersecurity, information technology, electrical and computer engineering and the Ph.D. in Computer Science and Systems.
Professor Dr Bryan Goda, a professor in the School of Engineering and Technology, wrote in response to The Ledger that the hooding ceremony marks the completion of a yearlong master’s program. He said MCL students complete four leadership courses through the Milgard School of Business, four cybersecurity courses and a two-quarter team project. Students also have the option to take the Certified Information Systems Security Professional exam at a later date.
“MCL is the only joint program on our campus,” Goda wrote.
Goda said he came to UW Tacoma in 2012 after 30 years of service in the Army. He was hired by then-Chancellor Debra Friedman to create the MCL program, and the program’s first class graduated in 2014. Professors Dr Yan Bai, Dr Zoe Barsness and Chuck Costerella have been with the program since its beginning, he wrote.
Watching students reach the hooding ceremony brings Goda a sense of pride. In addition to the cap and gown associated with UW, students receive a hood specific to the MCL discipline. Some students may also wear honor society stoles from computing and business honor societies.
“I know that when we graduate our students they have the necessary leadership and technical skills to succeed in the challenging cybersecurity world,” Goda wrote.
Goda said the hooding ceremony also differs from the larger Commencement because it allows more direct interaction between students and faculty.
“The ceremony is much more personable because of the student/faculty interaction,” Goda wrote. “The Commencement ceremony is far too large for any interaction.”
Over the years, the program has changed with new courses, faculty and a more international student body, Goda wrote. MCL students now also have a direct path to a Ph.D. in Cybersecurity at the Colorado School of Mines. With 14 years of graduating classes, he said the program has built an alumni history that makes reunions meaningful.
Graduating MCL student Sheikh Tijan Jobe said this year’s ceremony marks a second major milestone at UW Tacoma. Jobe previously earned his undergraduate degree from the university in 2020.
“It means a lot to me,” Jobe wrote, adding that returning to earn his master’s degree at the same university feels fulfilling.
Jobe said the program taught him more about leadership than technical skills, which he sees as a strength for where he is in his career. As he prepares to graduate, he is already thinking about the possibility of pursuing a doctoral degree.
One of the moments he is most looking forward to is walking across the stage and hearing his name called. He still remembers that feeling from his undergraduate commencement ceremony.
“The first walk in to receive the diploma and hearing your name called with the degree achieved is an unforgettable experience,” Jobe wrote.
Jobe said the path to graduation was not easy. Balancing full-time work with school was a challenge from the beginning and required discipline and prioritization.
As UW Tacoma prepares for Commencement, the MCL hooding ceremony gives graduate students a more focused setting to mark the work behind their degrees before joining the larger campus celebration. Goda also highlighted this year’s capstone projects as a point of pride for the program.
“Congratulations MCL Class of 2026,” Goda wrote. “Your capstone projects are some of the finest products any class has produced. Drop by and say hi, don’t be a stranger.”
UW Tacoma’s graduate hooding ceremonies include programs in business, education, engineering and technology, nursing and healthcare leadership, social work and criminal justice and urban studies, more details can be found on hooding ceremonies page. The hooding ceremonies and Commencement give UW Tacoma graduates two ways to mark the same milestone: one in a smaller program setting with faculty and classmates, and one as part of the larger campus community. For students in programs like MCL, both moments recognize the work behind the degree and the next steps waiting after graduation.
