The event replete with nostalgia.

Official description: This remarkable event features a procession that includes undergraduate degree candidates from Columbia College, the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of General Studies, and Barnard College. School deans, the University chaplain, and faculty and administrators also participate. Some of the highlights of the service include hymns and musical selections performed by student musicians and choirs; and readings, reflections and speeches by students, including a Senior Reflection and a Family Tribute.

The service is coordinated jointly by the Office of the University Chaplain and University Event Management.

The Baccalaureate Service is believed to have originated at Oxford University in 1432 when each bachelor was required to deliver a sermon in Latin as part of his academic exercise. Since the earliest universities in this country were founded primarily to educate ministers, the British practice of the Baccalaureate Service was continued.

The tradition of the Baccalaureate Service at Columbia University began after the move to Morningside Heights in 1897. The Baccalaureate Service is now an interfaith, intercultural service celebrating the completion of each undergraduate's academic career, and is the opening event of Commencement week.


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