Graduation Celebration: Friday, June 12, 2026
The Allen School cordially invites family and friends to join us on the evening of Friday, June 12 to honor the accomplishments of our 2026 graduates.
Important Note:
June 2026 will be a busy time at the UW, as students move out of residence halls and graduation celebrations – including Commencement on June 13 – take place across the University.
Another event taking place in Seattle that could impact your graduation-related travel and lodging plans is the 2026 FIFA World Cup. If you are traveling to Seattle in June, we suggest booking your rooms and travel as early as possible.
Matches begin in Seattle on June 15 and we expect many hotels will be full, with prices higher than normal around this time. Since the World Cup draws soccer fans from around the globe, Seattle-area hotels are expecting June bookings to ramp up during the holidays. Many are expected to sell out during this time.
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Allen School Open House for Graduates & Families
- Friday, June 12, 2026
- 12:00 – 2:00 pm PDT
- Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering
- Graduates, Faculty, Staff, Photos!
The Allen School invites graduates and their families to join us on campus for an open house to kick off the graduation festivities. Meet our faculty and staff, explore our buildings, and take commemorative school photos on Friday, June 12, between 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm. We hope to see you there!
Allen School Student & Faculty Award Recognition
- Friday, June 12, 2026
- 2:00 – 2:45pm PDT
- G20 (ground level of Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering)
- Priority seating for awardees and their guests
- Majority of awardees will be notified by Friday, June 5.
Formal Graduation Celebration
- Friday, June 12, 2026
- 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm (tentative end time) PDT
- Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion
- Doors open at 5:00 pm; all graduates must be on the arena floor by 5:30 pm
- Tickets will be required this year for guest and graduate entry; each graduate can request as many tickets as they need when they register.
Classmates, family, and friends are welcome to join us in officially commemorating the graduating class of 2025. During the celebration, we will hand out souvenir diplomas to our bachelor’s and master’s graduates, hold the traditional hooding ceremony to honor our Ph.D. graduates, honor alumni who are using their Allen School education to change the world and recognize our award winners for academic excellence, leadership, and service. We are in awe of our soon-to-be grads and hope to see you make the Allen School proud!
Note: This event will be live-streamed on the Allen School’s YouTube page and a recording made publicly available for later viewing for the benefit of those who cannot join us in person.
UW Commencement
The UW is holding its 2026 commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 13. Details here.
Information for Event Attendees
Parking permits for a wide variety of campus lots may be purchased by graduates when they fill out the UW Registration/Order Form beginning on May 7. Permits are available for parking on Commencement Day, June 14, or for school, college and departmental ceremonies that take place on other days around Commencement, such as the Allen School’s events on June 13. Disability parking is available on any day and can be selected by the graduates when they complete the registration/order form. For more information visit the UW parking page.
Alaska Airlines Arena enforces a clear bag only policy. Any non-compliant bags must be checked into the UW Bag Check for a $15 fee.
✅ Bag & Package Inspections
All bags and purses will be inspected upon entry. Packages must be unwrapped or wrapped in a way that allows contents to be easily visible.
✅ Review the Approved Items List.
The Allen School is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. For disability accommodations, please contact Amber Cochran at amberlco@cs.washington.edu as soon as possible and no later than May 22.
2025 Program Information
Commencement Speaker
Trish Millines Dziko
Executive Director, Technology Access Foundation
Trish Millines Dziko is a change agent, mentor, and advocate for children of color. In 1996 she left her successful 17 year career in the tech industry to ensure students of color had the same opportunities she had. Trish is the cofounder, Executive Director, visionary and strategist behind the Technology Access Foundation (TAF) — one of the leading education non-profits educating children of color to their full potential.
Through Trish’s leadership, TAF transitioned from out of school programs to become a statewide leader in public education, operating TAF Academy (a 6th to 12th grade, award-winning public school co-managed with the Federal Way Public School District),
created TransformED that partners with public schools to transform them into healthy and safe learning environments that center student voice and cultivate students into socially conscious and self-aware critical thinkers, problem solvers, ideators, creators, and leaders. In addition, Trish led TAF through the creation of the Network for EdWork designed to recruit, retain and develop teachers of color for our Washington State public schools.
Trish is a committed, proactive leader serving on boards of organizations that focus on children and education.
Allen School Alumni Impact Award
Presented by Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair Emeritus, and Magdalena Balazinska, Professor and Allen School Director
Honoree: Nicki Dell (Ph.D., ’15)
Nicki Dell is an Associate Professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and in the Bowers College of Computing and Information Science at Cornell University. Nicki works to investigate the impact of digital technologies on underserved communities and build systems and interventions that make our computer-mediated world safer and more equitable for everyone. Her research spans the fields of human-computer interaction, computer security and privacy, and information and communication technologies for development. She carries out her research in sustained partnership with affected communities to deepen her understanding of the challenges they face and to devise solutions that respond to both technological and social factors at play.
Nicki joined Cornell after earning her Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington in 2015. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (2024), SIGCHI Societal Impact Award (2023), and NSF CAREER Award (2018). At Cornell, Dell co-founded and co-directs the Clinic to End Tech Abuse. She is also Director for Technology Innovation for the Initiative on Home Care Work in the Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW) and was the 2023 Siegel Faculty Impact Fellow for the Public Interest Technology Initiative.
Hooding of Doctor of Philosophy Recipients
Presented by Stefano Tessaro, Professor and Associate Director of Graduate Programs
Master of Science Processional
Presented by Dan Suciu, Professor and Professional Master’s Program Coordinator,
and Shayan Oveis Gharan, Professor
Student Recognition
Undergraduate Teaching Awards
- Presented by Kianna Bolante, COM2 Chair
Undergraduate Service Award
- Presented by Crystal Eney, Director of Student Services, and Chloe Dolese Mandeville, Senior Assistant Director for Student Engagement & Access
Outstanding Undergraduate Honors Thesis Award
- Presented by Maya Cakmak, Professor, and Leilani Battle, Professor
Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award
- Presented by Maya Cakmak, Professor, and Leilani Battle, Professor
Outstanding CS and CE Senior Awards
- Presented by Magdalena Balazinska, Professor and Allen School Director
Bob Bandes Memorial Excellence in Teaching Awards
Presented by Ruth Anderson, Teaching Professor, and Lauren Bricker, Teaching Professor
Bachelor of Science Processional
Presented by Dan Grossman, Professor and Vice Director, and Franzi Roesner, Professor
Closing Remarks
Magdalena Balazinska, Professor and Allen School Director
Questions about the Allen School Events?
For all other questions, email graduation-celebration@cs.washington.edu..
For disability accommodations, please contact Amber Cochran at amberlco@cs.washington.edu as soon as possible and no later than Friday, May 23.