17,000 students graduated from Arizona’s public universities in December

PHOENIX — More than 17,000 college students walked across the stage to receive their diplomas from the three Arizona public universities in December.

Broken down between the colleges, 12,000 graduated from Arizona State University, 2,600 from Northern Arizona University and 3,000 from the University of Arizona.

According to ASU, this year it saw a 9% increase in its fall graduation numbers.

One of the graduates, Matthew Vail — who received two degrees in management and digital marketing from ASU — told KTAR News 92.3 FM the path to graduation was a long one.

“It has been a long time coming as a non-traditional student coming back to school after 10 years,” Vail said. “This is my third attempt at trying to get my degree.”

Vail plans to continue his education with ASU’s master’s degree program in hopes of studying brand loyalty and strategic brand management.

He said after four and a half years at Estrella Mountain Community College and Arizona State, it was fulfilling to finally complete his bachelor’s degrees.

“This was one of those things that I truly, truly did for myself,” Vail said. “And backstage it all hit me… So, it was emotional. It was fulfilling. It was humbling.”

Two of the Arizona public universities, ASU and NAU, held commencement ceremonies for students. Meanwhile, U of A held convocation ceremonies and graduating students were given the option to join the spring 2026 commencement.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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