A total of 8,568 University of Utah graduates earned a combined 9,113 degrees this year, including 5,791 bachelor’s degrees, 2,343 master’s degrees and 979 doctoral degrees.
The U.’s 2018 graduating class is 52 percent male and 68 percent Utahn, with 21 percent enrolling from other areas of the United States and 11 percent enrolling internationally. The age of graduates ranged from a low of 19 to a high of 69.
One of those graduates was Hodan Abdi, a Somali refugee and this year’s student speaker. Abdi received a standing ovation after sharing her experience of earning a GED while working as a University of Utah custodian, before enrolling at the university and earning her bachelor’s degree.