The AY 2021 September Graduate Commencement Ceremony was held from 10 a.m. on Friday, September 17, in the West School Building Hall on the Mita Campus. This fall, Keio University conferred a total of 243 graduate degrees (69 doctoral, 153 master's, and 21 professional degrees).
The ceremony began with Vice-President Yoshimitsu Matsuura's graduating class report and continued with President Kohei Itoh's conferment of diplomas to representatives from each of the graduate schools. In President Itoh's English welcome address he advanced Keio's vision of creating leaders by urging the graduates to contribute to their local communities, the country at large, and the world, so that society over the next 50 years and beyond can be a better place. Afterwards, Professor Shuichi Adachi of the Faculty of Science and Technology acted as faculty representative in giving the congratulatory address to the graduates. The ceremony then ended with a performance of the "The Juku-ka" (Alma Mater).
The AY 2021 September Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony was also held at the same venue on the same day beginning at 14:00. At this ceremony there was a total of 405 graduates (15 from the Faculty of Letters, 124 from the Faculty of Economics, 103 from the Faculty of Law, 5 from the Faculty of Business and Commerce, 12 from the Faculty of Science and Technology, 69 from the Faculty of Policy Management, and 77 from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies).
Following the graduating class report, President Itoh conferred diplomas to student representatives from each of the undergraduate faculties. The president then delivered an English welcome address which was followed by Professor Colin McKenzie of the Faculty of Economics giving an address on behalf of the university faculty. The student representative for the ceremony then delivered their response and the event came to a close with a performance of the "The Juku-ka."
After the ceremony ended, graduates banded together to take pictures with degrees in their hands and smiles on their faces that no mask could fully hide, filling the Mita Campus with life and joy for the first time in a long while.
Keio University took the utmost precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the ceremonies, limiting the event to only students and select faculty while providing a livestream of the events to those who were unable to attend.