About 800 students at the University of California, Davis, will participate in fall commencement ceremonies on Sunday, Dec. 18.

This year, 338 students from the Division of Biological Sciences, and the colleges of Engineering, and Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will participate in a 10 a.m. ceremony. An additional 468 students will participate in a 2 p.m. ceremony for the College of Letters and Science.

First introduced in 2002, fall commencement has proven to be a popular alternative for undergraduates.

"With over 460 students participating in the College of Letters and Science fall commencement ceremony, we clearly are attracting a substantial group of students who find this an attractive alternative to the June ceremony," said Patricia Turner, interim dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies.

"Four years ago, the chancellor's hope was that we could alleviate some of the crunch of the spring ceremonies, and this seems to be a strong validation of that effort. We are pleased so many students and their families will be participating on Sunday," said Turner, who was vice provost for undergraduate studies when the decision was made to have two ceremonies.

Emily Mason, a candidate for a bachelor's degree in biochemical and chemical engineering, will address her fellow students and guests at the morning ceremony.

Spana Shende, a candidate for a bachelor's degree in international relations, will speak at the afternoon ceremony.

Both ceremonies will be held in the ARC Pavilion.

The fall commencement was established because the spring ceremonies of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Letters and Science -- each attended by about 1,000 students -- were nearing the capacity of the ARC Pavilion for a graduation ceremony.

In the spring, UC Davis holds 11 commencements for the Division of Biological Sciences, Graduate Studies, three undergraduate colleges and four professional schools.