UC Davis will for the first time hold two fall commencement ceremonies for undergraduates Sunday, Dec. 19.

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

This year, about 460 students will participate in the 10 a.m. ceremony for the College of Letters and Science. An additional 390 students from the Division of Biological Sciences and the colleges of Engineering and Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are expected to participate in the 2 p.m. ceremony.

Last year, about 650 students attended the fall commencement, almost doubling the number at the inaugural one in 2002.

"After only two years, the fall commencement's popularity and numbers grew to the point that it became necessary to split into two ceremonies," said Patricia Turner, interim dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies. "We expect each to grow even more in the coming years."

"We have been delighted and gratified that our students and their families have embraced the idea of fall commencement so readily," said Turner, who was vice provost for undergraduate studies when the decision was made to have two ceremonies.

This year, a total of 719 undergraduates earned their bachelor's degree by September, and another 1,210 who are in the process of completing bachelor's degree requirements have applied to graduate this month.

Ana Mia Sepulveda, who earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in political science and sociology in September, will address her fellow students and guests at the morning ceremony.

Paul Fawcett, a candidate for a Bachelor of Science degree in human development, 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.

In 2003-04, UC Davis awarded 7,188 degrees, including 5,608 bachelor's, 662 master's, 375 doctoral and 543 professional degrees. A total of 175 students completed a program for a teaching credential.