What We Leave, What We Carry: UCSF School of Medicine Class of 2026
The class of 2026 poses on the stairs at Davies Symphony Hall.
Hand-drawn banners waved from the balconies of Davies Symphony Hall. Families wore matching T-shirts printed with graduates’ faces. Mentors, siblings, children, and friends filled the audience – all gathered to celebrate the journeys that brought 167 UCSF School of Medicine graduates to this milestone moment.
On May 20, 2026, the Class of 2026 crossed the commencement stage carrying not only degrees, but the experiences, relationships, and lessons that shaped them as physicians during a transformative moment in medicine.
Many in the Class of 2026 began their medical school careers as the world continued to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic. Commencement speaker Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, shared the story of her own unconventional path in medicine and how the graduates were uniquely equipped to take on challenges as newly minted physicians.
“The world of medicine that you entered was already shaken, and yet, I am told you are a class of confident optimists,” said Dr. Bibbins-Domingo, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association and a UCSF Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics. “You are go-getters, ready for what lies ahead."