More than 4000 people are expected to attend the six graduation ceremonies being staged at Charles Sturt University's Wagga Wagga Campus over the next three days.

Successful students from throughout New South Wales, many from interstate and some from overseas, will gather with their friends and family for the culmination of their studies - almost 1100 graduands will be presented awards on Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 of April.

The largest number of graduands from any one faculty are those of Science and Agriculture, who have had to be split into two groups to accommodate the 294 award winners and their guests.

School of Information Studies graduates will celebrate with their own ceremony on Thursday afternoon, while those of the Faculty's other three schools (Agriculture, Science & Technology, and Wine & Food Sciences) will be conferred their awards that morning. The biggest single ceremony will again be that of the Arts Faculty, with some 222 graduands attending to accept awards on Friday morning.

With a capacity audience set to attend Joyes Hall, additional guests have been invited to watch proceedings via live televised coverage in an adjacent building.

Three honorary doctorates, seven PhDs, 17 graduate prizes and the 1998 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence will also be presented during the week. Just over 100 of those graduating will be doing so with distinction or Honours.

Honorary Awards will be conferred on:

• former Member for Wagga Wagga Joe Schipp at the Wednesday afternoon ceremony starting at 2.30pm (before the Education Faculty Graduations);
• Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants NSW Director Stan Droder, Wednesday 10.30am ceremony (before Commerce Faculty Graduations);
• Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Australian National University's Research School of Biological Sciences and former Chief Scientist, Professor Ralph Slatyer, Thursday 10.30am.

A keynote speaker will address each ceremony, with those scheduled for the Wagga events being: the Right Reverend Bishop George Browning; Overseas Service Bureau Chief Executive Officer Bill Armstrong; LaTrobe University Chancellor Nancy Millis; Supreme Court Judge David Levine; NSW Governor Gordon Samuels; and newly-appointed CSU Professor of Rural Nursing Heather Gibb.