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Welcome back, Bulldogs

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A young woman rides a mechanical bulldog on top of a large, inflatable base.

UGA kicks off the fall 2026 semester with Welcome Week events

The University of Georgia’s classrooms, dining halls, sidewalks and residence halls filled with new and returning students for the first week of the fall semester. With the Class of 2030, the university welcomed more than 6,250 incoming first-year students. From move-in and Freshman Welcome to First Night and the College Poster Sale, it’s been a busy and exciting start to the year. 

A photo gallery of Welcome Week events is below. Click on the photos to view them in full screen. 

Two young women carry matching black and white bags through a bright hallway.
Students carry clothes through the lobby of Russell Hall during Panhellenic Potential New Members Move In. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
A family unpacks luggage and belongings from a loaded SUV with a rooftop cargo box.
From left to right, Anne and Jodie Gilbert of Tulsa, Oklahoma, unload their car while moving their daughter Isabella Gilbert into Brumby Hall. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
Two young women carry a rolled-up rug up a staircase.
Janelle Sullivan of Richmond, Virginia, helps her daughter Sloan Sullivan carry her rug up to the fifth floor of Brumby Hall during move in. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
Two men push a large gray cart across a college campus as one of the men takes a selfie.
Scott Sailor of Atlanta takes a selfie with his son Jacob Sailor as they push and pull a cart up the hill to Russell Hall. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
A large crowd of people in the stands of a football stadium. Most of them are wearing red shirts and raising their hands in the air.
First-year students in the stands during Freshman Welcome at Sanford Stadium. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
A young man in a red college polo takes a selfie of himself and a large group of people dressed in red, black, white and gray clothing.
Trey Wilson, Student Government Association president, takes a selfie with UGA President Jere W. Morehead and students at Freshman Welcome in Sanford Stadium. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
The back view of a large bulldog mascot hugging a young woman on each side of him. The mascot is wearing a red jersey with the number “1” and the words “Hairy Dawg.”
Hairy Dawg interacts with students during Freshman Welcome. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
An extremely blurry image of people in red clothing on a green field.
First-year students on the field for Freshman Welcome. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
An overhead view of a football stadium at sunrise as people in red and black clothing form the shape of a “G.”
An overhead view of the students filling in the “Super G” at sunset during Freshman Welcome. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
A young man wearing a red college t-shirt prepares to hit a white billiard ball on a pool table with a pool cue.
Gavin Robertson takes a corner shot on the pool table during First Night at the Tate Student Center. (Billy Schuerman/UGA)
Two women use their phones to take photos of a blue, purple, and pink sunset.
From left to right, Sutton Warner and Tessa Brown take a photo of the sunset during First Night at the Tate Student Center. (Billy Schuerman/UGA)
A girl wearing a yellow shirt and yellow-tinted glasses holds up a small mirror to a girl who is off-camera and wearing blue, white, and pink face paint.
Anna Campos Seixas looks at her face paint done by Margaret Mauthe on First Night. (Billy Schuerman/UGA)
A man walks along the inside of a darkened bus with blue seats.
Bus operator Taylor Smith performs a visual check during his pre-trip inspection of a UGA bus before heading out on his route. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
Several students sit at small tables on a large balcony.
Students eat breakfast at Bolton Dining Commons on the first day of classes. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
An overhead view of students sitting in wooden chairs and eating at a wooden table.
An overhead view as students eat breakfast in Bolton Dining Commons. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
Several groups of students walk across a college campus in the shade of several green trees.
Students walk between the Tate Student Center and the Miller Learning Center on the first day of classes. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
Students in a college courtyard can be seen through a blurry window.
From left to right, undergraduates Maggie Sweeney, Arina Lee and Ellis Nobes talk outside of the Terry College Business Learning Community. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
An overhead view of students walking across a walkway of large, gray paving stones.
An overhead view as students walk across campus on the first day of classes. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
A female professor talks to a large group of college students seated in a lecture hall.
Jessica Tripp, lecturer of business law, teaches a legal studies class in Orkin Hall on the first day of fall semester. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
Five students sit on a long, arched stone bench. Behind them is a large, green lawn.
Students sit outside on Coca Cola Plaza at the Terry College Business Learning Community on the first day of classes. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
Two female college students hug in the middle of a busy student center.
Students in the Tate Student Center on the first day of classes. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
A young man poses under a stone archway. Behind him is a courtyard filled with green trees.
A student walks through an arch at the Terry College Business Learning Community on the first day of classes. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
A dark, blurry photo of a person riding a bike down a street.
A student is silhouetted by the sun as he rides his bike down Sanford Drive near Soule Hall on the first day of classes. (Billy Schuerman/UGA)
Four people pose for a photo. They stand under letter-shaped balloons that spell “Welcome UGA.”
UGA President Jere W. Morehead poses for a photo with students during a welcome event in the Tate Student Center Atrium. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)