The University of California, Davis, will celebrate the first graduates of four new programs when it awards an estimated 5,451 degrees at 10 ceremonies beginning this Saturday. And commencement itself will be a first, too, for most of the foreign students in one of those programs' inaugural classes. "I'm very excited," said Ketsana Phommachane of Laos. "I don't know -- I may cry." He and eight classmates from Germany, Indonesia, Japan and Korea will receive the first Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees to be awarded by the School of Law at its ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Recreation Hall. Although the eight-month LL.M. program is also open to U.S. students wanting to pursue legal studies beyond the three-year Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, it seeks to provide a basic knowledge of the U.S. legal system for foreign students who have already earned a foreign law degree. Most of the LL.M. candidates, however, have never had a commencement ceremony. Hanno Kaiser of Dusseldorf, whose LL.M. studies dovetailed with his doctoral research on the philosophy of law, said that is ironic, especially for the four German students educated in what he calls the "heartland of academia." During the ceremony, the nine LL.M. candidates will wear braid on the front of their black gowns to distinguish them from the 157 recipients of J.D. degrees. Rep. Vic Fazio, D-West Sacramento, and J.D. candidate James Zahradka will address the graduates. Former U.S. surgeon general Joycelyn Elders will speak on "Health Care in the 21st Century" at the School of Medicine's commencement at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 12. Appointed the country's chief medical officer in 1993, she ired conservatives with her provocative statements on sexuality, drug legalization, abortion and religious conservatives. As a result of her comments on masturbation in December 1994, President Clinton asked for and received her resignation. She is now a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Arkansas. The School of Medicine will award 87 Doctor of Medicine degrees. In addition to Elders, degree candidate Peter Fay will speak at the ceremony on the Health Sciences Quadrangle. Graduate Studies will confer about 765 degrees, including 363 doctoral and 398 master's degrees, at its 6:30 p.m. commencement Thursday, June 18, in Recreation Hall. Carole Joffe, a UC Davis professor of sociology, will speak. The School of Veterinary Medicine will hold its graduation ceremony at noon on Friday, June 19, in Recreation Hall. Degrees to be awarded include 102 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees, two Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine degrees, 16 Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine degrees and 11 bachelor's degrees in veterinary medicine. Certificates of residency will be presented to 24 students. Dwight Hirsh, a UC Davis professor of microbiology, will be the faculty speaker. Pete Kvarnstrom and Stephen Lavallee, both candidates for a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, will also address the veterinary graduates. The College of Engineering will confer about 395 bachelor of science degrees in a 6:30 p.m. ceremony Friday, June 19, in Recreation Hall. Ruth Christine Fowler, a bachelor of science candidate in biological systems engineering, will make the address. Michael Ziegler, president and chief executive officer of PRIDE Industries in Roseville, and candidates Gary Lew and Camille Wojtasiak will speak at the commencement of the Graduate School of Management at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, in Freeborn Hall. The school will award 126 Master of Business Administration degrees. The College of Letters and Science will award 2,312 degrees in two separate programs at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 20, in Recreation Hall. Associate Justice Rodney Davis of the California Court of Appeal, 3rd Appellate District, will address both ceremonies. Diana Dashnaw, a candidate for a bachelor's degree in history, will address the morning ceremony while Matt Malone, a candidate for bachelor's degrees in English and political science, will address the afternoon graduates. The Division of Biological Sciences will recognize recipients of some 829 bachelor of science and 45 bachelor of arts degrees at its 9 a.m. ceremony on Sunday, June 21, in Recreation Hall. These numbers are included among those awarded by the College of Letters and Science and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Charles Soderquist, a UC regent and president of the Technology Development Center in West Sacramento, will address the graduates. The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will award 1,469 bachelor of science degrees at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, in Recreation Hall. Among the degrees to be awarded will be bachelor of science degrees from three new programs: 10 in Biotechnology, two in Crop Science and Management, and 13 in Viticulture and Enology. Richard Rominger, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an alumnus, and Stacy Pettigrew, candidate for a bachelor of science degree in animal science, will speak. In most cases, the numbers for degrees to be awarded are estimates based on degrees completed earlier in the year and applications for graduation from students still finishing courses this quarter. For undergraduate colleges, college-specific percentages based on historical data are applied to the applications to estimate the number of those applicants who will actually complete the requirements for graduation by the end of the quarter. An audit of the actual number of degrees awarded is prepared later.