Commencement Regalia
In keeping with the dignity of the occasion, all candidates will wear traditional academic attire. Official UND regalia is available through the University Bookstore. Regalia can be ordered on-line. Regalia reserved on-line can be picked up and purchased at the Bookstore. All candidates for graduation are responsible for securing the following items:
Bachelor's degrees: Black bachelor's gown, cap, and tassel in the color of your academic college. How to Wear a Bachelors Cap and Gown
Master's degrees: Black master's gown, cap, black tassel, and UND master's hood in the color of your academic discipline or college. How to Wear a Masters Cap, Gown and Hood
Doctoral degrees: Black doctoral gown, cap or tam, black tassel, and UND doctoral hood lined in the color of your academic discipline or college. How to Wear a Docotral Tam, Gown and Hood
In keeping with the guidelines outlined in the internationally accepted Academic Costume Code, nothing else should be worn on the academic gown. For further information about protocol for academic regalia, click here.
Tassels. Undergraduate candidates wear the tassel on the right side of the cap until they cross the stage; upon stepping down from the stage, the tassel should be moved to the left side of the cap. Master's and doctoral candidates wear their tassels on the left side of the cap throughout the ceremony.
Honor Medallions. Official UND honor medallions, distributed through the Registrar's Office to eligible undergraduate candidates during the assembly process preceding each ceremony, are the only university-sponsored enhancements to the traditional regalia that have been approved by UND for commencement ceremonies. These honor medallions can be worn by undergraduate candidates who achieve a scholastic average of 3.50 or higher in courses completed at UND. Honor awards for the commencement ceremony and for publication purposes are made on the basis of the UND grade point average at the end of the previous semester. Actual honors, which will appear on the official transcript, will be calculated once final semester grades are recorded and the degree has been cleared by the college. Honor levels are 3.50 for cum laude, 3.70 for magna cum laude, and 3.90 and higher for summa cum laude with at least 50 graded credit hours completed at UND (S/U grading is not counted)
Honor Cords. Because commencement is a ceremony that recognizes and celebrates academic achievement, the University of North Dakota may grant special approval to allow honor cords to be worn if such cords represent academic honors from a nationally recognized academic honor society directly related to one of UND's colleges, schools, or fields of study. Advance approval must be received from the appropriate academic dean and a request made through the Office of Ceremonies and Special Events.
UND Legacy Cords
For the first time, legacy students will be honored at spring commencement with a specific cord to recognize the connection they share with their family members who have graduated before them. Students with UND graduates in their family history (parents, step-parents or grandparents) are considered legacies. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. (Professional degree graduates will be honored in different ways through their ceremonies.)
Legacy cords will be available for pick-up at a date closer to the commencement date. Watch for announcements about the date, time and location. Please have your student ID card and name of your family member who graduated from UND. Legacy cords are provided as a gift to UND legacies.
Any additional enhancements to the traditional academic regalia, or deviations from it, must be requested through the Office of Ceremonies and Special Events.