Academic Regalia
Your formal commencement regalia represents your dedication as well as honor of being a UND graduate.
Your transition from student to professional is something that deserves to be recognized. Your formal commencement regalia represents your dedication as well as honor of being a UND graduate.
Purchase or Rent Academic Regalia
Graduates' cap, gown, tassel, hood, and other commencement-related items can be found at the University Bookstore,775 Hamline St., Grand Forks, 701.777.2746 or online at Herff Jones. Deadline to order online is November 14.
How to Wear Your Regalia
Bachelor's Degree
Wear a black bachelor’s gown, cap, and tassel in the color of your academic college.
Master's Degrees
Wear a UND-custom black master’s gown, cap, black tassel, and UND master’s hood lined in pink and Kelly green, UND’s official university colors, and trimmed in the color of your academic college or discipline.
Doctoral Degrees
Wear a UND-custom, black, doctoral gown, tam, tassel, and UND doctoral hood lined in pink and Kelly green, UND’s official university colors, and trimmed in the color of your academic college or discipline.
Tassels
UND selected the following tassel colors to designate its academic divisions:
| White | College of Arts & Sciences |
|---|---|
| Drab (light tan) | Nistler College of Business & Public Administration |
| Black and White | John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences |
| Light Blue | College of Education & Human Development |
| Orange | College of Engineering & Mines |
| Purple | School of Law |
| Green | School of Medicine & Health Sciences |
| Apricot | College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines |
| Black | School of Graduate Studies |
Undergraduate Candidates
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.
Graduate Candidates
Master's and doctoral candidates wear their tassels on the left side of the cap throughout the ceremony.
Receiving two or more degrees?
You will be listed under all the degrees you have earned in the commencement program. You only walk across the stage once, so you will have to decide which degree you plan to walk with upon arrival to the line-up room. Please make sure to purchase the tassel with the color that coordinates with the college you plan to march with at the ceremony.
Hoods
The color of the lining of the hood worn by recipients of graduate degrees indicates the institution which confers the degrees. UND hoods are lined in pink with a green chevron; the trim of the hood indicates the degree or discipline.
| Degree | Type | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Master of Arts | M.A. | White |
| Master of Accountancy | M.Acc. | Drab (tan) |
| Master of Education | M.Ed. | Light Blue |
| Master of Fine Arts | M.F.A. | Brown |
| Master of Engineering | M.Engr. | Orange |
| Master of Music | M.M. | Pink |
| Master of Business Administration | M.B.A. | Drab (tan) |
| Master of Public Administration | M.P.A. | Peacock Blue |
| Master of Occupational Therapy | M.O.T. | Kelly Green |
| Master of Environmental Management | M.E.M. | Golden Yellow |
| Master of Physician Assistant Studies | M.P.A.S. | Kelly Green |
| Master of Public Health | M.P.H. | Salmon Pink |
| Master of Science | M.S. | Golden Yellow |
| Master of Science in Applied Economics & Predictive Analytics | M.S.A.E. | Golden Yellow |
| Master of Social Work | M.S.W. | Citron (greenish yellow) |
| Specialist Diploma | Spec. Dipl. | Light Blue |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice | D.N.P. | Apricot |
| Doctor of Philosophy | Ph.D. | Dark Blue |
| Doctor of Education | Ed.D. | Light Blue |
| Doctor of Arts | D.A. | White |
| Doctor of Physical Therapy | D.P.T. | Kelly Green |
| Juris Doctorate | J.D. | Purple |
| Doctor of Medicine | M.D. | Kelly Green |
| Occupational Therapy Doctorate | O.T.D. | Rhodes Blue |
Honor Cords
UND may grant approval to allow specific honor cords to be worn to represent academic honors from a nationally recognized honor society. Advance approval must be received from the appropriate academic dean and from Ceremonies & University Events. Honor cords can be obtained directly from the honor society. Visit UND Involvement for more information.
Approved honor cords:
- Alpha Phi Sigma - National Criminal Justice Honor Society; blue and gold cords
- Beta Alpha Psi - International Honor Society for Accounting Majors; red and white cords
- Beta Gamma Sigma - Honor Society accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International; worn by students and faculty members; blue and gold cords
- Epsilon Pi Tau - National Academic Honor Society for Technology; blue, gold and white cords
- Gamma Theta Upsilon - International Geographic Honor Society; blue, brown and gold cords
- Gamma Sigma Alpha - National Academic Honor Society for Greek Members; red and yellow cords
- Golden Key - International Honor Society; royal blue and gold cords
- IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu - Student Honor Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; gold cord with red & blue tassel
- Mortar Board - National College Honor Society; silver and gold cords
- National Society of Leadership & Success - Largest national honor society; black and silver cords
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars -National society recognizing outstanding academic achievement and involvement on campus; gold and purple cords
- Order of Omega - National Leadership Academic Honor Society for Greek Members; gold and white cords
- Phi Alpha - National Social Work Honor Society; gold cords
- Phi Alpha Theta - History Honor Society; red and blue cords
- Phi Beta Kappa - National Scholarship Honor Society for Liberal Arts and Sciences; pink and blue cords
- Pi Alpha Alpha - National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration;light blue and gold cords
- Pi Kappa Lambda - National Music Honor Society; gold and white cords
- Pi Theta Epsilon- National Occupational Therapy Honor Society; blue and gold cords
- Psi Chi - International Honor Society in Psychology; platinum and navy cords
- Sigma Gamma Epsilon - National Honor Society for Earth Sciences; gold, blue and silver cords
- Sigma Pi Sigma - National Honor Society for Physics; green and white cords
- Sigma Tau Delta -National Society for English representing high achievement in English language, literature, and writing; Cardinal red and black double strand cords
- Sigma Theta Tau - International Honor Society of Nursing; purple and white cords
- Tau Beta Pi - National Engineering Honor Society; brown and white cords
- Tau Sigma - National Honor Society for Transfer Students; maroon and gold cords
- Theta Alpha Kappa - National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology; red cords
- Upsilon Pi Epsilon - International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines; maroon and white cords Diploma/Transcript
Graduating with Honors
Undergraduate Students
Honor Medallions are earned by candidates for the bachelor’s degree who have at least 50 graded hours from the University of North Dakota and achieve a scholastic average of 3.50 (cum laude), 3.70 (magna cum laude), and 3.90 (summa cum laude) in courses completed at the University of North Dakota. For the purpose of the commencement program and publication, honors are based on the UND grade point average at the end of the previously completed term. Once final semester grades are recorded and the degree has been cleared by the college, grade point averages are recalculated and final graduation honors are recorded to the transcript and diploma.
Graduate Students
Official UND honor medallions are distributed to eligible undergraduate candidates only. Masters and doctoral students wear a hood to designate their academic achievement, because academic hoods are the highest honor bestowed on a student receiving a professional or graduate degree, the presence of adornments that compete with or detract from the hood signifying that degree are not allowed.
Honor Requirements
| Honor | GPA |
|---|---|
| Summa Cum Laude | ≥ 3.90 |
| Magna Cum Laude | 3.70 - 3.90 |
| Cum Laude | 3.50 - 3.70 |
Non-Academic Recognition
- UND Legacy Cords are given to students whose parents or grandparents graduated from UND. These green, white, and pink cords are given out at the Graduation Expo, in the line-up room prior to the commencement ceremony, or contact the UND Alumni Association & Foundation for more information.
- Veterans graduating from UND and students who serve(d) in the U.S. military may wear red, white, and blue cords to honor them for their service. These cords are distributed at the Graduation Expo, by Veteran’s Services located in McCannel Hall, in the line-up room prior to the ceremony, or send request to vets@UND.edu.
- First Generation Cords are blue and green cords for those students who are the first in their immediate family to graduate with a four year degree. These cords are distributed at the Graduation Expo, in the line-up room prior to the commencement ceremony, or send request to derek.sporbert@UND.edu.
- Cultural affiliation and personal identification adornments received while at UND may be worn with acceptable academic regalia. Adornments are obtained directly from the UND sponsoring entity.
Regalia Policy
The UND Policy on Academic Regalia was approved in 2021.