Academic Regalia

Academic regalia, commonly called cap and gown, is required when participating in the University of Idaho commencement ceremonies.

Bachelor's Candidates

The cap and gown are black. The color of the tassel is determined by the discipline to which the major field of study belongs.

Bachelor's candidates eligible for university honors — summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude — receive an honor cord to wear over their gown. The Office of the Registrar notifies honors-eligible students at all locations before midterms. Cords are distributed at the fall and spring GradFair events in Moscow. Students attending ceremonies at Boise, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene may pick up an honor cord at their respective location.

Master's and Specialist Candidates

The cap, tassel, and gown are black. The shape of the master's/specialist gown sleeve is oblong. A hood is worn over the gown, lined with the colors of the university, silver and gold. The color of the hood's trim is determined by the discipline to which the major field of study belongs.

Doctoral Candidates

Doctoral candidates, including those earning a Juris Doctor, wear a cap or tam with an old gold colored tassel. The gown is silver with black velvet panels down the front and across the sleeves. A hood is worn over the gown, lined with the colors of the university, silver and gold. The color of the hood's trim is royal blue for all Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) candidates, representing a mastery of the discipline of learning and scholarship, regardless of discipline. Other doctoral hood colors are determined by the discipline to which the major field of study belongs.

Juris Doctor candidates eligible for university honors receive an honor cord to wear over their gown. The Office of the Registrar notifies honors-eligible students at all locations before midterms. Cords are distributed at the fall and spring GradFair events in Moscow. Students attending the ceremony at Boise may pick up an honor cord at that location.

Additional Honors Apparel

In addition to regalia, students who have earned academic honors or have received honors from an approved academic honors society may add cords or stoles representing those honors. Any other additions to regalia are not permissible.

General Guidelines

Honors apparel should only be worn at commencement at the time of graduation and not become a permanent part of the student’s regalia. Non-academic apparel may not be worn at commencement.

More than one honor cord may be worn at the same time; however, only one stole may be worn at a time.

Honor Societies

Academic honor societies may request permission to wear honor cords or stoles. Since commencement is an academic ceremony, honors apparel must have an academic affiliation. The honor society must be a University, College, or ASUI-recognized student organization. All approved organizations are listed below. Additional information regarding honors societies can be found on the Academic Affairs website.

To request permission, the honor society’s advisor submits a Request to Wear Honors Apparel at Commencement form to the Commencement Coordinator in the Office of the Registrar who presents the request to the University Commencement Committee.

For fall ceremony consideration, requests must be submitted to the Commencement Coordinator by Sept. 15 and for spring ceremony consideration, requests must be submitted by Feb. 15.

The Commencement Coordinator will notify the society’s advisor of the committee’s decision. For requests that are approved, graduating students from that society are permitted to wear the honor cord/stole at future commencement ceremonies. Honor societies are responsible for ordering and distributing their cords/stoles.

Approved Organizations

• Alpha Iota Mu
• Beta Alpha Psi
• Beta Gamma Sigma
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service
• Golden Key International Honour Society
• Martin Institute International Studies Honor Society
• Phi Alpha Theta
• Phi Eta Sigma
• Phi Kappa Phi
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Pi Mu Epsilon
• Psi Chi
• Sigma Lambda Alpha
• Sigma Xi
• Student Veterans
• Tau Beta Pi
• University Honors Program
• Xi Sigma Pi