Cap and Gowns

Cap and gowns, also known as regalia, are an academic tradition dating back to the 14th century. Oak Hall is the exclusive company authorized by the university to provide official UMass Global graduation regalia. Oak Hall offers the required regalia items needed to participate and additional optional items such as photo announcements, diploma frames, and other souvenir items.

Note: Graduating students without proper commencement attire will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony; there will be no exceptions.

For information on how to wear your commencement regalia and what basic items are required, we invite you to watch the video below.

Cap & Gown Instructional Video

Orders will be mailed directly to purchasers. It is recommended that you open your regalia package as soon as it arrives, to ensure that your order was processed correctly. Due to high order volumes, we also recommend ordering early to increase the likelihood of your items arriving prior to the ceremony.

Order Regalia

Oak Hall has standard order deadlines based on each ceremony location and the amount of customization required for the different items they offer. Doctoral gowns purchased are custom-made and require earlier order deadlines.

Doctoral Standard Order Deadlines

• Purchase custom doctoral regalia for Southern California Ceremony: March 8, 2024
• Rent standard doctoral regalia for Southern California Ceremony: April 5, 2024

Associate, Bachelor's, and Master's Standard Order Deadlines

• Southern California Ceremony: April 5, 2024
• Northern California Ceremony: April 19, 2024

* Ordering regalia after the Standard Order Deadline puts your order at risk of arriving days before or after your ceremony. The order page will be disabled (no longer taking orders) one week after the Standard Order Deadline.

Oak Hall offers the basic package, which includes the items required to participate in the ceremony. The vendor also offers additional packages which include various optional items, such as photo announcements, accessories, and a diploma frame. Some optional items are also available on the a la carte Accessories page. Below are descriptions of the regalia for easy reference.

Note: Only doctoral graduating students have the option to purchase or rent. Each item in the set can be ordered separately, to allow our doctoral graduates to mix and match rentals and purchases within the same order. We do not offer rental regalia to our associate, bachelor's, and master's degree graduating students.

Purchase Custom Doctoral Regalia

All purchased doctoral regalia is custom-made, high quality, and requires earlier purchase deadlines in order to arrive in time for the Southern California Ceremony. Custom doctoral regalia consists of a UMass Global black gown with blue velvet panels and bars, degree specific hood binding and blue and red lining, and tam with attached gold tassel for $995 (plus shipping).

Rent Standard Doctoral Regalia

Rental doctoral regalia consists of a standard black rental gown with black velvet panels, degree specific hood binding and blue and red lining, and tam with year-dated gold souvenir tassel for $100 (plus shipping).

Associate, Bachelor’s, and Master's Regalia

Purchased undergraduate and master’s regalia consists of a beautifully tailored and sustainable black gown adorned with UMass Global logo on tabs, mortar board cap, and red tassel. Note, there is also a UMass Global blue stole available for purchase that is optional. Master’s regalia also includes a hood with degree-specific binding (see easy reference hood chart below) and blue and red lining.

Easy Reference Hood Chart

If you have any questions regarding your Oak Hall regalia order, please contact Oak Hall at 1-540-387-0000. The university does not have access to specific ordering information, so please reach out to Oak Hall directly with any questions or concerns.

Only bachelor’s candidates are eligible for Latin honors and honor cords. Purchasing or wearing honor cords at commencement does not guarantee that the student will earn Latin honors, which are determined at the time of degree conferral.

To be eligible for Latin honors, the graduating student must have a UMass Global grade point average and cumulative grade point average, including all transfer work, at or above the specific honors category. A minimum of 33 credits must be UMass Global coursework taken for a letter grade. Categories of honors are cum laude (3.500–3.699 GPA); magna cum laude (3.700–3.899 GPA); and summa cum laude (3.900+ GPA).

• For students who have met these requirements by Fall II, they may purchase honor cords when ordering regalia if they wish to.
• For students who have not completed their program requirements, but would like to wear honor cords at commencement, please work with your academic advisor to determine if you are on course to complete your degree with Latin Honors. Any students who have not completed their program requirements but are on course to graduate with Latin Honors may purchase honor cords when ordering regalia if they wish to.

Please view your academic catalog or contact your academic advisor for any questions you may have.

Stoles and other regalia accessories are optional and not required to participate in commencement. The regalia guidelines for the university are that we permit students to order the regalia accessories provided by our exclusive regalia vendor, Oak Hall. This vendor offers an assortment of stoles, including UMass Global, Military, Veteran, Kente, and Serape options available for purchase on their website.

Official student groups and honor societies are also permitted to order stoles from their governing organization, if available for purchase. A list of student organizations is available on MyUMassGlobal. Please reach out to the student organization directly to inquire if there are any stoles offered by the governing organization.

No other regalia accessories or adornments are permitted at commencement. Please do not order custom stoles from a third-party website or vendor. See honor cord FAQs for more information on that topic.