Commencement participants are required to wear regalia. See details below for how to order caps and gowns, important deadlines, recommended attire and more.
All degree candidates who are eligible to participate in Commencement or Convocations must secure regalia, including a cap, gown and tassel, prior to Commencement weekend.
This includes December 2026, May 2027 and August 2027 graduation candidates and students who petitioned their school or college to participate in commencement weekend ceremonies.
Support the Class of 2026 Giving Campaign and show your generosity at Commencement with a special orange, white and silver cord to wear with your cap and gown. To be part of this colorful tradition, make your gift of $26 or more!
Commencement in the JMA Wireless Dome will accommodate all guests comfortably. While a spirit of joy and enthusiasm is encouraged, the dignity of this important occasion should not be devalued. Please be courteous to all speakers.
Candidates and guests may not bring bottles, sparklers, firecrackers, or any objects that might present danger or disrupt the Commencement ceremony. Helium balloons are not permitted in the JMA Wireless Dome or Lally Athletics Complex. Syracuse University is a smoke- and tobacco-free campus. Smoking and the use of all tobacco products is prohibited on property owned, operated, or controlled by the University, indoors and out. Full policy available here.
We ask you to help make Commencement at Syracuse University a proud moment for all attendees.
Regalia is required to participate in ceremonies hosted throughout Commencement weekend, including all school/college convocations and Commencement. Indigenous and Native American tribal regalia is welcomed as approved regalia for all Syracuse University commencement ceremonies.
Graduation caps decorated with content deemed to be offensive or discriminatory are prohibited and may be confiscated.
For undergraduate degree candidates, tassels are worn on the right side of the cap before the ceremony and are then moved from the right side to the left once your degree is conferred. For Master’s and Doctoral degree candidates, tassels should be worn on the left side of the cap and remains there during the entire Commencement ceremony.
All graduates have a navy mortarboard cap with a colored tassel that corresponds to their school and a signet that indicates the year.
Master’s degree recipients wear a hood with velvet trim that denotes their field of study.
All graduates have a black mortarboard cap with a black tassel without a signet that indicates the year to distinguish Master’s candidates from the Bachelor’s candidates.
Doctoral degree recipients wear a black hood with velvet trim that denotes their degree, and an orange satin inner lining for Syracuse University's color.
Syracuse University Doctoral graduates wear an 8-sided Tam w/gold tassel.
